President Muhammadu Buhari has described multiple deaths at Jamrat in Saudi Arabia yesterday as a monumental tragedy, not only for citizens of the countries involved, but for the global Islamic community even as he mourned the death, in the tragedy of a veteran female journalist, Hajiya Bilkisu Yusuf.
The President said he was deeply saddened by the colossal calamity that claimed the lives of hundreds of pilgrims, including some Nigerians.
A statement by senior special adviser to the President on media and publicity, Garba Shehu quoted Buhari from New York the United States of America as saying that the stampede at Mina in which Hajiya Bilkisu Yusuf, Professor Tijjani El-Miskin and others lost their lives is monumental tragedy, not only for citizens of the countries involved, but for the global Islamic community.
The President extends sincerest condolences to the families of the over 700 pilgrims who lost their lives in this latest disaster in the Holy Places which occurred less than two weeks after a crane collapse in Mecca claimed more than a hundred lives.
Buhari commiserated with the Nigerian Guild of Editors(NGE) and the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) on the sad loss of Hajiya Bilkisu, whom he described as “an exemplary, dedicated, knowledgeable, very credible, highly-respected, outstanding editor and columnist who, even in death, will remain a glittering role model for journalists, within and outside Nigeria.”
The President took note of the assurance by the Government of Saudi Arabia that Thursday’s catastrophe will be investigated even as he advised King Salman to ensure a comprehensive and thorough exercise that will identify any flaws in Hajj organization with a view to avoiding a recurrence of such tragedies during the annual pilgrimage.
“In the knowledge that it is not within our powers to question the will of God, President Buhari prays that Almighty Allah will comfort the families who lost their beloved ones in the stampede and receive the souls of all those who died in the Holy Land while fulfilling the religious obligation of the Hajj.” [myad]
