President Maada Bio, addressing 828 hajj pilgrims
By Ralph Sesay
President Maada Bio has scored a last minute free header on the 2018 hajj pilgrimage by sending a total of 828 pilgrims as against the originally approved number of 800 that was supposed to attend the 2018 pilgrimage.
It will be recalled that the newly created Hajj Committee has had sleepless nights due to the fact that 28 pilgrims, who have registered and paid their monies, were almost not going to attend the year’s Hajj.
This was already creating bad publicity for the new government, especially so when they are pursuing the last administration for unfairly treating pilgrims.
The APC propaganda machine and other detractors will also be blasting the new government even when they had done a good job under the supervision of the Vice President.
While this wrangling was going on, and the 28 would be pilgrims had almost lost hope that they will not take part in this years hajj, President Bio and his very dedicated Foreign Affairs team were busy maneuvering diplomatically to ensure that Sierra Leone benefits from an additional 28 pilgrims while also lobbying for an increase of the country’s quota from 800 to 1,500 pilgrims.
This news has been received with great joy by the Muslim Community in Sierra Leone, who had suffered in the hands of the previous government. Pilgrims to the holy land of Mecca have been unfairly treated in the past.
Many have praised the commitment and hard work put into this year’s hajj by the Minister, the Hajj Committee and the Vice President’s office. As it stands, all 828 pilgrims will travel to this year’s hajj and Sierra Leone is also set to send a total of 1,500 to next year’s hajj.
This year’s pilgrims will officially converge at the Atlantic Hall, Brookfield’s for final orientation and farewell by President Bio on the 12thand 13th August. They will depart for Mecca on the 14th and 15th respectively.