Niger, due to the high cost of the 2022 hajj and the quota for the number of pilgrims revised downwards by the Saudi authorities, several hundred Nigeriens were unable to perform the hajj. Only 7,194 candidates have been authorized this year, compared to more than 12,000 in 2019. The costs are also up by nearly one million CFA francs. Those who have failed hope that next year’s pilgrimage will be within their reach.
After two years of drastically limiting the number of pilgrims for the hajj, several hundred Nigeriens were unable to make the pilgrimage because of the high cost and the quota set by Saudi Arabia. In 2019, some 2.5 million Muslims around the world took part. But the coronavirus epidemic has forced the Saudi authorities to limit gatherings to only a few thousand in 2020 and 2021. Covid obliges, the crowd of pilgrims has been limited this year to one million faithful and 850,000 foreigners have been drawn for participate, providedbe vaccinated and present a negative PCR test.
Yacouba Djalo closely followed the preparations for the 2022 hajj: “ This is indeed a high amount for the average Nigerian. We would like that next year, this price is revised significantly downwards “, he explains at the microphone of our correspondent in Niamey, Moussa Kaka.
Driver by trade, Daryl has completed his budget for the amount of the tabaski but the hajj ticket is not for him: ” The poor will not be able to perform the hajj and God only knows that many of them want to go. There are too many expenses: the sheep of the tabaski, the schooling of the children… In short, because of this increase in the costs of the hajj, many people will have to stay in the country. Tabaski, or Eid al-Adha, celebrated this Saturday, is the occasion for a meal shared with family and neighbors with a sheep sacrificed the same day.
Despite the departure of pilgrims, the 2022 hajj is a concern for Mamane Sani: “ As a Nigerian, a poor country, even if you have faith, with the prices too high, you can’t go there. ” Souleymane Mahamadou takes the thing with philosophy: ” The hajj is a religious act, you have the will, you put your means, if you did not go, it is not your fault. You have to take it philosophically. »
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The Hajj is one of the largest annual religious gatherings in the world. It is one of the five pillars of Islam and must be undertaken at least once in life by any Muslim who can afford it.