T S R HO W A R D S A P I R I T U A L L Y E W A R D I N G A J J

A Publication of National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) 2017 Vol 8 No.9

NAHCON AchievementsWithin Two Years of BuhariAdministration 2015 - 2017

NAHCON to InvestigateService Providers, Tour

Operators for Poor Services

Maltreatment of Pilgrims:Saudi Arabia Apologises to

Nigeria

MISSION:

To diligently implement the

National Hajj Commission of

Nigeria (NAHCON) Act 2006

VISION:

To provide efficient and

effective service to

Nigerian Pilgrims

F O L L O W U S :

@Nigeriahajjcom

E! "#$%"&'B$&%! C( &"%) &*:

Chairman/CEO

Barr. Abdullahi Mukhtar Muhammad

E! "#$%"&'B$&%! M+) ,+%-:

Yusuf Ibrahim Adebayo Ph.D

Alhaji Abdullahi Modibbo Saleh

Sulaiman Usman

Dr. Aliyu Tanko

E! "#$%-I*-C( "+.:Dr. Bello Muhammad Tambuwal

Deputy Editor-In-Chief:

Ishaq Ja’e

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Hajj exercise is the yearly Muslim worship whichundoubtedly many love to embark upon,though not all who wish to do so have beenblessed with the wherewithal. Some areincapacitated due to health matters and othersdue to financial constraints. For those blessed

to make it through, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria(NAHCON) has already embarked on meaningful reforms that willchange the face of Hajj operations in Nigeria to their delightfulventure. One of such policies concerns the quality and quantity offoods served to the pilgrims at various locations of the pilgrimage inorder to discourage them from patronizing illegal food vendors.Other reforms include consolidation of the national Hajj teamwhich took off from 2016, the Markaziyya accommodation inMadinah and so on.

And for those still praying to make it to Hajj one day, NAHCONhas a plan for them as well. It is the Hajj savings scheme and theestablishment of a training institute to cater for pilgrims'educational needs. All these stories and more are contained in the2017 edition of NAHCON Hajj Mabrur.

Indeed, NAHCON Hajj Mabrur 2017 is loaded with incisivereviews, reports and interviews designed to redress any misteps andfor records sake.

From the Chairman's word of caution on informationdissemination, charging the media not to rely on third partysources to the Commissioner of Operations' exclusive interview ona successful airlift exercise, the edition answers most of the questionNigerian pilgrims and Nigerians at-large would have askedNAHCON minders if they had the chance to.

In particular, there abound details that remain any researcher'sdelight essentially backed by facts, figures, pictures and tables forthe reader's perusal.

In one of the stories, Hajj Mabrur reports how Saudi Arabiaapologised to the Federal Government of Nigeria overmaltreatment of two Nigerian pilgrims from Nasarawa State.Interestingly too, the edition records how, for the first time, thenational medical team deployed the use of Electronic HealthMedical System (EHMS). What exactly is EHMS? Find out thedetails in this edition.

These and other stories constitute a document that promises tobe as educative as it is entertaining.

Happy reading from NAHCON Hajj Mabrur Team.

3 2017

T S R HO W A R D S A P I R I T U A L L Y E W A R D I N G A J J

FOREWORDF O L L O W U S :

@Nigeriahajjcom

42016

C O N T E N T S3 Foreword

5 Don't Work on Third Party Information –Chairman Charges Media

7 Don't Blame NAHCON on Hajj Fare Hike

11 NAHCON Gives State Pilgrims' Boards Listening Ears

12 Osinbajo to 2017 Pilgrims: Pray For Unity, Peace & Progress

13 NAHCON'S Reforms: No Retreat No Surrender!

15 NAHCON Procures Zamzam For 2017 Pilgrims Weeks Before Arafat –Comm.Operations

16 2.3m Pilgrims Performed 2017 Hajj …as Nigeria occupied 7th position and 2ndin Africa

18 Stop Patronising Illegal Food Vendors, Pilgrims Advised

19 Maltreatment of Pilgrims: Saudi Arabia Apologises to Nigeria

21 Wishing Nigerian Pilgrims Spiritually Rewarding 2017 Hajj

24 NAHCON to Investigate Service Providers, Tour Operators for Poor Services

26 Hajj/Umrah Operations: NAHCON Vows to Enforce Regulations – Shamaki

28 NAHCON in Search of Financial Autonomy

30 NAHCON Celebrates 10 Fruitful Years

33 FG Expresses Satisfaction with the Way NAHCON Handled 2017 HAJJOperations

33 IDB Slaughters 15,601 Sacrificial Animals for Nigerian Pilgrims

34 NAHCON Achievements Within Two Years of Buhari Administration 2015 - 2017

41 NAHCON Advocates Global Discussion On Hajj Quota

44 Picking Lost Item at Haram May Take you to Jail -NAHCON Warns Pilgrims

44 WHAT A FRIENDSHIP: 80yrs Friend Waits for 25yrs to Perform Hajj With Friend

45 During Hajj, Sign Language Most Common Among Pilgrims

45 Sudanese Pilgrim's Wish Fulfilled

46 Blue Print On Hajj Media Coverage Under Way –NAHCON

46 Nigeria Will Maintain Markaziya Accommodation –Tambuwal

50 NAHCON Begins Preparation for 2018 Hajj

51 Feeding in Makkah, Madinah and Masha'er, is Pilgrim's Right -Makarfi

54 2018 Hajj/Umrah Visa Second-Time to Pay SR 2,000 Extra Fee -Saudi

55 NAHCON to Establish Hajj Training Institute, Saving Scheme by 2018 –Chairman

57 2017 Hajj, A Beautifully Executed Operation –Director, PRSILS

60 NAHCON Felicitates With Saudi On National Day

61 HAJJ 2017: National Medical Team Goes Fully Electronic

62 Give Your Utmost Best; Hajj Is A Divine Duty …Chairman Charges Ad-hoc Staff

64 Despite Delay In Registration: NAHCON Airlift all Pilgrims within the ScheduleTime – Moddibo

The Chairman of the NationalHajj Commission of Nigeria(NAHCON), Barr. AbdullahiMukhtar Muhammad, MON,

FCIA, has called on members of the 2017Hajj Media Committee to exhibitprofessionalism in covering 2017 Hajjoperations by shunning any third partyinformation, so as to ensure workingwithin the norms and ethics of journal-ism.

Barr. Muhammad, who stated thisduring the inauguration ceremony ofthe Committee held at NAHCON Headoffice Abuja, June 9, 2017, told themedia committee members that thetask ahead of them was demanding.

"You have a herculean task ahead ofyou, the task of managing us andmanaging the public as well, the task ofmanaging the information at the righttime to the public, the task of getting

accurate information and making thebest use of it,” he said.

He further reminded the journalistssaying, “No matter how credible youthink that a person is, as far as theorganization is concerned, wait for theofficial channel of information to begiven to you; because he may not knowsome facts behind the scene.”

“So, don't work on third partyinformation. In the course of thisexercise, therefore, we will interface; wewill communicate; we will grantinterviews; and we will allow you tohave access to some information that webelieve the public should know,” heassured.

The chairman further assured thathe will "personally" try as much as hecan, with his other colleagues, to makesure that they review things periodi-cally.

He, however, pointed out that Hajjoperations and exercise are alwayschallenging, "because you are dealingnot only with the pilgrims whoregistered for the Hajj but also with theofficials who officiate the Hajj, bothNigerians and Saudi officials - and otherofficials who are involved indirectly inthe management of Hajj, such assecurity agencies, aviation officials, themedical officials, the banking sectorand so many others. Everybody has arole to play.

“Hajj is a complex exercise thatevery member of our society believesthat he or she is a stakeholder; and, ofcourse, he or she is a stakeholder;because it is a matter of national interestand a matter of religious obligation. So,your task is very important to theCommission and to the pilgrims,” thechairman stated.

5 2017

Don't Work on Third PartyInformation –Chairman Charges Media

By ...

NAHCON Chairman/CEO,Barr. Abdullahi Mukhtar Muhammad

Barr Abdullahi MukhtarMuhammad equally outlinedwhat NAHCON wanted toachieve by having a media teamas follows: (a) Dissemination ofthe right information to thepublic, particularly the pilgrimswho may be the direct beneficia-ries of that information. (b)Protecting the integrity andimage of our religion and ournation; because there is some-thing that the media Committeememb ers , as infor mat ionmanagers, cannot use as ayardstick of measuring theconduct of the entire pilgrimsbecause of the bad conduct of anindividual.

"So, if one takes such a storyand an editor somewhere turnsit into a big story with a bannerheadline, the image of thecountry as well as that of thereligion will be battered. So,there are some things that wehave to assess and review todetermine whether they arenews-worthy or not," he urged.

The Chairman also reiter-ated that NAHCON's onlydesire in all its operations wasexcellent service delivery, toensure that all pilgrims get valuefor their money at all times. He,t h e r e f o r e , a d v i s e d t h eCommittee members to alwaysshare whatever informationt h e y g o t w i t h NA H C O Nofficials, so as to take immediatemeasure to rectify it, adding that“We don't need to wait forpostmortem Hajj. Wherever wehave issues, let us solve it on thespot, not after the Hajj. We don'twant to come back to Nigeriatelling stories on what hadhappened. If you hear or seeanything that you believe is notin the best interest of thepilgrims or the Commission orthe nation, alert us immediately;so that we do the needful,because by keeping it until whenwe returned, you are not helpingand with helping the pilgrims.”

The Commission Chairmana d d e d t h a t h e a n d h i sCommissioners were not scared

of criticism; because it is only through criticism that

one can rectify short comings, consolidate efforts,

become stronger and move on. "If you are conscious

and willing to be criticized, you will always have the

desire to do the needful,” he stated.

While urging the media committee members to be

fair and just in their reportage, he pointed out that

“Whatever we do we are accountable first to Almighty

Allah, and then to human beings. So, we should fear

Him because we will account for everything in the day

that there will be no lawyer, no appeal. We must fear

that day more than the accountability before man.”

