by Nurat Uthman
Abba Limawa, a pilgrim from Jigawa state, has returned some lost foreign currencies to the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
Led by Ahmad Labo, the director general of the Jigawa state Muslim pilgrim welfare board, Limawa presented the money to Jalal Arabi, NAHCON chairman, during the post-Arafat press conference which held on Wednesday.
Limawa said he found the currencies — 10,500 Russian Rubles, 800 USD, and 690 Saudi Riyals — in a waist bag while on his way to the Masjid Nabawiyy in Madinah.
The currencies amount to over N1.5 million.
“Initially, I considered leaving the bag and going to the mosque but then I thought it might belong to a Nigerian pilgrim, especially one of our elders. So, I picked it up and went to the mosque,” he said.
“When I returned to my accommodation, I opened the bag and saw there was no Nigerian currency or any sign it belonged to a Nigerian.
“Immediately, I approached an official from the Jigawa State Pilgrims Welfare Board, told them the story, and presented the money. They commended my honesty and said they would hand it over to NAHCON to ensure the owner gets it back.”
Arabi praised Limawa for his honesty, saying he “exemplified the character of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) and promoted Nigeria’s image internationally”.
Arabi added that efforts to find the rightful owner of the money would continue.
Arabi also appreciated Nigerian pilgrims, state pilgrim welfare boards, NAHCON employees, independent tour operators, and other stakeholders for ensuring a “successful Hajj 2024”.
He described Hajj 2024 as a “successfully fought battle” and announced that there would be follow-up meetings in Nigeria to evaluate operations and identify areas of improvement.
“This will enable us to have a sincere post-mortem of what we did on the battlefield and improve on the success recorded,” he added.
He apologised to the stakeholders and pilgrims for any shortcomings in the hajj operations and appealed for forgiveness.
“We can only try, no one is perfect,” Arabi said.
The NAHCON chairman also announced that Saudi authorities released the official calendar for Hajj 2025 on June 18.
He added that country quotas and visa processing policies will be announced soon, while encouraging stakeholders to pay close attention to developments for a smooth and successful Hajj 2025.
