Press Releases

Fashola Calls For Decentralisation Of Pilgrimages
• Tasks pilgrims to learn what makes host nations functional

Jul 20, 2009 - Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), Monday called for the decentralization of the National Pilgrims’ Welfare Board to enable states in the country efficiently organize and manage pilgrimages for their citizens.

Governor Fashola, who spoke at the formal presentation of the report of the State’s 2008 Jerusalem Pilgrimage Ad-Hoc Committee at the Lagos House Alausa, Ikeja, said such decentralization would enable the states which, according to him, have day-to-day contact with the people, to better manage the exercise.

“Our experience over time, which we must continue to exploit, has shown that wherever things are controlled by a select few, the tendency is to have a scramble because it creates desperate conditions. But once it is decentralized, it allows easy access and reduces tension”, the Governor said.

Describing it as a very strong argument for decentralization of the exercise, Governor Fashola promised to make a formal representation to the Federal Government to see how the recommendation could be accommodated.

The Governor also advised pilgrims to the Holy lands of Jerusalem and Saudi Arabia to endeavour to study the way of life of the people of those jurisdictions, how they do the various things that make life smooth for their people and bring such ideas home in order to impact positively on their State and their country.

“Religion is not all about faith. It is also about our relationship with ourselves, with our families. It sets out guidelines for the things that affect us – behaviour, values, leadership and followership – and I believe that as many of our pilgrims and leaders of religious organizations who lead pilgrims out of this country, must also focus, while performing their religious obligations, on the way of life that operate in those places”, the Governor said.

Such areas that should attract their attention, the Governor said, include, how the people provide their drinking water, how they manage their solid waste, how they manage their public transportation, how they own and manage land transactions, and how they train their children in schools among others.

The Governor declared, “If those places were not functional and progressive, certainly you will not go there. So do not think it is enough to go there and receive religious diet alone”, urging the pilgrims to learn the ways of life of their host country and use such parameters when they return to make useful suggestions to the State Government on how to do things better.

“Let our pilgrims see that when we apply our policies, we mean them no harm. They see such enviable things when they travel abroad. Good things come from asking the citizens to do a little more. A clean city means that all of us must refrain from littering the streets. It is not enough to expect the government to continue to clear the refuse. We must also refrain from deliberate litter”, the Governor said.

He continued, “A safe city means that it is not enough for government to provide security. It is for you and me to resolve to refrain from crime. We must begin to see that we are part of the problem and resolve to be part of the solution”.

Condoling with the family of one of the victims who died in the course of the pilgrimage, the Governor also promised to make a representation to the Federal Government to find a suitable time during the year when the pilgrimages could be made in other to avoid deaths among the pilgrims, especially the elderly ones, due to extreme weather conditions.

Governor Fashola thanked the 24-member Committee, led by Rev. Dr. Wilson Badejo “for offering your time, for offering your energy and putting your skills at the disposal of the State to deliver what, certainly, is a very successful pilgrimage in 2008”, adding, “As I always say, the only reward for good work is more work”.

Earlier, Chairman of the Committee, Dr. Wilson Badejo had listed the terms of reference of the Committee inaugurated in October 2008 by the Governor, to include ensuring a smooth Christian pilgrimage to Israel and Mount Sinai in Egypt, to ensure the spiritual upliftment and welfare of pilgrims during the exercise and to prevent or drastically reduce the incidence of defection of the pilgrims during the exercise either in Israel or anywhere else.

The Chairman said a total of 1, 060 Lagos pilgrims were airlifted in five batches with the first batch, which included the Deputy Governor of the State, Princess Sarah Adebisi Sosan, leaving the country on January 6, 2009 while the last batch returned to Nigeria on Thursday, February 19, 2009, adding that the exercise was very successful.

Thanking the Governor and the Government of Lagos State for giving them the opportunity to serve in the committee, Dr. Badejo recommended that the exercise be decentralized to allow for the states to do a more thorough and detailed management of the exercise. He also recommended that the time for the pilgrimage be shifted to a period of more conducive weather in the Holy Land.