Referring to some negative reports in the social

media about the Commission, the Chairman said: “Of

course, we cannot stop peoplefrom perceiving us the way theyfeel they want to perceive us;because my understanding oflife now is that human beingsbelieve what they want to believenot what you want them tobelieve. Not matter how hardyou try to bring out the facts,those determined to engage onmischief will still be mischie-vous. But the beauty of life isbeyond this life; there is the Dayof Judgment.”

Responding, the 2017 MediaCommittee chairman, MalamUbale Musa of Deutsche WelleRadio, thanked Almighty Allahf o r t h e o p p o r t u n i t y a n dNAHCON for selecting theteam members out of a thousandpracticing journalists to serve inthe Committee.

Malam Ubale stated thatmedia management not only inHajj Commission but in anyundertaking is like a prison. "Wesee it in different perspectives;but the key critical factors inmedia management are two:access and transparency," hesaid.

He assured the NAHCONChairman that if journalists canget access and transparencyfrom the management, theCommission will find 2017 Hajjmedia committee membersworthy partners in 2017 Hajjexercise.

Malam Ubale, concludedhis remarks by saying “We arebound to differ and see thingsfrom different perspectives. So,wherever we go wrong weimplore you to call us to order.We will appreciate you, Mr.Chairman. Even though wecame from different mediaorganizations, we are respectedand credible media partnersthough with different back-ground. I am assuring you thatthe Commission will get thebest out of the Committeemembers.”

62017

Across section of the 2017 media committee membersand NAHCON officials at the inauguration ceremony

NAHCON Chairman, Barr. Abdullahi Mukhatar Muhammadin a handshake with Media committee chairman,

Malam Ubale Musa of Radio Deutsche Weller

Across section of the 2017 Media Committee Members

7 2017

Don't BlameNAHCON onHajj Fare HikeU.S. Dollar constitutes 98 percentcomponent of the fare …as NAHCONeven saves US$18.8m on Pilgrims'accommodation

By Kabiru Yusuf Kano

A c c o r d i n g t o t h e

C h a i r m a n o f t h e

Commission, Barrister

A b d u l l a h i M u k h t a r

M u h a m m a d , t h e

Commission made wide

c o n s u l t a t i o n b e f o r e

deciding on the 2017 Hajj

f a r e s , a d d i n g t h a t

NAHCON did not just fix

the figures.

He explained that the

cost of each component that

made up the fare was

arrived at after reviewing

the entire negotiations and

discussions between service

providers and NAHCON

team

“ T h e U . S . d o l l a r

constituted about 98 per

cent component of the fare;

and the Commission used

the dollar to pay for all

services that would be

rendered to pilgrims in

Saudi Arabia.”

So, in actual terms, the

component that determines

the hajj fare is the dollar; the

official exchange rate last

year was N197 to a dollar;

but this year, it is N305 -

and when you multiply it by

4,805, which is the total fare

per pilgrim, it will give you

about N1.5 million.

“The bottom line is the

exchange rate, over which

NAHCON has no control.

Government considered

the sensitivity and the

importance of hajj and

allowed us to enjoy the

official exchange rate. If we

were to use the prevailing

bank rate of N368 to the

dollar, the cost would be

between N1.8 million and

N1.9 million. We tried to

explain these facts several

times, using all available

means; and we granted

series of press interviews

and issued several press

releases on this issue.

We a l s o p u b l i s h e d

breakdown of the fare on

the official website of the

Commission and releasedto the public, explainingthat we arrived at eachc o m p o n e n t t h r o u g hconsensus with stake-holders l ike t he St atePilgrims Welfare Boardsand Commissions and withr e l e v a n t g o v e r n m e n ta g e n c i e s i n v o l v e d i nregulating Hajj matters.

The cost of air ticket wasreached after negotiationsbetween airlines and theCommission's technicalteam, which comprisedr e p r e s e n t a t i v e s f r o maviation agencies and StatePilgrims' Welfare Boardsand agencies; and thatN A H C O N f o r m a l l yc om mu n i c at e d t o t h eNigerian Civil AviationAuthority and requested foradvice on the appropriatef a r e t h e C o m m i s s i o nshould agree upon forticket,” Mukhtar said.

On Basic TravellingAl lowance (BTA), theChairman made it clear thatevery pilgrim would receivea flat rate of 800 dollars,instead of the 750 dollarsgiven last year.

The 2017 Hajj fareof N1.5 millionas announced bythe National Hajj

Commission of Nigeria(NAHCON) had indeedgenerated heated contro-versy. While some pilgrimswondered why the fare washigher than that of 2016and, thus, called for areduction, others called onthe Federal Government tosubsidize the Hajj fare byapproving concession in theDollar exchange rate.

However, NAHCONinsisted that "the compo-nent that determines thehajj fare is the dollar"explaining that "the officialexchange rate in 2016 wasN197 to a dollar, while inthe year 2017, it was N305.”

NAHCON Chairman/CEO, Barr. Abdullahi Mukhtar Muhammad

82017

C o m m i s s i o n , A l h a j iA b d u l l a h i M u k h t a rMuhammad, announced ata public hearing organizedb y t h e H o u s e o fRepresentatives Committeeon Public Petitions in Abujat h at t h e C o m m i s s i o nint ro duce d e le c t ronicpayment system to preventagents from taking undueadvantage of State Pilgrims'Boards in accommodationcharges during Hajj.

Through this laudableinitiative, NAHCON wasable to save the country andthe pilgrims some fundsu n d e r t h e e c o n o m i cr e c e s s i o n w i t n e s s e drecently. Subsequently,results from the Madinahaccommodation negotia-t ions showed that theCommission had savedN6.5 billion in Makkah and12.3 US dollars in Madinah,as compared to previousyears.

H e s a i d s i n c e t h eintroduction of electronic

p a y m e n t d i r e c t l y t oproperty owners, price ofa c c o m m o d a t i o n h a dc r a s h e d . He u s e d t h eo p p o r t u n i t y t o d e n yaccusations in a petition byaggrieved agents that theCommission manipulatedthe 2016 Hajj operations tothe detriment of serviceproviders.

Barr. Mukhtar said thepetition brought against theCommission's 2016 Hajjactivities and the prepara-tion for 2017 Hajj hadexposed the petitioners'lack of sufficient knowledgeo f t h e C o m m i s s i o n ' smandate. The petitionerssaid there were plans by theCommission to increasetransport fares of pilgrimsfor the 2017 Hajj. Thep e t i t i on e rs t h e re fore ,sought the intervention ofthe House Committee toavert what they cal led" f u r t h e r o v e r b e a r i n gattitude" of the head of theCommission.

Shedding more light onthe air carrier involvementin the issue, before themembers of the Senate

Committee on ForeignAffairs, the Chief ExecutiveO f f i c e r o f Me d - Vi e wairline, Alhaji MuneerBankole explained thattheir company's involve-ment in the Hajj exercisewas limited to airlifting thepilgrims and the processesof ge t t ing t he c ar r i e rinvolved was through anadvertisement and biddingprocesses.

He said, “Many airlineswere ca l led and manyp a r t i e s r e p r e s e n t i n gd i f f e r e n t a g e n c i e s o fgovernment as well assecurity agencies and taxoffice were all involvedwhere airlines were selectedand prices were quoted."

He pointed out thatcharges for Hajj ticket isdi f ferent f rom that ofconventional ticket. Airliftof Hajj passengers is doneon a chatter basis, while theconvent iona l t icket ischeaper. Why?

According to Bankole,“Passengers' airlines that areoperating to Nigeria cancharge you $600 becausethey are not losing any-

In its effort to reduce thecost of Hajj for 2017,NA H C O N n e g o t i a t e ddownward the cost ofaccommodations to be usedby pilgrims in both Makkahand Madinah. This wasachieved after rigorousnegotiations between theC o m m i s s i o n a n d t h elandlords/reputable agentsin the Kingdom of SaudiArabia.

To achieve this, theN A H C O N ' s t e a m o finspectors and negotiatorsensured that there was noaugmentation for pilgrims'a c c o m m o d a t i o n i nMakkah, a success that wasalso recorded for Madinahaccommodation. By thatsuccess too, pilgrims paidbetween 500 to 900 Riyalsl e s s f o r 2 0 1 7 Haj j i nMakkah, while in Madinahthey paid 614 Riyals less foreven better accommoda-tion.

The reduction in thec o s t o f M a k k a h a n dMadinah accommodationhad really affected posi-tively the 2017 Hajj fare.The effort scraped theprevious regime of peggingthe benchmark of theaccommodation at SR4,000flat rate, and introducednew initiative that eachhouse would be paid forbased on its merit and thecriteria laid down by theC om m iss i on , namely :proximity to the Haram,facilities and age of eachaccommodation

Also, to ensure transpar-ency and to save pilgrimsf rom t he ac t iv i t i e s offraudsters, the ExecutiveC h a i r m a n o f t h e

How NAHCON Crashes the Cost ofPilgrims' Accommodation

One of the pilgrims' accommodations in Madinah situated in areaMarkaziya

9 2017

is another issue,” saidBankole.

F o r e x a m p l e , h econtinued, “When you flyover Sudan, you have to pay$ 6 , 0 0 0 n o m at t e r t h enumber of the frequencies,that's not their own. So, allthese things go inside.Thirdly, you must put thecharges of handling.”

For Med View, AlhajiBankole explained, theyinitiated 100% delivery ofpilgrims to Madinah, and itwill cost between two tothree millions Saudi Riyalsbecause the airport inMadinah is privatized. Ifyou look at what happenedto Nigerian pilgrims in thepast, they used to go toMadinah from Jeddahairport through buseswhich used to take six toeight hours. Some died onthe road; and we thoughtthe only way to save thesituation is to initiate 100%landing in Madinah, whichis an extra 400 millionRiyals. We paid; and wet h a n k A l l a h ( S W T ) ,”Bankole revealed.

Alhaji Muneer Bankolefurther gave an insight onhow air l ines gave t hebreakdown of quotations, asvarious airlines submitted,

as an evidence, saying,“Med-View airline quotedfor the Southern part ofNigeria $1,750 and for theNorth $1,700.” According toBankole, last year air farewas at the exchange rate ofN197 to US$1. So, theNational Hajj Commissionsummoned carriers to comeand discuss, and find awindow where these pricesquoted could be reduced.The airlines came down to$1,650 and $1,700, whileanother airline in the cost ofthis reduct ion quoted$1,600 and $1,550.

