&w=64&q=75)
A Nigerian pilgrim to the recently concluded 2023 pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, Hajiya Aisha Muhammad Nahuche, has recalled how she came across a bag full of foreign currency while performing Hajj rights.
Nahuche's name went viral recently when she was reported to have found and returned $80,000 in Makkah.
Pulse reported that the pilgrim returned the lost money to Zamfara State Pilgrims Welfare Agency officials for onward return to the rightful owner.
In an interview she granted Daily Trust after returning to Nigeria, Nahuche, who hails from a community with the same name in Bungudu Local Government Area of Zamfara, recounted her journey to the Holy Land and stated why she decided to return the money.
How the money was found
Hajiya Aisha said this year marked her first participation in the holy pilgrimage in her life, adding that she was sponsored on the trip by her four sons.
“My sons, Bashir, Nazir, Muhammad and Ahmad sponsored my Hajj trip. I raised them because they lost their father when they were kids. None of them has ever gone to Saudi Arabia for Hajj, but they decided to pay for me. I am grateful to them,” Daily Trust reports.
On how she came across the money, Nahuche said “I was doing Tawaff when I stumbled on a bag. I tried to pick it but I feared that I could be trampled upon due to the huge crowd. I kicked the bag to a distance and one Arab man noticed and thought it was mine. He quickly grabbed it and handed it to me."
“So I kept it and after the Tawaff ritual, I checked and found out that there was money in it. One woman from Gada also opened the bag and found out that it contained money. She counted the money and said the money was huge. I quickly went out to look for an official from our local government, Bungudu. The official then took me to Sheikh Umar Kanoma, where I handed over the money to him,” she noted.
Why Nahuche decided to return the money
She said the state officials then informed the Saudi officials of the development after which the money was handed over to them some days later.
But, the pilgrim was convinced to return the money after informing one of her sons who reminded her of the purpose of her journey to the Holy Land.
“When I found the money, I called one of my sons, Bashir and told him of the development and he reminded me that I went to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj, not to look for money.
“He encouraged me to look for the owner and return the money, and I assured him that that was what I was going to do and there was no cause for alarm. It was expected of me to return the money because it wasn’t mine.”