Intervene for Nigeria’s peace, stability, Speaker Gbajabiamila urges pilgrims

Nigerian pilgrims to this year’s hajj have been urged to continue to pray for the peace, unity, stability and prosperity of the country.

Femi Gbajabiamila, the Speaker of the House of Representatives who made the request also expressed sadness on the loss of 9 Nigerian Pilgrims while performing their religious rites in Saudi Arabia.

He however prayed that Almighty Allah may grant them mercy in their graves, and give their families the fortitude to bear their irreparable losses.
Gbajabiamila, a guest of the King of Saudi Arabia, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud spoke to journalists who paid him a courtesy call at the Royal Palace Guests Tent in Mina, Wednesday.
He expressed gratitude to the Kingdom for the concession granted Nigeria to enable late entrants into the holy land, as well as sundry arrangements to accommodate the Nigerian population within the precinct of Mina also commended the Pilgrims for their orderly conduct so far.
He, however, enjoined them to prioritize the need to continue praying for the peace and unity of the “geographical entity called Nigeria”, saying that without that, “no meaningful progress can be made no matter how much government spends on infrastructure”.
“All countries of the world have issues they are confronted with, but with patriotic zeal of their people in unity and hard work, they achieved all their national goals and objectives.
“I’m therefore praying Allah to answer the prayers of our Pilgrims for peace, economic prosperity and overcoming of security and other challenges currently be-devilling us.
“No country can survive without prayers as through it Allah helps resolve problems. So I’m urging people of all faiths to obey teachings of the holy books as they all contain morals on all facets of life”, the Speaker stated.
Calling on Pilgrims to stay the course of orderliness and cooperation with their respective officials in obeying rules and instructions so as to successfully complete the important and fifth pillar of Islam, the Speaker noted that “having a successful Hajj is a collective responsibility of every official, including Pilgrims themselves, and everyone must do his/her own part to make the return journey a success”.
“I pray Almighty Allah in whose infinite mercy and benevolence we have all converged here on a holy pilgrimage to grant each and every Pilgrim a safe return to their families,” the Speaker added.