Various independentinvestigations also revealedthat the Hajj fare wasprimarily jerked up byprevailing exchange ratebecause about 98 percent ofthe Hajj components waspaid in dollar; and follow-ing this development, allintending pilgrims were toaccess the dollar at theCentral Bank exchange rateof N305.

If not for the exchangerate, the 2017 hajj farewould have been muchlower than what was paid in2016, according to nine-year official data on hajjfares ana lys es by t hismagazine.

Analys is of of f ic ia ldocuments from both theCentral Bank of Nigeria andNational Hajj Commissionof Nigeria (NAHCON)given by many hajj serviceoperators showed that therewere no significant changesof the dollar components ofthe hajj fare in the last nineyears.

The hajj fare rangedbetween $3,404 in 2009 and$4,752 in 2017; and thehighest being $5,026 in2016. Stakeholders said theprevailing exchange ratesover these years determinedthe fare paid by Nigerianpilgrims.

In 2009, for instance, thetotal hajj fare package with$750 B as ic Trave l l ingA l l ow anc e ( BTA ) w as$3,404.95, which translatedinto N470, 736 at that year'sofficial exchange rate ofN135 to a dollar.

In 2010, the hajj farepackage was $3,484.54,which became N482,679 atthe exchange rate of N135 toa dol lar. By 2011, thepackage was $3,766.44 andthe exchange rate was N154to a dollar, which made itN591,798.

I n 2 0 1 2 , t h e t o t a lpackage was $4,112.86, withan exchange rate of N145 toa d o l l a r , m a k i n g i tN613,644. By 2013, the totalpackage was $4,234.12w hich t rans l ate d intoN636,496 at the exchangerate of N146 to a dollar.

The package slightlyrose to $4,451.65 in 2014,translating into N686,061 atN150 to dollar exchangerate. At the exchange rate ofN160 to dollar in 2015, thet o t a l h a j j p a c k a g e o f$4,671.43 was N758,476.

thing when they come toNigeria and there's nopassenger to go back with.

“But for the operator toget passengers to meet itsoperational cost, he has tocut price; or in the sense ofdoing this the airliner musttake you to his own base,because there is no airlinethat has a direct access to flydirect, except the desig-nated airline of Nigeria andother Western countries.”

B a n k o l e f u r t h e rexplained that airlinesoperate four legs while thescheduled (conventional)flight operates only twolegs. How? In the firstsequence, when we have toc o m m e n c e a i r l i f t o fpilgrims we have to carrypilgrims right from anyzone from Nigeria all theway to Saudi Arabia, and wecome back empty becausewe are in a char teredoperat ion. We are notallowed to carry commer-cial passengers on thatflight. So, when you arecoming back to your base tocarry other pilgrims, youare coming back zero.

In the second sequence,when you finish airliftingpilgrims to Saudi, you arenot allowed to park youraircraft in that Kingdom.You must return it backempty to your base. Also,when you are to bring yourpilgrims back home afterHajj, you will go empty andbring them back. You willcontinue like this. So, cost ofoperation is as big as this.

"When we are quotingour fare, we look at thefollowing: We look at thecost of the flight, cost of thefuel to be used not only fuelin terms of contingency. Inthe event that you will fly toenter another country there

Alhaji Muneer Bankole CEO Med View Airline middle withsome of his operational Staff

102017

This means that at theexchange rate of N305 to adollar, Nigerian pilgrimsw o u l d h a v e p a i d N 1 ,5 3 3 , 0 5 2 i n 2 0 1 6 ;N1,424,786 in 2015 andN1,357,753 in 2014.

T h e c o s t o f m a j o rcomponents of the hajjpackage, which includes airfare, Makkah and Madinahaccommodations, whichhave been the source of thec o nt r ov e r s y h av e n o tch ange d s i g n i f i c ant lyduring the nine-year periodas reviewed above.

Although 2016 official exchange rate was N197, recessionand the attendant fall of the Naira forced 2017 officialexchange rate to N305. Whereas a pilgrim needed just$4,003 in 2016, his need in 2017 had risen to $4,805.

“Now, if we multiply $4,805 by N305, what we will get isN1, 465,525 (approximately N1.5m). This is why NAHCONhas pegged the 2017 Hajj fare at N1.5 million. Furtherinvestigation has also revealed that air ticket from NorthernNigeria was $1,600, while that of the Southern part was$1,700. Furthermore, the cost of accommodation in Makahwas $933 while that of Madinah was $430. These were easilyverifiable.

It is clear from the above details that it is highly naïve toblame NAHCON for the increase in Hajj fare. Neither canFederal Government nor the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) be blamed, because the major correlate whichdetermines Hajj fare is the exchange rate,” said MURICfinding.

In 2016, the hajj packagerose to $5,026.40 whichtranslated into N999,248 atthe exchange rate of N197per dollar. But for the firsttime in nine years, the totalh a j j p a c k a g e i n 2 0 1 7dropped by $300 from lasty e a r ' s $ 5 , 0 2 6 . 4 0 t o$4,725.41.

Despite the drop of thehajj package to $4,752.41from last year's, pilgrimsstill paid N1,526,590, aboutN500,000 higher than whatthey paid in 2016, becauseof the prevailing exchangerate of N305 to a dollar.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

Air fare

Makkah Accommodation

Madinah Accommodation

Feed at Masha’ir

Air condition at Arafat

United Agent Fees

Tent Security Deposit

Tent C

Ministry of Hajj Deposit

Feeding at Airport

Feeding in Madinah and MakkahAccommodation 35 days

Muassasah Arafat PVC Tent

Wrist band

Sub-Total

1% CBN commission Charge

Total US$ without BTA

Total US$ with BTA of 750

Total US$ with BTA of 800

Announced Hajj fare with BTA of750 @197 per $

Announced Hajj fare with BTA of800 @305 per $

1,700.00

1067.24

617.00

85.38

74.71

274.55

1.33

73.37

13.34

4.00

280.15

0.00

43.00

4,234.07

42.34

4,276.41

5,026.41

5,076.41

999,248.92

1,557,351.36

1650.00

1000.53

429.56

85.38

74.71

322.57

1.33

73.37

13.34

4.00

280.15

80.04

0.00

2,014.99

40.15

4,055.14

4805.14

4855.14

984,477.71

1518683.33

50.00

66.70

187.44

0.00

0.00

-48.02

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

80.04

43.00

219.08

2.19

222.17

222.17

222.17

National Charges Dollars Dollars

Diffe-rence

2016 2017ItemS/N

Comparative Analysis of 2016 and 20117 Hajj fares

Mr. Godwin Eme$ele, CBN Governor

The Muslim Rights Concern Findings

Also in its investigation, the Muslim Rights Concern(MURIC) revealed that 98% of the services rendered byNAHCON in Saudi Arabia are determined in US dollars.

11 2017

The National HajjC o m m i s s i o n o fN i g e r i a( NA HC ON ) , has

again been commended forensuring quick service deliveryto pilgrims in Madina. TheMadinah Coordinator, LagosState Pilgrims in Madina,Alhaji Lukman Ojubaniremade the commendation in aninterview with journalists inMadinah.

A s k e d t o c o m p a r eNAHCON's s er v ices andarrangements this year withp r e v i o u s y e a r s , t h eCoordinator said there was aremarkable improvement,particularly in the areas ofaccommodation, feeding andrelease of pilgrims to eitherMakkah or Madinah, saying it

took days in the past to get the releases, but this year ittook only few hours.

On accommodation, Alhaji Ojubanire, said thiswas one of the areas the Commission deservescommendation the most, in view of their proximityto the Prophet's Mosque, their standard and neat-ness.

He thanked NAHCON for giving State WelfareBoards listening ears, by implementing virtually allsuggestions made after the last exercise, with regardsto accommodation and feeding in Madinah, sayingthe dishes are bye and large commendable.

In an interview, some pilgrims from Ekiti, Kwara,Lagos, Oyo and Zamfara States corroborated theLagos State Madinah Coordinator on the twin issuesof accommodation and feeding. However, some ofthose interviewed hoped that their traditional localdishes were provided.

Speaking on the issue of Nigerian menu to thepilgrims, the deputy Coordinator of NAHCON inMadina, Alhaji Ahmad Maigari said they hadproblem with some of the Caterers engaged inpreparing Nigerian cousins, but the Commission

was quick to work round theprobl e m to m it i g ate t hepilgrims' plight of not havingthe cousins they were used to inNigeria.

He expressed concerns thatsome State Pilgrims' WelfareBoards sent their pilgrims tothe holy land without officialsto attend to them, whichbecame more tasking for thefew NAHCON officials onground.

Meanwhile, investigationsat the various Clinics show thatthere were efforts being madeto ensure proper handling ofpatients, through promptattendance. In the main Clinic,some patients from othercontinents who happened topump into it were attended to.

In a phone interaction withthe NAHCON Commissionerin charge of Health matters, Dr.Ibrahim Kana had assured thatthe medical team in all theClinics would do their best inmeeting the aspirations andyearnings of any pilgrim thathad a compelling reason toconsult with them.

There was no report of anyunpleasant incident or miscon-duct by any Nigerian pilgrim, asthey made their visits torequired areas.

NAHCON Gives State Pilgrims'Boards Listening EarsBy Alhaji Lukman Ojubanire

Alhaji Lukman Ojubanire,The Madinah Coordinator,Lagos State Pilgrims Welfare Board

Amb. Muhamma Sani Yunusa, Nigerian Consul-General in Riyad, inspecting pilgrims' food

122017

He urged officials at all

levels of Hajj administra-

tion to officiate with the fear

of God in their minds. He

said: “I besiege you to

officiate with the fear of

Allah, if you do that well,

God Almighty has a way to

reward you.” Turning to the

pilgrims he said: “As the

largest single group of

Nigerians to a foreign land,

you must conduct your-

selves in good manner.”

Also speaking at theoccasion, the Chairman oft h e N a t i o n a l H a j jCommission of Nigeria(NAHCON), Barr is terA b d u l l a h i M u k h t a rMuhammad revealed thatover 80,000 Nigerians areexpected to perform thisyear's hajj, despite theeconomic recession that hitthe nation.

