Despite paying over N6m, Lagos pilgrim coughs out N70,000 for yellow fever vaccination

By KEMI KASUMU

There is an underground grumbling among pilgrims in Lagos State over the state Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board’s decision to allow charges of between N50,000 and N70,000 before intending pilgrim is given vaccination for yellow fever and issuance of yellow card required to qualify for travel.

While yellow fever vaccination is part of the requirements, many believe it should not be done in a way that makes pilgrims, who want to go and fulfill a major pillar of their religion, go through hardship to access. Two thousand pilgrims will be airlifted to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia this year for the Holy Pilgrimage.

A pilgrim, who would not like to be named in print, had visited the Old Secretariat venue of the injection Monday morning but had to turn back because he could not afford the cost imposed on him to be administered the vaccination.

“I was asked to pay N50,000 to take the injection but, sincerely speaking, this Hajj I am embarking upon is a sponsored one by somebody I do not know because he does not want to be known for doing the good work of aiding a fellow Muslim in the performance of his worship towards Allah. Hajj is if you have financial capacity and when someone willfully sponsored you, it is a financial capacity that he has aided you to afford,” said the pilgrim.

He continued that, “Now, somebody who has paid over N6 million, this Pilgrims Welfare Board in Lagos State can afford to let the money be wasted because I cannot afford to obtain the process for taking vaccination of yellow fever and obtaining a yellow card due to lack of extra cost being imposed. I do not think this is fair, especially when it was even as higher as N70,000 at the Ikeja Local Government venue of the injection,” he complained.

When contacted for clarifications on the development, Spokesman of the Lagos State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board, Taofeeq Abayomi, could not be reached as neither the whatsapp voice call nor message sent to his telephone was returned as at the time of filing this report.

However, an enquiry sent to the National Hajj Commission (NAHCON) in Abuja indicated that the development is strange to the official Hajj operation arrangement in Nigeria making only Lagos State the only body to explain.

It was gathered that it is indefensible, under whatever reason, for Lagos State to take such decision, to impose between N50,000 and N70,000 charges for yellow fever vaccination and issuance of a yellow card per pilgrim amidst untold hardship that intending pilgrims go through to pay over N6 million either by self or sponsors for Hajj this year.

This development has been described by many as unusual.

Another source in Lagos said the state pilgrims board had on March 9 this year gathered journalists and gave a reason for charging N50,000 an explanation that did not go down well with some notable Islamic leaders in the state but who could not talk because no journalist was ready to pick a criticism of it.

At the implementation stage, the pilgrim, who was not comfortable with the cost now even increased to N70,000 at local government level, informed this globalised multi-lingual online newspaper on Monday.

The source contacted at Hajj House, Abuja, who thanked The DEFENDER for drawing attention of the authority in Abuja to the development, said: “I will forward this to the Chairman insha Allah.”