By Jabiru Hassan, Kano
Independent Hajj Reporters (IHR), a civil society organization dedicated to monitoring and reporting on Hajj activities in Nigeria, has urged the National Assembly to amend the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) Act to establish a cohesive and effective centralized Hajj operating system. This call comes in response to observed deficiencies in policy and implementation affecting service delivery.
In a statement released on Monday from Makkah, Saudi Arabia, IHR’s National Coordinator, Ibrahim Muhammad, emphasized the necessity of this amendment due to recent adjustments in the Hajj policy and calendar by the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Hajj. These changes require participating countries to adhere to detailed, approved guidelines.
Nigeria, which ranks as the fifth largest Hajj country and the largest in Africa with an allocation of 95,000 slots, currently operates a three-tier Hajj administration system involving federal, state, and local governments. This is in contrast to other top Hajj participating countries like Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan, Morocco, and Malaysia, all of which have centralized Hajj management systems. These countries benefit from a unified control structure and coordinated units across zones, allowing them to implement efficient multi-year Hajj plans.
In Nigeria, Local Government Pilgrims officers handle pilgrims’ registration under the supervision of state Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Boards. The collected funds are first deposited into state accounts before being transferred to the NAHCON operational account upon request, all within a single Hajj calendar year. This multi-layered process has been criticized for being time-consuming and bureaucratic.
IHR advocates for a centralized system to streamline the administration of Hajj operations in Nigeria, aligning with the practices of other leading Hajj countries and improving efficiency and service delivery for Nigerian pilgrims.