Recalling the challengesfaced by the Commissionthis year, Barr. Mukhtarsaid, “This hajj has comewith special and peculiarchallenges – the challengeof the increase of 2017 hajjfare. But, Alhamdulillah,with Allah's support andguidance, a lot of Nigeriansare able to make it.”

Ac c o r d i n g t o h i m ,“Over 60,000 Nigerianpilgrims are expected toperform this year's hajjunder the state govern-ments' quarter, while about19,000 are expected toperform the hajj underprivate Tour Operators.This number is unprece-dented in view of the globaleconomic recession whichis not only affecting Nigeriabut many other countries.”

He also revealed that theAdvance Team sent by theCommission had alreadyarrived and were fullyequipped to attend to thene e ds of t he pi lg r imsincluding their administra-tive needs, medical servicesand other consular supports

Th e a c t i n g

P r e s i d e n t ,Professor YemiO s i nb aj o, h a s

charged Nigerian pilgrimsto pray for the country, itsleaders and the quickrecovery and safe return ofPresident MuhammaduBuhari. He made the pleawhile inaugurating the firstf l ight of the Niger ianpilgrims to Saudi Arabia for2017 Hajj.

P r o f e s s o r Y e m iOsinbajo who was repre-sented by the minister of theFCT, Muhammad MusaBello said to the pilgrims,“You are now the represen-t at ive s of m i l l i ons ofNigerians. Each and everyone of you is an ambassador.I'm appealing to you toconduct yourselves asambassadors of our greatcountry. Do not engage inany act that will tarnish theimage of Nigeria.”

The acting Presidentdescribed the flag off theairlift as “a culmination ofintense planning, hardwor k , d e d i c at i on an dc o m m i t m e n t b y H a j jofficers all over the nation.”H e c o n g r a t u l a t e dNAHCON for a job welld o n e , r e m i n d i n g t h eofficials, however, that theinaugural airlift was also“the beginning of anotherhard work, because youcannot really say it's doneuntil all pilgrims go to SaudiA r a b i a , p e r f o r m a naccepted Hajj and comeback home safely.”

Osinbajo to 2017 Pilgrims:Pray For Unity, Peace & Progress

By Kabiru Yusuf Kano

Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Acting President

First batch of the 2017 Pilgrims from Federal Capital Territory in a queueto join the %ight at Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport Abuja

13 2017

for Nigeria, its leaders and

the recovery of President

Mu h a m m a d u B u h a r i .

“While praying for your-

selves, your families, you

should equally remember

y o u r n a t i o n a n d t h ePresident as well,” he added.

On his part, SenatorHadi Sirika, Minister ofAviation, called on thepilgrims to adhere strictly

not only to the religiousregulations of the hajjobligations but also therules of the host country,Saudi Arabia, and to beg o o d a m b a s s a d o r s o fNigeria. He particularlywarned against takingcontrabands to the holyland, especially cola nutwhich is considered as harddrug by the Saudi govern-ment and attracts deathsentence.

The first batch of the2017 pilgrims from Abuja,boarded Flynas airline withr e g i s t r a t i o n n u m b e rXY5702 which departedd i r e c t t o P r i n c eMuhammad ibn Abdul'aziz,in Madinah at 3:16pm with4 6 0 F e d e r a l C a p i t a lTerritory pilgrims and 20officials, consisting of 299males and 161 females.

They were received onarrival by the NAHCONMedina reception team ledby Dr. Bello MuhammadTambuwal and after allmandatory checks at theAirport, they were taken totheir reserved accommoda-t i on at t he A z i z iy y a hdistrict, near the Prophet'sholy Mosque.

with the ass istance ofNigerian Consulate inJeddah and Embassy inRiyadh.

Whi le assur ing thepilgrims of a comfortablestay in the holy land, thechairman said that, “25% ofthe total workforce ofNiger ian of f ic ia ls wi l lsacrifice their hajj this yearto attend to the needs of thepi l g r i ms , b e c aus e t heCommission is “in tunewith the change agenda ofthis administration thatservice delivery and serviceto humanity to any publicofficer is something thatcannot be negotiated andcannot be compromised.”

On his part, the Sultan ofSokoto, and PresidentGeneral of the Nigerians u p r e m e C o u n c i l f o rIslamic Affairs, Alhaji Sa'adAbubakar III, called on thepilgrims to respect the lawsof Saudi Arabia and advisedt h e m t o d e s i s t f r o mengaging in any act that willt a r n i s h t h e i m a g e o fNigeria.

Sultan Abubakar whowas represented by the emiro f B a u c h i , R i l w a n uSulaiman Adamu, furtherurged the pilgrims to pray

NAHCON chairman Abdullahi Mukhtar Muhammad chatting withCommissioner of operation, Alhaji Abdullaahi Moddibo Sale

shortly after the $rst batch departed

Secretary of te Commission, Dr. Bello Muhammad Tambuwaladdressing the $rst batch on their arrival to Madinah

Th e N a t i o n a l H a j j

Commission of NigeriaNAHCON has said that itsreforms aimed at ensuring

that pilgrims get value for their moneyhave come to stay, vowing that no

amount of threat, arm twisting, illmotivated criticism and imaginaryhurdles would deter it from its goals.

The Chairman of the Commission,B a r r i s t e r Ab d u l l a h i Mu k ht a rMuhammad who stated this at

stakeholders pre-Hajj meeting held atAl-Raqiyyah Hall, in Makkah, SaudiArabia, however, said it does not meanthat the Commission would not listento genuine criticisms or advice thatwould add value to the Commission'sgoals, but it would certainly not bat eyeon any misguided distraction.

“NAHCON won't be deterredfrom her goals by threats; armtwisting, ill motivated criticism orimaginar y hurdles . R ather theCommission has resolved to improveon whatever successes recorded andlook for ways to correct mistakes

NAHCON'S Reforms:No Retreat No Surrender!

By Kabiru Yusuf Kano

“They make frantic effort toundermine the operations, butAlmighty Allah shows them that He isin control, that's why we are here today.I am not surprised with the kind ofchallenges we faced because of thisreform we are implementing and Ibelieve many are yet to come.”

“Alhamdu lillahi! Today we areproud to say that Nigerian pilgrims area c c om mo d ate d i n d e c e nt andcomfortable houses in Makkah andMadinah and our pilgrims cancompete with any pilgrim from anypart of the world in terms of publictransport system."

“Also today Nigerian pilgrims havethe best of medical services, officials atState levels and the private touroperators are more committed toserving their pilgrims than everbefore. I believe we have many morethings to do. We should collectively

142017

NAHCON Chairman, Barr. Abdullahi Mukhtar Muhammad while addressing the gatheringduring post Arafat stakeholders meeting held at Al-Raqiyyah Hallin Makkah

observed so far,” he revealed. “We willnevertheless welcome constructivecriticisms and genuine advice thatwould add value to the Commissiongoals," he added.

He further said "NAHCON wouldnot relent in its efforts to ensure thatthe pilgrims get the best possibleservices during the entire exercise,hence, all hands must be on deck toensure a hitch free exercise. No oneshould rest on his oars until everypilgrim has successfully carried outthe hajj rites and safely returned to hisloved ones.”

The chairman stated that despiteall the challenges right from thebeginning of the implementation ofthe reforms in accommodation whichsome people believe was their birthright that should not be challenged,NA H C O N s u c c e e d e d i n t h a tdirection.

In his words “these are the sameelements we found in feeding and intour operators. Of course, we knowthey have their God fathers both inNigeria and in Saudi Arabia, but weremain committed in the reform weare implementing.”

L–R: Emir of Bauchi, Alhaji Rilwan Sulaiman Adamu; Consul-General,Ambassador Muhammad Sani Yunusa and Chairman, House ofRepresentatives Committee on Saudi-Nigeria Inter-ParliamentaryFriendship and Hajj matters, Dr. Abdullah Balarabe Selame

NAHCON PPMF Commissioner, Alhaji Yusuf Adebayo Ibrahimwith Charge d'Affairs, Ambassador Umar Salisu, at post Arafatstakeholders meeting

“But today,there are somany other

formulae thatcan be used

to attackwhoeverwants to

bringreforms, maybe, through

media, socialmedia or

even possiblephysicalattack”

15 2017

pursue and ensure the success at alllevels”, he stated.

To refresh the memory of thepublic about the activities of theseb ad elements , t he Chair mancontinued: “In 1975 when lateSheikh Mahmoud Gumi of blessedmemory led the pilgrims' welfareboard, he wanted to introduce someo f t h e s e r e f o r m s w e a r eimplementing now.

He wrote in his book 'Where IS t a n d ' , i n t h e p r o c e s s o fimplementing the reform, someelements within the accommodationproviders decided to cripple theinitiative. “I believe the sameelements are the ones trying tosabotage our efforts today.”

“Who wanted to assassinate, orkill late Mahmoud Gumi of blessmemory at that time? Their childrenand grand-grandchildren are stillalive; they can do anything formoney. So, the only formula to attackSheikh Gumi was to use poison.”

But today, there are so manyother formulas that can be used toattack whoever wants to bringreforms, may be, through media,social media or even possiblephysical attack.

“So, I want to assure that even if itwarrants us to pay with our blood, Iand my colleagues are ready to takeit,” he said.

“But today, there are so manyother formulas that can be used toattack whoever wants to bringreforms, may be, through media,social media or even possiblephysical attack”

The Hajj airlift also witnessed alot of challenges because of thecontinuous registration process.“But I am pleased to inform you thattoday we have 65,000 pilgrims underthe States who performed the Hajjthis year, 4,000 above those whoperformed Hajj last year. Also fromthe tour operators, we have over16,200 performing Hajj this year8,000 above those who performedHajj last year under tour operators.

Zamzam water for all 2017 Hajj Nigerianpilgrims has been air freighted toNigeria two weeks before Arafat and

would be distributed to the pilgrims as theycome back home after Hajj, the National HajjCommission of Nigeria (NAHCON) hasrevealed.

NAHCON Commissioner of Operations,Alhaji Abdullahi Modibbo Saleh who made therevelation in an interview noted that everypilgrim is entitled to a 5-litre keg of zamzamwater procured for them by the Commission.

