ONCE AGAIN, the yearly ritual of disappointing pilgrims to the Holy City of Mecca and Medina from Ghana to perform the Muslim pilgrimage has occurred. It is really strange that every year, Ghanaian pilgrims are made to go through a litany of agonies and no one is held accountable.
Every year, calamities are visited on these pilgrims majority of whom are not from the Greater Accra Region , there thereby turning them into refugees in their own country. They are dumped at the Aviance cargo village of the Kotoka International Airport without any care.
It is really sad to see these stranded pilgrims, sitting on mats and cardboards, with their luggage, hoping against hope for a flight to perform one of the principle beliefs of a Muslim.
This paper agrees with the angry pilgrims’ call for the dissolution of the Hajj Board. They have actually failed the nation with their incompetence. For when will Ghana have a Hajj Board, which knows how to perform their duties as expected of them?
After each year’ incompetence, a new Hajj Board was put in place. They come with all the promises and good objectives for the pilgrims only to fail miserably as it has again happened this year.
Being human being and stranded, food sellers and other vendors will exploit the little finances on these pilgrims and one wonders what money will be left on them if they are eventually airlifted to Mecca.
It seems the time has now come for the government to step in and curb this annual disgraceful behaviour of the Hajj Board. To this paper, Muslims are becoming their own enemies.
It is a real shame that a responsible Board with responsible personalities, vexed in the Muslim scriptures, should fail the nation once more again, putting the lives of thousands in jeopardy.
The Chronicle is at lost as to what is the cause of this annual tomfoolery. The message is clear. The Hajj Board should resign as they have misconducted themselves to the detriment of people’s lives. For how could one abandon pilgrims, who have satisfied all the Board’s conditions to make the Hajj at the mercy of the weather and not even visiting them?
What a callous behaviour. The Chronicle is calling for the formation of a proper Hajj Council, with persons with the professional competence for handling the job at hand. We have to call a spade a spade and not a big spoon.
The current council has failed the nation and members must advise themselves.
We hope every attempt would be made to ease the sufferings of those pilgrims who managed to make it, on their return journey.
It is not easy saving towards the Hajj but unfortunately, officials whose acts of commission or omission cause these problems go unpunished, thereby allowing them to keep repeating their blunders.
