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The
Western
Regional
Zongo
Youth
Chief,
Chief
Alhaji
Rufai
Tanko
Nuhu
has
called
on
the
Hajj
Board
to
stop
treating
the
annual
hajj
as
a
profit-making
venture.
He
said
this
will
enable
more
Muslims
fulfill
that
pillar
of
their
faith
in
dignity.
Speaking
at
a
media
briefing
at
the
Sekondi
Zongo,
he
could
not
understand
why
the
board
charges
a
hundred
percent
more
than
the
actual
cost
and
still
shortchanges
the
pilgrims.
The
Hajj
is
one
of
the
five
pillars
of
Islam,
and
all
Muslims
are
required
to
undertake
it
at
least
once
in
their
lives
if
they
are
physically
and
financially
able
to
do
so.
For
the
pilgrims,
it
is
a
profound
spiritual
experience
that
wipes
away
sins,
brings
them
closer
to
God
and
highlights
Muslim
unity.
Ghanaian
pilgrims
who
went
with
the
Hajj
Board
this
year
paid
seventy-five
thousand
Ghana
cedis
(GHC75,000)
per
person.
The
Zongo
Chief
says
he
spent
sixty
thousand
Ghana
cedis
(GHC60,000),
which
is
less
on
his
wife
and
himself
when
they
went
privately
as
compared
to
the
Hajj
Board’s
bill
and
they
had
comfortable
accommodation
with
their
private
restroom
as
compared
to
where
Ghanaian
pilgrims
were
accommodated.
According
to
him,
up
to
fourteen
(14)
people
were
kept
in
a
room
at
the
Ghanaian
quarters
and
they
had
to
queue
to
use
communal
washrooms.
Another
issue
was
the
distance
from
where
they
were
accommodated
to
the
Masgid.
He
says
this
was
about
five
kilometers,
a
disincentive
to
some
of
the
pilgrims
who
had
to
struggle,
including
paying
expensive
transport
fares
to
get
there.
Frustrated,
he
said
many
responded,
“we
leave
everything
to
God”,
when
asked
about
how
they
were
faring.
“I
can
tell
you
that
the
situation
that
I
found
those
who
went
through
the
Hajj
Board
was
very,
very
deplorable,
it
was
a
shame
just
looking
at
Ghanaians
and
looking
at
other
countries
from
West
Africa.
Countries
like
Niger,
Mali,
Guinea,
they
had
better
conditions
for
their
pilgrims
than
that
of
Ghanaians.
We
have
to
treat
people
better.
We
have
to
treat
people
with
respect,”
he
said.
The
Zongo
Chief
said
pilgrims
from
parts
of
Nigeria
paid
$3,350
which
translates
to
fifty-one
thousand
Ghana
cedis
(GHC51,000),
way
below
what
their
Ghanaian
counterparts
were
paying.
He
has
called
on
the
Hajj
Board
to
do
better.
“Hajj
is
something
that
every
Moslem
will
wish
to
perform,
but
a
lot
of
us
are
unable
to
do
so
because
of
the
cost.
I
believe
the
Hajj
Board
can
do
better.
They
can
do
better,
bring
the
price
down,
because
the
profit
they
have
added
to
the
price
is
way
too
much”.