The pilgrims are, therefore, enjoined notto carry the holy water in their luggage as itsleakage is believed to interfere with theoperational mechanism of the aircraft.

He said that each pilgrim would collecthis or her keg at the departure center throughwhich they were airlifted to the Kingdom andwarned against exploitation of unsuspectingpilgrims over the holy water.

Pilgrims in the past used to employ allpossible means to procure and transport thezamzam water to Nigeria. This is now history.Airliners used to be mandated to provide it totheir pilgrims. It was not totally executed asthere continued to be pockets of complaintsby pilgrims for not getting their shares. In2016 Hajj, NAHCON procured the water andused the instrumentality of its zonalcoordinators to ensure that the new policywas fully executed. It was successful as nosingle pilgrim complained of not getting his orher share. This year will surely not bedifferent.

In a related development, the Amirul Hajjand Commissioner for Home Affairs, LagosState, Dr. AbdulHakeem AbdulLateef hasconfirmed receiving 2,332 package ofZamzam water for Lagos State pilgrims and allwere airlifted to Nigeria for distribution to thepilgrims as they return home.

“Every pilgrim would get a 5-litre kg ofZamzam water on arrival at the MurtalaMuhammad International Airport, Lagos”.

The pilgrims are, therefore, enjoined notto carry the holy water in their luggages.

He said every pilgrim would get a 5-litrekg of Zamzam water on arrival at the MurtalaMuhammad International Airport, Lagos.

By Kabiru Yusuf Kano

NAHCON Procures Zamzam For 2017 PilgrimsWeeks Before Arafat –Comm. Operations

Amirul Hajj and Commissioner for Home Affairs,Lagos State, Dr. AbdulHakeem AbdulLateef

162017

tent city of Mina outsideMakkah in an itineraryretracing the route ProphetMuhammad (peace beupon him) took 14 centu-ries ago. Speaking to HajjMabrur at the plain ofArafat, the Chairman CEOo f t h e N a t i o n a l H a j jCommission of Nigeria,( N A H C O N ) , B a r r .A b d u l l a h i M u k h t a rM u h a m m a d c h a r g e dpilgrims to double theire f for ts in reaping thebounties of Allah, thisimportant day of Arafat.

The Chairman who gavethe advice after going roundNigerian pilgrims' tents,also called on them to takegood care of their health inview of the scorching sun,

heat, the high temperatureand the low functioning ofthe mounted desert coolersin the tents.

“The desert coolers arep e r f o r m i n g b u t n o toptimally because of theharsh nature of the weather.The toilet facilities are okayeven though in some placesyou will see a lot of queues.But, there is nothing onecan do about it particularlyduring prayer times”, helamented. The Chairmansaid the beauty of the 2017Hajj was since the move-ment from Makkah toMina, Mina to Arafat, therehas been no single accident.Al l t he pi lg r ims wereevacuated in good time, no

record of rancor or fightingamong the pilgrims whichis a good thing hoping thatthe movement to Muzdalifaback to the tents and theobservance of the timing forJamarat would also be wellcoordinated and peacefuland that the pilgrims willfinish their hajj rites safely.

Importantly, he added,t h e C o m m i s s i o n h a sestablished an emergencyhall Centre with officers toman the affairs 24/7 hours,e n c ou r a g i ng pi l g r i msunder distress situation toalways call this number90008251 or 920008251 formedical attention.

“We have a robust, well-coordinated medical team

According to SaudiArabian GeneralA u t h o r i t y f o r

Statistics (GaStat), a total of2,352,122 pilgrims per-formed the 2017 Hajj. Ofthis number, 1.752 millionpilgrims came from outsidethe Kingdom while 600,108were domestic pilgrims.

GaStat said that malepilgrims were 1.334 millionand female pilgrims 1.018million. It further statedthat the number of pilgrimsf rom non-Arab As i ancountries reached 1.042mil l ion forming 59.49p e r c e nt , a n d 3 8 3 , 0 4 4pilgrims came from non-Gulf Cooperation Council(GCC) countries forming21.86 percent.

Pilgrims from non-ArabAfrican countries occupiedthird position with 186,873forming 10.67 percent,those from the Europeancountr ies were 84,894pi lgr ims forming 4.85percent. As for pilgrimsfrom Gulf CooperationCouncil (GCC) countriesthe number reached 32,600making 1.86 percent andthe total number of pilgrimsfrom north and SouthAmerican countries andAustralia reached 22,268which stand at 1.27 percent.

As early as 00:18minutesof Wednesday September30 , 2017 , chant ing ofLabaik Allahuma Labiak(to Thee we come) wase v e r y w h e r e , p i l g r i m sdonning traditional whitegarments heading to the

2.3m Pilgrims Performed 2017 Hajj…as Nigeria occupied 7th position and 2nd in Africa

By Kabiru Yusuf and Abubakar Jeddah Usman

17 2017

development of the countryand the continued well-being of all citizens.

After sunset, Nigerianpilgrims and their counter-

parts across the globe leftAr af at and he a d e d to

Muzdalifah where theyspent the night followingthe footsteps of Prophet

Muhammad (peace beupon him). Most pilgrimsespecially women and theelderly started leavingMuzdalifa few minutesbefore sunrise on Fridaymorning heading straight tothe symbolic stoning atMina to throw pebbles atJamaratul Aqbah.

Inside the cooled andspacious building,JamaratNigerian pilgrims took partin the ritual of 'stoning ofSatan', where they threwpebbles at the largest of thethree pillars called Aqaba,symbolizing the devil. Theyspread across the length ofthe elliptical-shaped pillarand hurled stones in anorderly manner sayingA l l a h u A k b a r b e f o r ethrowing each pebble.

After stoning, someslaughtered their sacrificialanimals while those whomade arrangement for theirHadaya with Ja'iz banksince from Nigeria, thesingle act helped greatly infocusing on other Hajj rites;whereby they went straightto the Grand Mosque inMakkah to perform Tawafal-Ifadah.

But others decided tostay back for the day due tothe high temperature orafter their completion of therecommended days in Minawhich resulted in recordingfewer crowds at the Jamaratand other pilgrims decidedto stay probably due to thep h a s e d o r s e g m e nt e dstoning schedules.

It could be recalled thatlast year the Saudi authori-ties introduced groupingsystem or a phased andsegmented schedule for theJamarat to avoid reoccur-rence of the unfortunateepisode of 2015. The same

that is up and doing, withambulances stationed invarious strategic camps toattend to the emergencyneeds of the pilgrims. Weare coordinating well withstate officials to attend toany emergency or distresssituation. So, I can proudlysay so far, so good becauseeven the mortality recordedthis year as at now is lowestin the last ten to fifteenyears”, he added.

He expressed displea-sure over the alleged poorcondition and low standardof some State accommoda-tion in Makkah, assuringthat even though Makkahaccommodation is purelystate affairs, NAHCON willinvestigate the matter andensure appropriate mea-sures or sanctions taken.

Barr ister Abdul lahiMukhtar enjoined theMONpilgrims to pray for Nigeriaand beseech the Almightyto Allah to guide and guardour leaders and give themw i s d o m t o m o v e t h ecountry forward, and aresounding good health fort h e P r e s i d e n t ,Muhammadu Buhari.

As an annual event,NAHCON organized aNational prayer session forp e a c e , p r o g r e s s a n ddevelopment of Nigeria.During the prayer session,clerics offered prayers inArabic, English, Hausa,Yor uba Igb o and Ijawlanguages.

In their prayers, theIslamic scholars thankedAllah for the return of peacein the country and prayedthe Almighty to grantPresident MuhammaduBuhari, state Governors andleaders at all levels thewisdom to govern well aswell as for the economic

Deputy Chief Imam National Mosque, Abuja, Dr. Ibrahim Makarileading Nigerian pilgrims in a Nationa prayer on Arafat Day

Nigerian pilgrims joined other Nationals walking to theirtents on Arafat Day

Nigerian pilgrims joined other Nationals walking totheir tents on Arafat Day

Nigerian pilgrims devoted in prayers for themselves and Nigeria

182017

Nigerian pilgrims com-pleted their stoning inrecord time.

“It 's dif ferent everyyear,” said Abubakar Saddiqfrom Bauchi State, addingthat “Some years back therewere less pilgrims becauseof fears and warnings ofdisease. But this year, I feelthere are a lot more peoplehere.”

By Sunday noon, overtwo million pilgrims whoparticipated in the Hajjactivit ies in Mina andArafat began returning toMakkah for final prayers asthe world's largest annual

gathering of Muslims windsdown.

In stifling heat, a Saudisecurity guard sprayedpilgrims with water as theyadvanced through Mina forthe final rite of the Hajj, the“Stoning of the Devil”

N i g e r i a n p i l g r i m sstarted trooping out of theplains of Mina to Makkah,after the ritual of throwingthe pebbles at the Jamaratand only a small number ofthem stayed the maximumthree days at Mina.

According to the SaudiPress Agency, Indonesia isthe world's most populous

Muslim nation, and it alsoprovides the largest numberof pilgrims for the Hajj,giving her the opportunityto occupy the first positionwith 221,000 pilgrims,followed by Pakistan with179,210.

Bangladesh becamefourth with 127,198, Egypt108,000, Iran with 86,500,Nigeria in the seventhp o s i t i on w it h 8 1 , 0 0 0 ,Turkey is following with79,000, Algeria 36,000 andMoro cco in t he tent hp o s i t i o n w i t h 3 1 , 0 0 0respectively.

this year, Nigerian pilgrimswere scheduled for eleveno'clock for the stoning onthe first day, while subse-qu e nt d ay s t he y we rescheduled for 6 am.

I n d e e d , t h i s n e wprocedure of groupingeased the difficulties facedby pilgrims in the past, withthe help of volunteers andsecur ity of f ic ia ls whoprovided directions to thepilgrims in their way andcooling them with water tomake their journey morecomfortable to the vastmult i-stor ied complexnorth of the tented city;

Eating unhealthy food fromunauthorized street vendorsis one of the causes ofav o i d a b l e i l l n e s s e s by

pilgrims in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

Pilgrims insist on eating foodsimilar to what obtains in theirrespective countries, thus, theypatronize rogue traders, at unkemptenvironments.

