No fewer than 25,000 Nigerian Pilgrims as of Friday afternoon have arrived Makkah for the 2019 Hajj.
The Representative of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria in Saudi Arabia, Dr Aliyu Tanko, revealed this to journalists in Makkah.
The Hajj rites would reach the peak on August 10 equivalent of nineth day of Dhul-Hijjah (12th month of the Islamic calendar) when Pilgrims are expected to climb the Mount Arafah.
Tanko, who said this on Friday while answering questions from journalists, stated that more pilgrims were on transit from Jeddah and Madinah to Makkah to take part in the rites.
He said about 150 buildings (hotels) of different categories and in various locations had been secured by the states to house the pilgrims in Makkah.
According to him, NAHCON only supervised the process involved in getting the hotels to ensure that they were secured at reasonable prices unlike in Madinah where the commission was exclusively responsible for the accommodation of all pilgrims.
Advising the pilgrims to prepare their minds for the tasks, he urged them to consider what they would eat in order to face the challenges because anyone who missed Arafah had not performed Hajj (pilgrimage).
He also counselled the pilgrims to acquire the necessary knowledge about pilgrimage, adding that scholars were brought to guide them in order to achieve an acceptable Hajj.
“Pilgrims should know what to do at every point. They should know the dos and don’ts of Hajj,” he said.
Tanko also advised pikgrims to respect the laws of the land and rules guiding Hajj, as well as avoid dealing in prohibited items in Saudi Arabia.
To cater for the health of the pilgrims, Tanko added that NAHCON had established two major clinics and three sub-clinics in areas where the country had a huge concentration of the guests of Allah in Makkah to prevent them from trekking for a long distance before getting care.
