Pilgrims from Osun, the home state of the chairman/CEO of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Zikirullah Kunle Hassan, have protested in Saudi Arabia over bad food.
The pilgrims were seen in a video clip dumping their food in front of Room 211, said to be occupied by the state Amirul Hajj, Dr. Maroof Ishola.
President Bola Tinubu’s estranged political ally and former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola had appointed Mr Zikirullah as chairman/amirul hajj of the state pilgrims board and Senior Special Assistant on Religious Affairs Affairs, from 2010 and 2018.
The pilgrims protested on Saturday evening in Madinah after the caterers served them food they said was bad tasteless, and very poor in hygiene.
They said they have been served with bad food since they arrived the holy land.
The Osun state pilgrims board has confirmed the incident, explaining that the poor quality of food is not peculiar to the state pilgrims.
The Punch reported that the rising tension about the welfare of the pilgrims became aggravated when some of them visited Lagos accommodation and discovered they were getting better food.
The pilgrims, who were said to have been further infuriated after the caterers brought food they considered below standard on Saturday evening, embarked on the protest within the premises of the hotel where they were lodged in Medina.
In a video clip of the protest, one of the pilgrims said, “We are rejecting food given to us. We are at the door of Osun Amirul Hajj. We are rejecting the food given to us. The food is poor, we can’t continue to eat such, after paying a huge amount for this pilgrimage,” the newspaper said.
The situation was eventually brought under control, following the intervention of Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Oyetunji, who pleaded with the aggrieved pilgrims
The Osun pilgrims board, however, said it will replace the caterers who are serving low quality food, in a statement signed by the Administrative Secretary of the Board, Bolaji Sanni.
The statement said, “At the meeting were the State Government officials, some representatives of the pilgrims, as well as the Head of Catering team for the service provider.
“The meeting discussed the lack of adequate local Yoruba delicacies in the food menu of the service provider and the need for its inclusion in subsequent meals. The meeting also discussed the possibility of changing the caterers if no improvement is noticed.
“It should, however, be noted that this problem is not peculiar to Osun state, and one can not rule out the possibility of fifth columnists blowing the situation out of control for obvious political reasons.”
