Mecca — The return airlift of Nigerian pilgrims from this year's hajj in Saudi Arabia will begin tomorrow. The batch of pilgrims that made the first flight during the airlift to the holy land are also expected to be the first to be conveyed to Nigeria, according to officials.

Kano Zonal Director of National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) Alhaji Mustapha Baffa Chinade told newsmen in Mecca yesterday that Meridien Airline would begin the return journey with Jigawa pilgrims and later Kano's as earlier arranged. He said the return airlift would be simultaneous.

Chinade also said there was no cause for alarm in the exercise as those who first came would be the first to return to Nigeria. He said the manifest list would be strictly followed to avoid confusion. More than 90,000 pilgrims from Nigeria performed this year's pilgrimage.

Meanwhile, the hajj officially ended yesterday with the last round of Jamrat stoning in Mina. Pilgrims who had earlier not visited Medina will begin the journey before their final departure to Nigeria. Those pilgrims that had earlier visited Medina will now be conveyed to Jedda on their way to Nigeria.

Meanwhile, tension was brewing in Mecca yesterday over insistence by leader of the federal government delegation to this year's hajj Senator Mahmud Kanti Bello that pilgrims' luggage must be weighed before their final transportation to Nigeria as contained in the earlier agreement signed by National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), state pilgrims' agencies and air carriers.

The last pilgrims' luggage weighing was done in 2004. Its stoppage had greatly reduced the sporadic protests by Nigerian pilgrims at King Abdul Aziz International Airport Jedda because of the delay in the return journey and the embarrassment caused the Nigerian government.

Since his appointment by President Umaru Musa Yar'adua last month, Senator Kanti Bello had been saying that pilgrims' luggage must not exceed 40kg as government would not foot the bill for the excess luggage.

Bello reiterated his stand on the eve of Arafat at a meeting in Mina with all pilgrims' zonal officers and air carriers, after which a circular letter was issued to all state pilgrims agencies, insisting that all pilgrims' luggage must be weighed before their freight to Nigeria.

But Kano pilgrims and their officials have vehemently protested against the return of luggage weighing, arguing that rather than sanitising the hajj operation the exercise would only jeopardise the success recorded this year. They also said there was no justification whatsoever in subjecting pilgrims to an exercise that had long been discarded for its negative consequences.

Director General of Kano State Pilgrims' Welfare Board Alhaji Sani Lawan Kofar Mata spearheaded the protest and was backed by state Amirul Hajj Alhaji Bashir Albasu and speaker of the state house of assembly Alhaji Abdul Aziz Garba Gafasa, who led some house members to this year's hajj.

Kofar Mata told newsmen in Mina yesterday that he would not comply with Senator Kanti Bello's directive in the interest of pilgrims from the state. "I only take directive from my governor, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, who appointed me to head the pilgrims' board based on the trust he has in me. I have already discussed with our carriers who have also agreed to transport our pilgrim's luggage to Nigeria after the hajj", he said.

He said it was Governor Shekarau who bailed Nigerian pilgrims out of the perennial difficulty often faced every year at the time of return journey when his government in 2004 offered to pay for transportation charges for Kano pilgrims to reduce the hardship and embarrassment. He said other state governments copied the Kano style and since then sanity was restored in the exercise.

The director general also said there was no justification in revisiting the exercise since in the first place the air carriers who were supposed to complain did not do so. He said the size of the pilgrims' bags had been reduced last year to check the problem of excess luggage. He said he had no problem with whatever a pilgrim would put in his official bags so long as there would be no excess luggage.

Kano State Amirul Hajj Alhaji Bashir Albasu said the decision to revisit the luggage weighing had not been discussed and that it was a directive from the leader of the federal government delegation. He said he would advise the federal government on its danger. Also speaking, speaker Kano State House of Assembly Alhaji Abdul Aziz Garba Gafasa said Kano pilgrims are not happy with decision and therefore called on government to rescind the decision in the interest of Nigerian pilgrims.

But Senator Kanti Bello when contacted said there was no going back on the decision since it was taken in the best interest of Nigeria. He said it was an agreement that was collectively signed and it must be honoured. Bello shunned Kano tents in his visit to Nigerian pilgrims at Mina yesterday because of the tense situation.