A p i l g r i m f r o m G h a n a ,AbdulRahman Abdulaziz, who hasperformed hajj five times said he hasnever tried eating Arabian food,adding that he was not adventurousand only settles for the familiar.

Aisha Bashir from Nigeria, whohas been sick with diarrhea sincearriving in Makkah on Tuesday, 22ndAugust 2017 said despite the obviouscause of her ailment, she still prefers toeat Nigerian dishes, even if it's made inan unhealthy environment.

"I cannot eat the food here. Theydon't put pepper and it tastes bland to

me. At least the Nigeria food hasMaggi, onga and original attarugu",she said. However, Malam AdamsMuhammad, a Nigerian resident inMakkah berated the pilgrims for'deliberately' putting their lives in

danger just because of pepper. Manypilgrims were delayed at the NnamdiAzikwe International Airport Abuja,for their refusal to hand over pepper intheir possession, which is a bannedcommodity on board air planes.

He advised pilgrims that hajj is aspiritual exercise, saying they shouldbe able to inconvenience the self forthe sake of Allah and not insist onhaving their way.

He added that this action of thepilgrims makes the work of the

Stop Patronising Illegal FoodVendors, Pilgrims AdvisedBy Sa'adatu Albashir

One of the Dr. at Shar Sitting Clinic counseling pilgrims on what to eat and not eat

19 2017

Saudi Arabia has apologised tothe Federal Government ofNigeria over the maltreatmentof two Nigerian pilgrims from

Nassarawa State by its security agentsin Madinah. Audu Muhammad andIbrahim Godi were said to have beenbrutalized and beaten by customofficers shortly after their arrival fromAbuja.

Deputy Governor of Madinahregion, Sheikh Muhammad Albijawi,

who tendered the apology during avisit to the victims in their hotel,assured that the security officialswould be dealt with for the maltreat-ment. He expressed regret over theunfortunate incident and assured thatit would not happen again.

He further urged Nigerian pilgrimsto be of good conduct and perform theannual spiritual pilgrimage based onreligious guidelines and instructions.He further disclosed that the Saudi

authorities had put facilities in place toensure a hitch-free Hajj.

The Nigerian Ambassador to SaudiArabia, Umaru Salisu Zainabu,commended the Saudi Arabianauthorities for a swift response overthe incident.

The Deputy Minister of Hajj andUmrah, Mohammad Albijawi, gavethe apology on behalf of the Royalleaders of the Kingdom when hevisited the victims at Wefada al-ZahraHotel on Al Salam Street Markazziya,in Madinah.

“Saudi authorities would nevertolerate such kind of embarrassmentof pilgrims and would take measuresto ensure all those who participated inmaltreatment of pi lgrims werebrought to book”, he said.

He added that Saudi Arabianwould continue to ensure betterhandling of pilgrims, particularlywhile in the Kingdom, assuring thatthe Kingdom was committed todelivering the needed service toNigerian pilgrims and others aroundthe world.

In his words: “we shall continue toprovide effective service to pilgrims.What brought us here is the issue of thetwo pilgrims that were maltreated byour security agents. We are here to saysorry. We regret the issue and assureyou that such things will never happenagain.”

Responding, the tortured pilgrims,Audu Damina Muhammad andIbrahim Nani Godi, expressedgratitude to the Saudi authorities andthe National Hajj Commission,NAHCON, for responding to theirplight promptly.

“On behalf of the King, theGovernor of Madinah and all the royalleaders in this Kingdom, we are here toonce again tender our apology to youfor what has happened and to assure

National Hajj Commission of Nigeriaand hajj organizations of othercountries more cumbersome andwast ing resources that can bechanneled to other uses.

"I don't understand our people.They don't want to leave their comfortzone, and life is not like that. Theydivert the attention of the Commissionto avoidable mundane issues, insteadof using the time and resources tobetter their stay in the holy land", heinsisted.

Malam Adams advised them tolearn to endure as hajj is not a pleasureseeking activity but a spiritual one.

The National Hajj Commission ofNigeria NAHCON, had initiatedreform in the organization of foodservices for pilgrims, aimed atpreventing food related diseases andillegal food vending.

The Chairman of the foodcommittee, Malam Shehu Makarfihad gone round caterers to ensurethe level of compliance to thec o nt r a c t b e t w e e n t h e m a n dNAHCON was strictly adhered to.

Investigation carried by HajjMabrur revealed that there weremore than 210 companies in the foodand catering sector in Makkah whichtry to meet all food requests frompilgrims, the head of the cateringcommittee at the Makkah Chamberof Commerce and Industry, ShakerAl-Harthi, told Arab News.

There are many cuisines offered,s u ch a s In d i an , In d on e s i an ,European, Turkish, Egyptian andShami. This gives pilgrims anopportunity to experience differentcivilizations through food.

Catering companies providemeals according to their contractswith the Hajj delegations, includingbreakfast, lunch and dinner. Menusdiffer according to demand.

Al-Harthi said the food sector inMakkah is facing chal lenges,especially with population growth,expansion of the holy city and theresulting increase in the number ofvisitors and pilgrims.

A Nigerian pilgrim admitted in Makkah clinic

Maltreatment of Pilgrims:Saudi Arabia Apologises to Nigeria

you that the Kingdom will never allow sucha thing happen again”.

The Deputy Minister restated thedetermination of the Saudi government toprovide the needed services to the pilgrims,adding that the responsibilities of theKingdom would continue to be upheld. Hesaid the authority cherished all pilgrims andwould continue to serve them by ensuringthey stayed in peace throughout the periodof Hajj.

The Deputy Governor lamented that itwas unfortunate that the guests of Allahcould be badly treated by those who aresupposed to show kindness to them and thishe vowed will not be tolerated, hence thedecision to punish the overzealous agents toserve as deterrent to others.

On his part, Ambassador Umar Salisu,Charge d'Affair's, Embassy of Nigeria inSaudi Arabia, said: “We really appreciate theaction taken by the Saudi Authority to bringthose people to book and continue to allowNigerian pilgrims to perform their hajj riteswithout any fear of harassment, molestationand maltreatment.”

The Charge d'Affairs added that theGovernor of Madinah informed him aboutthe type of punishment that would be givento the perpetrators of the incident andassuring him that this is happening for thefirst time and will be the last.

The Ambassador explained that twopilgrims from Nassarawa State wereallegedly detained and manhandled onarrival at the King Abdulaziz InternationalAirport in Madinah on Aug. 19, 2017. Ittook the intervention of the Secretary to theNational Hajj Commission of Nigeria(NAHCON), Dr. Bello Tambuwal, beforethey were released.

Hajj Mabrur learnt that Dr. BelloTambuwal, petitioned the Saudi authoritiesand drew the attention of the NigerianEmbassy in Riyadh to the unfortunateincident. As a result, the Nigerian Charged'Affairs in Riyadh, Ambassador Umar Z.Salisu, went to Madinah to sympathize withthe victims and to get an explanation fromthe Saudis on the issue.

However, after NAHCON's petition andthe prompt arrival of the Charge d’Affaires,the Saudi government, through theGovernor of Madinah, expressed shock

over the incident andpromised to decisivelydeal with the securitypersonnel involved. Toshow remorse over theincident, the MadinahGovernor, represented byhis Deputy, AmbassadorDr. Wahid Alsihli, alongwith the Deputy Ministerin charge of Hajj andUmrah Affairs in theKingdom, MuhammadAbdurrahman Al-Bijawy,were at the Nigerianp i l g r i m ' s h o t e l a tMarkaziyyah area, totender an apology to thev i c t i m s , N A H C O N ,Nigerian government andpilgrims over the incident.

R e s p o n d i n g ,A m b a s s a d o r S a l i s uexpressed delight over theSaudi Arabian govern-ment's humility, as toaccept the mistakes of itso v e r z e a l o u s a g e n t s ,tender an apology andabove all to send highr an k i ng gove r n me ntofficials to apologise tothe two victims fromNasarawa State, AlhajiA u d u D a m i n aMuhammad and AlhajiIbrahim Nani Godi.

Meanwhile, the Chairman/CEO,Barrister Abdullahi Mukhtar Muhammad,praised the action of the Kingdom, which hedescribed as exemplary and a demonstra-

202017

The victims receive honorarium of 10,000SR each fromthe Deputy Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Muhammad Albijawi.

Alhaji Audu Damina Muhammad and Alhaji IbrahimNani Godi, the victims of Saudi Arabian Securitymaltreatment listening to the Madinah DeputyGovernor, Sheikh Mohammad Albijawi's speechwhen he visited them in their Hotel at Madinah

King Salman of Saudi Arabia

tion of the importance the Kingdomattaches to the welfare of pilgrims, world-wide.

According to him, “The gesture deservescommendation as it doused whatevermisgivings that could have arisen from theoverzealous action of the security officers.We indeed appreciate their quick actionespecially the apology tendered by none lessthan the Deputy Governor of Madinah andthe Deputy Minister of Hajj, Madinah

branch. It shows the highp e d e s t a l i n w h i c hNigerians are held andmore particularly, it is at e s t a m e n t o f t h eKingdom's resolve tomake all pilgrims feel athome in the Holy Land."

In a related develop-ment, Independent HajjReporters commended

the federal government for taking "immedi-ate and proactive steps" in seeking redressfor the two Nigerian pilgrims reportedlymanhandled by the Saudi Arabian securityagents in Madinah airport, saying that “thisis commendable and unprecedented," astatement by the civil society's nationalcoordinator, Ibrahim Muhammed andPublicity Secretary, Abubakar Mahmoud,said.

21 2017

service delivery to the pilgrims. How

smoothly the airlift of the pilgrims has

been going on!

The long awaited journeys to Saudi

Arabia which commenced on Sunday

July 30, was a great relief to many

Nigerians some of who invariably

d e v e l o p e d p e s s i m i s m o n t h e

successful take off . The airl i f t

operations were kick-started with a

Boeing 747 flight number XY5702

belonging to the Saudi-designated

airline, Flynas, with registrationnumber ERB-AC and with 460pilgrims made up of 291 males and 161females under the FCT MuslimPilgrims' Welfare Board and 20officials who comprised mostly ofmedical personnel for the pilgrims.They departed the Nnamdi AzikweInternational Airport, Abuja to thePrince Muhammad Bn AbdulazizInternational Airport Madinah,around 15:17 local time.

