Saudi Arabia messed up big time with the arrangements for this year’s Hajj. And, for the first time since 1982, I agree with Iran that the House of Saudi should accept responsibility for the needless deaths of pilgrims and apologise instead of an inbuilt racist attitude, which its officials deployed to blame Africans for the tragedy.
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First, it was the crane incident in which scores lost lives and limbs. The latest one claimed hundreds of lives. If the Saudis can blame the Bin Laden Group handling the construction there for the crane incident, why is it difficult for them to accept their illegal preferential treatment – closure of roads for the highly placed among them – , which is even forbidden in Islam as ALL Muslims are equal before Allah (SWT), more so during a religious rite as pilgrimage?
It is also commendable that Nigeria has insisted on being part of the investigating team that’ll probe how the incident happened and find a way to prevent a future occurrence. We have found our voice, and President Muhammadu Buhari should make haste in appointing a Foreign Affairs Minister, who should pursue justice for the dead and their relations to a logical conclusion. Nigeria should also spearhead the move to stop the Saudis racist attitude towards Africans.
The authorities in Saudi Arabia killed the pilgrims, indirectly. A minister or the King himself should be held for manslaughter. There is no excuse for the avoidable deaths at all.
Wale Adebayo is publisher and editor-in-chief at Uhuru Times. He is on Facebook.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
