In recent days, a tide of misinformation has swept through sections of the media, targeting the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) and its Chairman, Professor Sheikh Abdullahi Saleh Pakistan.
From the alleys of envy to the corridors of deceit, tongues have wagged, pens have spilled venom, and some have sold their honor for crumbs of vanity all in an attempt to soil the garment of integrity worn by this man of conscience.
Yet, as the elders say, “You may hide smoke for a while, but you cannot bury the flame.”
The uproar against Sheikh Pakistan is nothing more than a storm in a teacup an illusion woven by those whose hearts cannot bear the brightness of truth. Like mist that briefly covers a mountain peak but vanishes when the sun rises, these fabrications fade before the eyes of those who dare to look closer.
At the center of the propaganda lies the claim that the EFCC is probing NAHCON over a staggering ₦50 billion a sum that could easily take over 5,700 pilgrims to the Holy Land. But the question any rational mind must ask is simple: from where did this phantom figure emerge? Who reported that any funds vanished? Which pilgrim complained that their journey was halted or their deposit stolen? None. Silence answers all.
If one were to calculate, to raise such an amount from the pilgrims’ payments, each pilgrim would have had to lose about ₦961,000 an absurdity that even the wind of reason rejects. Yet, rumor-mongers persist, hurling stones of falsehood and praying that one may strike the head of innocence.
The EFCC Episode: A Theater of Deceit
The so-called EFCC probe was another theater of deceit. They claimed the Chairman was “summoned” as though he were a common criminal. But he walked into their office like a man who owes no shadow an explanation calm, dignified, and transparent. He answered every question and walked out with his integrity unbroken. Those who expected his downfall were silenced like thunder after the rain.
But because the enemies of truth never sleep, when one path failed, they created another. They began to spread malicious tales, claiming that Sheikh Pakistan insulted the Vice President a man of peace and courtesy. Yet there was no proof: no video, no audio, no written evidence only the whispers of malice blowing from the caves of envy.
Their goal was simple: to sow discord, to pit brother against brother, scholar against statesman. But Allah, who knows the secrets of hearts, exposed their deceit before it could take root.
A Record of Integrity and Accountability
Let it not be forgotten that this same Professor Pakistan, in 2023, made history as the first NAHCON Chairman to refund money to pilgrims when he discovered that certain services fell short of standard 150 riyals each, totaling over ₦5 billion. It was a gesture of honesty rarely seen in the corridors of public service.
Yet it was this very act of uprightness that birthed his enemies for he shut the doors through which they siphoned public trust. As the Hausa say, “When a hyena cannot snatch the goat, it begins to cry that the rope is unfair.”
Those who used to feast on the fat of corruption now gnash their teeth at the name of Pakistan. They seek to drag him through the mud because he refused to roll with the pigs.
The War of the Pen: Paid Journalism and Manufactured Outrage
Their conspiracy runs deep from the marketplace of rumors to the newsroom of corruption. Investigations have shown that among thirty-seven reports on NAHCON, only one was based on fact, nine were neutral, and twenty-seven were dripping with deceit, malice, and mercenary journalism.
These are the hired tongues the “briefcase journalists” who trade their pens for the price of pepper soup, forgetting that beyond this world lies the Judgment where every lie shall speak for itself.
Indeed, it is said, “When the wind refuses to rest, it is because it has something to hide.”
The plots against Professor Pakistan are proof that truth now walks the earth barefoot yet undefeated. He has become a thorn in the side of those who prefer darkness to dawn.
Let it be known: Professor Pakistan is not a man of empty talk he is a man of action. Not one who chases fame, but one who repairs what others have broken. Under his leadership, NAHCON has regained moral structure, financial clarity, and institutional trust.
He is a reformer whose light has blinded the eyes of those who profit from darkness. If Nigeria truly seeks progress, it must protect such men for when the righteous are silenced, the floodgates of corruption reopen.
As the philosopher of Andalus once said: “He who stands with truth may lean, but he who stands on falsehood must always defend himself.”
So stands Sheikh Abdullahi Saleh Pakistan upright, steadfast, and unbending as lies gather around him like dust around a diamond. The enemies of truth may shout, but their noise shall fade. For history does not bow to rumor; it records only deeds.
And on that page of history, the name of Pakistan will not be written in ink but engraved in gold
