In Mecca, policemen paid my taxi fare. I had the good fortune of serving four (one civilian and three) former governors of old Oyo State (present Oyo and Osun states) as press secretary between 1983 and March 30, 1989. They were the late Chief ’Bola Ige, retired Major-General Oladayo Popoola, retired Brigadier – General Adetunji Olurin and the late Brigadier – General Sasaenia Oresanya. On my last day in office as his press secretary on March 30, 1989, I paid the late Governor Oresanya a goodbye visit, as it were, in his office. After protocols, he said “Alabi, make a wish, any wish, and I will grant it.” After a long pause, I rose from my seat, thanked him for the unprecedented offer and replied “Your Excellency, can you please sponsor me to Hajj?” He nodded and told me to consider it done. I departed the Governor’s Office and started a six-month accumulated leave. RoH – Sometime in March, this year, the Nikhai / Introduction ceremony of one of the late Alhaji AbdulAzeez Arisekola Alao’s daughters, Lubabah (now Mrs. Elias Adeojo) was held at Aare’s Oluwo, Ibadan home. The officiating was led by Professor Kamil K. Oloso. As he handed over the microphone to me to coordinate the protocol / family introduction aspect of the programme, Prof Oloso said “Oloye ‘Lekan Alabi, the Aare Alaasa Olubadan is Alhaji AbdulRasheed. He performed the pilgrimage, in 1989 while I was the Chairman of the Oyo State Pilgrims Welfare Board.” Amongst the distinguished personalities at the ceremony was the Governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi. He noted my introduction by Prof. Oloso and stamped my historic second Hajj, just as it happened during his predecessor’s (the late Governor Oresanya) tenure. Second Lesson – There was a threat to the 1989 Hajj. It was the costliest in Nigeria, in that the fare was increased by almost 1000 per cent. Many intending pilgrims could not meet up with the cost, but I was among the lucky ones because my sponsor, Governor Oresanya, kept his promise. May his noble soul continue to rest in peace. Amen. True to his name, Sasaenia, the late General and former military governor, was a unique being. RoH – The Ebola virus disease also posed a threat to this year’s Hajj. We thank Allah for the personal sacrifices of patriotic medical personnel like the late Dr. Ameyo Adadevoh for their commitment and government’s quick action that led to its containment. The fact that the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia closed its eyes to the threat, especially Nigeria, was and still in a miracle. Third Lesson – On the day of my departure for Hajj in 1989, a former protocol officer in the Governor’s Office, Ibadan who would years later rise to become a permanent secretary in present Osun State civil service, Mr. Kola Fatunmbi, saw me and others about to board the state pilgrims board chartered bus from Ibadan to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport at Ikeja, Lagos State. Kola stopped the protocol bus in which he was, came out shouting, “Congratulations, sir,” and gave me a hug. I thanked him and wondered why my pilgrimage would attract so much hilarity. Kola proved me wrong when he said, “Egbon, your pilgrimage is one. The other is your appointment as the pioneer Public Affairs Manager of Odu’s Investment Company Limited which the board has just ratified.” I did not know that the Odu’a board would meet that day in Oyo State Governor’s Office and ratify my appointment. In no time, the news was on the air and one could not have wished for a better departure news. RoH – As I boarded the Oyo State Muslim Pilgrims Board chartered bus on 24th September this year from its Olodo office, Ibadan to Ikeja, a senior official of the local government on whose traditional council I am priviledged to sit, Mr. Folaranmi, called my handset, wanting to know my whereabouts. I told him I was on my way to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia via Ikeja. When I asked him the reason for his call, he replied, “I have good news for you, sir.” I thanked him and my mind went back to Kola Fatunbi in 1989. Lesson Five – The day my group departed MMIA, Ikeja for Jeddah in Saudi Arabia in 1989 was the day the incumbent President Omar Bashir toppled the Sudanese government in a military coup. Sudan is today divided into North and South. Our aircraft flew into the already – closed Sudanese airspace inadvertently. We, the pilgrims, were oblivious of the violent change of government and the several threats to our pilot to turn back to Nigeria. The pilot and his crew disclosed all these to us after the new Sudanese authorities led by Omar Bashir had allowed us to proceed, “on compassionate grounds because the aircraft was conveying pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.” We were told to start praising Allah for the concession as the aircraft’s fuel could not last a detour! You can therefore imagine our plight on learning of the near disaster on landing at Jeddah Airport without a single official of the State Pilgrims Welfare Board on board with us, nor any on the ground at Jeddah to welcome/receive us, the very terrified first-timer pilgrims. An adhoc pilgrims caretaker committee was therefore constituted immediately by the contingent at the airport. I was made the secretary and Alhaji Mikhail Adeogun, then General Manager (Marketing), Concord Press Limited, chairman of the committee. We took charge of affairs. Allah and the pilgrims support gave us total success. RoH – this year, in the celebration of Tarwuyah and Dhul-Hijjah, pilgrims moved, as it is the norm, from our “comfort zone” in Makkah to Mina, a journey of about six hours. On arriving in Mina, pilgrims experienced hot weather condition due to a technical breakdown in the A/C system of the open tents at the pilgrims General Camp 20. Weather was very hot and unbearable. We, the pilgrims in cabin 17, however, bore our hardship with very rare calm. An elderly pilgrim who I respectfully refer here to as a veteran, because he was a member of our 1989 (Oyo State) contingent, Alhaji Rahman Mustapha, in consultation with some elders in our cabin of about 80 pilgrims, set up a committee to make our civil protest known to the Saudi authorities through the Association for Hajj & Umrah Operators of Nigeria (AHUON) and the Nigeria Hajj Commission (NAHCON) My humble self and Professor Dikhrulahi Yagboyaju of the Political Science Department of the University of Ibadan were chosen as chairman and secretary respectively of the “Majekobaje” Committee. We prepared and signed a formal civil protest paper on 5th October on the pilgrims hardship. Our paper was tabled at the 7th October post Arafat meeting of tour operators with NAHCON at its office in Khalidiyah, Makkah. I attended that meeting. Sixth Lesson – Professor (then Dr) K.K. Oloso was the Chairman of the old Oyo State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board in 1989. As I stated earlier in this piece, he it was who publicly announced my performance of that year’s hajj at a Nikkai ceremony in Ibadan this year. RoH – This year, 25 years after his 1989 chairmanship, Professor Oloso led the Oyo State Hajj contingent as the Amir-ul-Hajj. When he saw me at the AHUON/NAHCON meeting in Makkah, he shook my hands and I added some nods to silently remind him of 1989. In concluding this piece, I wish to nudge our political office holders and public officers on the need to take a leaf from their Saudi counterparts on how development evolves from vision, good planning and progressive action. I saw a lot of the foregoing in 2014 in Saudi Arabia when placed side – by – side with the facilities provided us (pilgrims) in 1989. And as we departed Saudi Arabia for our countries last week, the Saudi authorities were intimating us with their plans for better services/facilities come 2015. In my group of four at this year’s Hajj were Professor Yagboyaju, Mr. Justice G.I. Sunmonu and Mr. Justice Olalekan Owolabi, both of the Oyo State Judiciary. And what helpful instructors, they all were to me, their Talim. I cannot but also mention the courtesy and charity of two Saudi policemen to me, Malam Malik Mustapha, a 2001 graduate of the University of Medina and now an entrepreneur in Sabo, Ibadan and four other pilgrims (one man and three women) whose taxi fares from the Holy Ka’abah to our hotel (after our Tawaf) in Makkah were paid for by the (policemen)! Their kind act was my first experience of such in life and a miracle to all those I relive the story to. The 2014 Arafat Day on a Jumat (Friday) is indeed a rare blessing and repeat of history.
Posted on: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 04:44:44 +0000
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