Hajj 2017: A retrospective perspective

Amidst presidential commendation, MOUSA UBANDAWAKI writes on how the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria makes a success story of the 2017 Hajj exercise.
Looking back at the last 2017 Hajj exercise, the board, management and staff of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) can proudly beat their chest for a wonderful job well done. Indeed, like the proverbial Agama lizard in Chimua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart”, which after falling from a tall Iroko tree nods its head saying if no one praises him, he will praise himself.
Undoubtedly, some may wonder why the commission must celebrate the success since it is their mandate. Yes, but anyone conversant with the 2017 Hajj would know that indeed, it won’t be out of tune for the C omission to roll out drums and cymbals to mark the successful conduct of the 2017 especially against the backdrop of avalanche of challenges and hurdles put on its path.
In fact, the 2017 Hajj was heading to an unprecedented success which would have placed it or rate as one of the best organized Hajj in the country in the recent times due to the amount of preparations put into it. For instance, the usual hard and strenuous visa procurement process which had constituted some nightmare to most states has been reduced to just some routine process as a result of acquisition of new and modern software and gadgets, same way as the payment system which has been electronically synchronized into the visa process. Thus, the usual “market square or over crowding ” witnessed at NAHCON information and communication Technology (ICT) office was eliminated.
Apart from these, negotiation”s and contract Agreement with the various service providers i.e Airlines, Accommodation, Catering and Transportation both in Nigeria and Saudi Arabia were already in place. Infact, many of them had given the commission some enormous financial concession which drastically brought down the price of the Hajj fare. Infact, there was positive vibes and extreme optimism that the 2017 Hajj fare would not be as high as the previous years due to the significant savings made in Accommodation and Air fare.
For the purpose of emphasis and record, the commission was able to reduce the price of air fare by about 50 to 100 dollar for some departure zones, while about 500|1000 riyals were gained from the re-negotiation 0f Makkah and Madina accommodation rents. In sum, about #4 Billion naira which hitherto would have gone into the private pockets of service agents and proxies were saved. It was therefore no coincidence that the commission exhumes positive vibes that the 2017 Hajj would record a greater success story.
However, like a tornado whose path cannot be predicted, just a few months to the commencement of the Hajj flight uncomplimentary salvo, high-wire machination, barbs and outright falsehood began to be thrown in the direction of the commission from even unexpected quarters. It was no wonder that instead of the imperious plan of the commission being the issue of discourse in public arena, the unfounded allegation of financial Impropriety and, extortion became the topic on the front burner . It initially started as a muffled expression and before anyone could say Jack Robinson, it was already in the public domain due to the connectivity of the social media platform. And for many days and weeks, it was the issue of public discourse at Islamic gathering and meetings particularly. Therefore in response to these damaging allegations the commission’s leadership embarked on an out-reach meetings with stakeholders Moving from the Green chamber of the National Assembly to the Red chamber became a frequent exercise. The same way, they had to traverse the Six geo-political zones to educate and enlighten the Ummah especially the Ulama on the Hajj fare components and how it arrived at the total Hajj package This took away the steam as the Commission had to take its leg off the pedal . So instead of focusing on how to implement its Reforms agenda it had in place, it was dissipating its energy on trying to navigate the turbulence of explaining how the fare was arrived at.
One other thing that aggravated the distraction’s was a public notice or advert by one Hasha Travel and Tour Operator company which offered a price of #1 million instead of #1.2 million charged by State Pilgrims’ Welfare Boards|Agencies and a further gift of 250|300 dollars as medical allowance. This further raised the public outcry against the Commission many of who wondered why a private tour company would charge less than a Government boards . As a result, many of the intending pilgrims who had made some deposits threatened to withdraw their deposits , while others refused to pay up the outstanding balance or decide to wait with baited breath for the Federal Government intervention to reduce the Hajj fare. This optimism was premised on the Senate’s resolution to persuade the federal government to give a concessionary exchange rate of N200 to a dollar.
These failed hands that rocked the cradle not only slowed down the tempo of the commission activities but almost marred its efforts that could have led the commission to pay heavy fines as contained in the rules of engagement and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Saudi Arabia.
First, any reduction in the number of pilgrims from the 65,000 agreed with Saudi would have led to the reduction in the pilgrims allocation to Nigeria , while the greatest loss would have been paying for un-utilized accommodation and transportation services something of a double jeopardy or what the great Afro pop artist the late Fela described as Double “Wahala.
Despite all these attendant challenges which could have led to the failure of the 2017 Hajj , the commission not only weathered the storms , but also made tremendous improvements in the many areas of the Hajj.
It not only met its target of 65,000, but was also able to airlift everyone to the Holy land within the stipulated time.
In addition, the transportation service and accommodation in 2017 was adjudged as one of the best in recent times especially in Madina where Nigerian pilgrims were lodged in the exclusive Markaziyah area of the city.
As a consequence of the above, the Nigeria contingents recorded lower mortality rate compared to the previous years. It was no surprise therefore that the commission moved up in the ranking of the most developed Hajj countries in the world.
In sum, two important lessons may have been learnt in the course of the planning and implementation of the 2017 HAJJ.One; that one should not underestimate the capacity of one’s adversaries no matter how good one’s plan is; and one should not count one’s chicks until the eggs are hatched.
Ubandawaki is a staff of the National Hajj commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Abuja.