It is something of great joy tocongratulate the Nigerianpilgrims who, despite theeconomic recession witnessedi n t h e c o u n t r y a n d t h e

controversies over the hike in price,were able to complete their 2017 Hajjfares and make it to the Holy Land ofMakkah to fulfill their religiousobligation, the fifth and seeminglymost difficult pillar of Islam. It is amanifestation that whoever Allah callsto that all-important spiritual journey,He (Allah) will provide the means. Myelation overflows and I wish themAllah's complete reward: happiness,safety, security and everlasting bliss inthis world and the hereafter.

The other thing that pricks myveins is to mention the national Hajjregulator, all the state boards andstakeholders for standing firm on thepath of resilience, patience and focusin facilitating all the tedious processesrequired by the pilgrims for thejourney notwithstanding all thechallenges that cropped up all throughthe time the 2017 Hajj fares wereannounced. Amidst the turbulentwaves that greeted the tail end of thepreparatory stage of the first phase ofthe operations, these Nigerian patriotswere able to impress the citizenry ingeneral and the Muslim Ummah inparticular with the assurance of

Wishing Nigerian PilgrimsSpiritually Rewarding 2017 Hajj

By Muhammad Ajah

Pilgrims boarding aircraft just before take-off for Hajj operation

Attended by the highest politicaland traditional institutions in Nigeria,the event witnessed good wishes andtough warnings for the pilgrims andHajj managers. The pilgrims werewarned on the dangers of disobeyingthe rules and regulations guiding Hajjas laid down by the Saudi Arabiangovernment as well as the severeimplication in carrying contrabandthings, like kola nuts, into theKingdom.

They were urged to be goodambassadors of Nigeria while in theHoly Land, to pray for themselves,their families and the nation. On theother hand, the Hajj managers werewarned against shortchanging thepilgrims in anyway. Particularly, thenational Hajj regulator, National HajjCommission of Nigeria (NAHCON)was commended for its coordinatedefforts in making the year's holy trip areality.

Acting President of Nigeria, Prof.Yemi Osinbajo extolled the hard workand dedicat ion of NAHCON'sleadership and other stakeholders andc o n g r at u l a t e d t h e m f o r g o o dpreparations and successful beginningo f t h e S a u d i - b o u n d a i r l i f toperat ions.Represented by theMinister, Federal Capital Territory(FCT), Malam Muhammad MusaB e l l o , w h o w a s t h e p i o n e e rchairman/CEO of NAHCON, heurged officials at all levels of Hajjadministration to officiate with thefear of God, charging the pilgrims tobe of good conduct and law-abiding,saying: “As the largest single group ofNigerians to a foreign land, you areambassadors of Nigeria.” He enlistedthe holy travelers to pray for PresidentMuhammadu Buhari to return homein good health to continue his goodwork for the country.

On his part, the chairman/CEO ofNAHCON, Barr. Abdullahi MukhtarMuhammad, appreciated all thestakeholders for their support even ashe recalled the controversies thatresulted from the increase in Hajj fare.He thanked God that over 79,000Nigerians, made up of 60,000 understate boards/agencies/commissions

and19 ,000 under pr ivate touroperators were expected to performthis year's Hajj.

It would be recalled that Nigeriahas 95,000 Hajj slots, because the 20%global reduction of Hajj allocationsdue to the expansion projects of theHoly Mosque of Makkah was restoredto all participating countries of theworld this year, thus returningNigeria's quota from 76,000 it utilizedsince 2011. He disclosed that 25percent of the officials at all levels haveagreed to sacrifice their Hajj foreffective monitoring and rendering ofservices to the pilgrims and in thespirit of the change mantra of thecurrent administration.

He appealed to the pilgrims to seetheir officials as human beings who arebound to make mistakes so that whensuch happens, the pilgrims shouldp a r d o n a n d o f f e r m a x i m u mcooperation for proper representationof Nigeria at the global gathering.

The President General of theSupreme Council for Islamic Affairs(NSCIA), the Jama'atu Nasril-Islam(JNI) and the Sultan of Sokoto, AlhajiMuhammadu Sa'ad Abubakar III, saidthat upon all the quarrels over the Hajjfares, only those enabled by God willperform the year's Hajj. Representedby the Emir of Bauchi, Alhaji RilwanuSuleiman Adamu who would lead thedelegation of NSCIA to 2017 Hajj, hedescribed Hajj as an act of worship andnot tourism, observing that pilgrims

must ensure strict compliance to Hajjrites to avoid vitiating their Hajj.

Other well-wishers included thechairman House committee on SaudiNigeria Interparliamentary Relationsand Hajj Affairs, Dr. AbdullahiBalarabe Salame, representatives ofthe Chairman Senate Committee onForeign Affairs and the ActingSecretary to the Government of theF e d e r a t i o n ( S G F ) , t h e l o c a lgovernment chairman of Abaji, Emirof Abaji and a host of others.

With the successful start, threethings amongst others come to fore:the need for some officials to serve thepilgrims without performing Hajj, thelate intervention of the NationalAssembly in matters relating to forexexchange and t he mand ate ofNAHCON to eliminate corruption inHajj management which is primarilyone of the major factors that resultedto the gang-up against it. Besides, it isn o t e w o r t hy a n d l au d a b l e t h eCommission's resolve to tackle thefrauds committed by some self-acclaimed Hajj managers in the past insome components of Hajj such asaccommodation, Hadaya and BasicTravel Allowances (BTA).

The efficacy of voluntarism in Hajjis another initiative worthy to note. Itis no more an issue of public debate orcriticism because in reality it isdiff icult to effectively combineperformance of Hajj and officiating asone of the duties would

222017

Mal. Muhammad Musa Bello,

FCT Minister

Barr. Abdullahi Muhammad,

NAHCON Chairman

be subjected to low attention andultimately yield poor results. In 2016Hajj, like the pioneer chairman oftendid in the past, the chairman/CEOforfeited his Hajj to serve the pilgrims.

Few other officials joined suit. TheCommission, therefore, after widec o n s u l t a t i o n s w i t h r e l e v a n tstakeholders from across Nigeria,found it very necessary to make it apolicy from and also encouraged StatePilgrims' Boards to key into it. TheNAHCON boss was optimistic thatthe policy will be very useful because,as he put it, if Nigeria does not do it,there will come a time when SaudiArabian government will impose it.

The result of fully monitoring thepilgrims was quite great because lowcasualty rate among Nigerians in 2016Hajj was recorded; cases of pilgrimsroaming about under the sun wereminimized; they were made to stayinside their tents for praying andsupplicating to Allah despite the hotweather during the Hajj period andmedical cases were very low. For theyear, 25 percent of NAHCON's andstates' officials will serve the pilgrimsw i t h o u t d o n n i n g t h e i r w h i t egarments.

The effect of the late interventionof the National Assembly to reduce theHajj fares was obvious. Many pilgrimswho had deposited over one millionnaira awaiting the final announcementof the 2017 Hajj fare by NAHCONbecame reluctant in completing theirdeposits as they waited in vain.

T h e S e n a t e , h o w e v e r ,recommended that the federalg o v e r n m e n t s h o u l d g r a n t aconcessionary exchange rate of N200to US$1 for pilgrims embarking on2017 Hajj, a recommendation that waswidely criticized by many and opposedby the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)on the grounds of the economicrecession faced by the country.

The off icial rate granted bygovernment for 2017 Hajj is N305 toU S $ 1 a n d t h e r e h a v e b e e ncontroversies on whether religiouspilgrimages fall under economicactivities and institutions classified by

government under the critical sectorsthat should access the dollar at N305.

The Commission also intensifiedeffort to block the leakages linked toHajj management. State governmentsin the past used to be lured into payinghuge sums of money in the name ofsubsidy or augmentation for the costsof their pilgrims' accommodation.Katsina, for instance, according to thechief executive officer of the state,Governor Aminu Masari, has beenspending N1b yearly on Hajj. Stateslike Kano, Kogi and others just lastyear spent millions of naira to augmentthe accommodation costs of their

pilgrims, which was discovered byNAHCON to be fraud hence the newinitiative to eliminate agencies inaccommodation contracts in Madinahand Makkah.

Moreover, there used to be cases offraud committed by some stateofficials and Nigerian business men inthe Kingdom who swindled pilgrimsand state governments in many waysincluding Hadaya. They would collectlittle amounts for the sacrificialanimals, sometime half of the officialpr ices announce d by t he s oleadministrator of the Hajj rite in SaudiArabia, the Islamic Development Bank

23 2017

Members of the National Assembly during public hearing on 2017 Hajj fare

A section of women at the 2017 Hajj stakeholders meeting

(IDB). But they either do not performthe rite at all or they use deformedanimals that are against the Islamicprescription.

T h e p i l g r i m s u s e d t o b eshortchanged and the fraudsterscapitalized on the official exchangerate to make millions of naira forthemselves in the name of Hajj. Duringlast year's Hajj, the Commissiondiscovered several states that wereentangled in such financial mess; that

is why a flat BTA of US$800 was settledfor any pilgrim travelling for 2017 Hajjunder state boards and under theofficial rate of N305 to US$1. To Godbe the glory that these initiatives areyielding good results.

By all measures, the 2017 Hajj willrecord significant successes regardlessof the challenges that greeted itspreparatory stages. Nigerian pilgrimswill go and come back safely to theirmotherland and will enjoy the special

privilege to worship, glorify and seekAllah's blessings in the purest parcel ofland on the mother earth. Their airliftsto the Kingdom have been steadilyhitch-free; so will be their return trips.I wish them all very memorablespiritual trip of their lives. Hajj is reallya full life event, prescribed once in a lifetime, for those who have the means toperform it. It should not be a 'do or die'affair. Hajj mabrur in advance!

242017

Abubakar Mustafa on a special visit to pilgrims in their tentsin Mina.

The Chairman expressed happiness about pilgrimsconduct during their stay in Mina and Arafat, hoping theycontinued until the end of the entire exercise. He pointedout that they were visiting the pilgrims at their various tentsto assess their situation, listen to their complaints if any andadvise.

