In a bold move aimed at safeguarding the health and wellbeing of intending pilgrims, the Babajide Sanwo-Olu-led government in Lagos State has announced a ban on expectant women from participating in this year’s Hajj pilgrimage.
Commissioner for Home Affairs, Olanrewaju Ibrahim Layode, said this during an exclusive interview with The Nation in Badagry.
Layode emphasised that the decision followed concerns about the physical demands of the pilgrimage, which could endanger the lives of expectant women.
The Lagos State position is in line with the directive of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) to the State Muslim Pilgrims’ Welfare Boards, to exclude expectant women from hajj registration.
NAHCON Commissioner Planning Research Statistics Information and Library Services (PRSILS), Prof Abubakar Yagawal, while speaking on the commission’s clinics secured in Makkah and Madinah and distribution of Yellow Cards to states, reminded the Executive Secretaries of state pilgrims boards not to enroll expectant women for the Hajj.
Layode said the ministry was also acting on the instruction of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to ensure that those going for the hajj are in good health.
Governor Sanwo-Olu during the First Family of Lagos State and Ministry of Home Affairs Eid-el-Fitr celebration, at the Lagos House, Marina, said: “By May, those travelling to Makkah will begin to travel. Please ensure you are in good health. If you are ill, refrain from travelling for the 2025 Hajj; stay back and pray here in Nigeria.”
According to the Commissioner for Home Affairs, “It is very dangerous, very delicate for expectant women to go for hajj exercise.
“The processes are rigorous. From Medina to Makkah, the Tawaf, the Safa and Marwah – these are not things an expectant woman should undergo. It’s not about fashion or naming a child after a prophet because they were born in Saudi Arabia.”
The commissioner said some women have, in the past, attempted to conceal their pregnancies to ensure participation, even going as far as submitting their husbands’ urine for medical tests.
To curb such practices, the state has deployed modern medical equipment, including mobile vans capable of detecting pregnancy and tuberculosis, to screening centers.
This year, health screenings for pilgrims have been decentralized from the usual Alausa Secretariat to six different zones across the state, including Badagry, Ojo, Amuwo-Odofin, Ajeromi, and Apapa.
According to Layode, this innovation was initiated by Sanwo-Olu and his deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, to improve monitoring and ensure a more thorough health evaluation.
“All pilgrims, including government officials joining them, are now required to undergo medical screening. Some people have high blood pressure or travel phobia, which may pose serious risks if not identified early,” he said.
Layode made it clear that while the state does not intend to disqualify pilgrims, those with critical health challenges would be advised to postpone their pilgrimage. “If your health is not okay for you to fast during Ramadan, you are allowed to reschedule. The same should apply to Hajj,” he noted.
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
