Today, Tuesday, May 28, marks the departure of the first group of pilgrims for the 2024 Hajj from Tamale International Airport to the Saudi Arabian holy city of Mecca.

There will likely be more than 4,000 pilgrims performing the Hajj this year.

In an interview with Citi News, the Hajj Board’s director of communications, Abdul-Rahman Gomda, asked pilgrims to work with organizers to guarantee a seamless experience.

“They [Pilgrims] should learn to be with us. They should take instructions from us. There have been instances where people don’t take instructions from us. You tell them what to do and they want to do what they want to do.”

“That is especially being a religious exercise, there is a need for them to be very religious so that they get the spiritual dividends which made them go there.”

“That is why we have established the Dawah committee made up of Islamic clergymen, many of who even studied in Saudi Arabia and who guide them, especially at the various stations of the pilgrimage; the recitals, the glorification of the creator, what to do and what not to do and the like.”