At the Kaduna State tents, the State Pilgrims WelfareBoard overseer, Imam Husayn Sulayman Tsoho Ikara, whocommended and appreciated the NAHCON's visit outlinedcertain problems which include but not limited to shortageof facilities and poor cooling systems in tents in Mina andArafat, a complaint at all tents visited.

The NAHCON team also visited Kano and Gombe tentswhere he sought pilgrim's opinion on curtailing the numberof Nigerian pilgrims so as not to overstretch Nigeria'sallocated facilities at Mashaa'ir areas as is now obtained inthe areas.

At Gombe pilgrims' tents Barr. Mukhtar explained thatthe first flight of Nigerian pilgrims back to Nigeria isexpected to be on the seventh of September with GombeState pilgrims advising the officials of the State PilgrimsBoard to ensure that they moved the first batch of thepilgrims on the sixth to ensure smooth start of the opera-tions.

He informed them that they should be ready for speedydispatch of pilgrims when the operation starts as until allGombe pilgrims are airlifted before other States wouldfollow, saying any hitch from them will eventually affect theentire homeward journey.

He commended Gombe State officials and pilgrims overtheir conduct and patience when a delay of two daysoccurred at the Gombe zone during the first lap of the airlift

Visiting pilgrims in their tents while in Mina is anannual event designed by the National HajjCommission of Nigeria (NAHCON,) with aview to enabling the management of the

Commission to meet pilgrims in their respective tents, inorder to know their feelings about 2017 Hajj operations.

The visit also serves as an opportunity for the pilgrims toface the high-powered delegations from both NAHCONand the Federal Government with their complaints orsuggestions on how to improve the subsequent Hajjoperations, especially about their accommodations,feeding, transportation and health. To ensure total cover-age, NAHCON came up with three groups: group A underthe leadership of the Chairman, Barr. Abdullahi MukhtarMuhammad, group B and C led by Commissioner ofOperations Alhaji Abdullahi Modibbo Saleh andCommissioner in charge of Planning, Policy Managementand Finance, Alhaji Yusuf Adebayo Ibrahim respectively.The groups have all gone round the State pilgrims' tents andgiven the pilgrims listening ears.

Group A, headed by the Chairman, Barr. AbdullahiMukhtar Muhammad, paid visits to Lagos, Kaduna, KanoGombe, Nassarawa, Sokoto, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger, inde-pendent Tour Operators and FCT among others. During thevisits, complaints mostly centered on inadequate facilitiesand the poor output of the cooling systems.

Barr. Abdullahi Mukhtar told pilgrims that PresidentMuhammad Buhari has congratulated Nigerian contin-gents to the year's Hajj for successfully completing the Hajjrites and enjoined them to continue being patient as Hajjgenerally is a tasking and challenging religious activity.

The President spoke through the Chairman, NationalHajj Commission of Nigeria, (NAHCON), BarristerAbdullah Muhammad Mukhtar represented by a represen-tative of Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Professor

NAHCON to Investigate Service Providers,Tour Operators for Poor Services

25 2017

"Again, be mindful of the weight of the luggage you cancarry on the flight, bearing in mind that the big bag is 32kgwhile the small bag is 8kg. Anything above that will not betolerated. This directive is neither from the Commissionnor the Board. It is from the Saudi Authority. Don't allowanybody to deceive you that they can waive it. We on ourpart are happy with Lagos State and on behalf of theCommission, we commend your efforts.”

A l h a j i Yu s u f Ad e b ay o I b r a h i m , NA H C O NCommissioner in charge of Policy, Personnel Managementand Finance (PPMF), who stood in for the Chairman,Barrister Abdullahi Mukhtar, led team C to Abia, Anambra,

Benue, Edo, Ekiti, Kebbi,Kwara, Ogun, Osun and Oyowhere he explained to thepilgrims that NAHCON willnot entertain any bag thatexceeded the approved 32 kgand 8kg.

The Commissioner whod e s c r i b e d t h e 2 0 1 7 h aj jexercise as successful, cau-t ioned pi lgr ims againstpurchasing unnecessary itemsthat they could easily afford inNigeria as the various airlineshave given each pilgrim thirtytwo kilograms as main luggageand eight kilograms as handluggage.

At the Kwara camp, thespokesman of the StatePi lgr ims' Welfare Board,Alhaji Ibrahim Oniye, (theMakama of Ilorin) appealed tothe Federal Government toincrease the Basic TravellingAllowance (BTA) given toeach pilgrim as against theeight hundred dollars which he

claimed is insufficient.

The Makama of Ilorin praised the State Amir Hajj, Prof.Jamiu Sulaimon and the State Executive Secretary of theBoard, Alhaji Tunde Jimoh, for organising a successfultimely departure from Nigeria to the holy land: He alsocommended NAHCON particularly for what he describedas a successful 2017 Hajj operations, especially in the areasof accommodation, feeding and transportation.

In his remarks at the Oyo State camp, a prominentNigerian Islamic scholar, Sheik Muyideen Ajani Bello,observed special prayers for the unity of the countryforesight for its leaders and improved health for PresidentMuhammad Buhari.

In a related development, the Independent HajjReporters has urged the National Hajj Commission ofNigeria (NAHCON) to sanction service providers and tour

to the holy land. Responding, officials of the Gombe Statepilgrims promised to ensure compliance with flightsschedule.

Visiting the tent of International pilgrims brought byTour Operators and Service Providers gave the Chairmanopportunity to hear alleged cases of poor services renderedto Nigerian pilgrims by some Tour Operator Companiesand their Service Providers, as well as States Pilgrims'Welfare Boards and Agencies.

At this point, pilgrims wasted no time in complaining tothe chairman of poor services such as inadequate Tentspace, poor toilet facilities and delay in the provision of foodby some caterers.

After l istening to thepilgrims on these lapses, theChairman vowed that theCommission will investigateand take appropriate actionagainst any Hajj Ser viceProviders or Tour Operatorsthat render poor services toNigerian pilgrims.

Barr. Mukhtar who visitedthe Kitchen and tasted the mealsupplied to pilgrims in order toascertain the kind of foodbeing served to Nigerianpilgrims, vowed to oblige theerring services providerscompanies or Tour Operatorsto make refunds back to theaffected pilgrims; saying thatthe commission has reportedthe matter to Saudi Ministry ofHajj.

Leading team B to LagosState tent, the Commissionero f O p e r a t i o n s , A l h a j iAbdullahi Moddibo Saleh,expressed NAHCON satisfac-tion on the facilities provided by the Lagos StateGovernment to its 2,332 pilgrims in Mina, Saudi Arabia.

He stated that the quality of accommodation, indige-nous food and welfare provided to Lagos State pilgrims werecommendable. He congratulated the Akinwunmi Ambodeled government and the Lagos State Muslim Pilgrims'Welfare Board for the achievements, urging pilgrims to prayfor the leadership of the Board and the State.

In the same vein, Hajiya Aisha Muhammad said: “Wehave always been proud of Lagos State in the way they haveassisted their pilgrims in terms of food, accommodationand their welfare and of course their regular standardenlightenment programs.''

Then, she advised the pilgrims, saying: “I want to appealto all pilgrims not to spend their money on gift to take backhome, so that they don't get stranded."

Barr. Abdullahi Mukhtar Muhammad, NAHCON Chairman

Consul-General in Riyad, Amb. Muhammad Sani Yunusa

262017

operators who delivered poor services to Nigerian pilgrimsin Mina and Arafat.

“There are complaints of non-provision of someessential services like meals, transportation of pilgrims,non-allocation of tents for pilgrims by some Nigerian touroperators and their Saudi based service providers," the civilsociety's national coordinator, Ibrahim Muhammad, said ina statement released in Mina, Saudi Arabia.

"This situation has made it difficult for the affectedpilgrims to perform their act of Ibadah under conducive,environment," he said. “In view of the above, IndependentHajj Reporters, therefore, called on NAHCON to immedi-ately begin investigation to unearth the reasons for the poorservices experienced by some pilgrims in Mina, especiallythose served by Service No 18," the statement said.

The civil society said a committee comprising ofleadership of AHUON – the umbrella body of IndependentTour Operators, NAHCON's inspectorate, evaluation and

compliance unit, Mutawwif for African Non-Arab Pilgrimsand Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, be constituted tolook into the issue.

"NAHCON should replicate what it did in 2015 byimmediately commencing the process of compelling theservice provider(s) to make refunds back to pilgrims forservice not rendered or rendered un-satisfactorily. Suchmoves will help the commission to apply sanctions toappropriate quarters," according to the statement.

Independent Hajj Reporters team in Mina and Arafatfrowned at some state pilgrims' welfare boards officials whowere found evading the genuine requests for informationfrom their pilgrims and abandoning their duty posts when itmattered most.

The civil society said it will officially report such StatePilgrims' Welfare Boards leadership to their respective stategovernors as their action have caused some pilgrims untoldhardship during the hajj.

Recently you had a trip aroundthe country and in the perfor-mance of your job as regulator ofHajj and Umrah in the country,can you let us know the decisionthat informed the trip and whatare the objectives that this trip issupposed to achieve?

Shamaki: Let me begin by tellingyou that before the advent of theNational Hajj Commission ofNigeria (NAHCON), the issue oftravel agencies that conductUmrah and Hajj were totallyunorganized. Travel agencies thatparade themselves across thecountr y as Umrah and Hajjoperators did it without regula-tions that guide their activities. Soby the enactment of the NAHCONAct, the Commission came out toregulate these travel agencies sothat the end users would have valuefor their money.

As a result of that, several guide-lines were lined out in order to

control these travel agencies. One is to ensure thatour pilgrims did not lose their money. Two is toensure that these agencies are identified in certain

places of doing their business sothat whenever any aspect of Hajjrites is compromised by them, theCommission will be able to reachthem immediately.

Thirdly, all those quack travelagencies will be phased out fromthe system so that our pilgrims willnot be duped of their money andthey will have and enjoy qualityservices. So these are the reasonswe go out periodically as a routineto ensure these travel agencieswhom we have given licences arecomplying with the rules andregulations of NAHCON.

With what you just said now, onecan rightly conclude that yourd e p ar tm ent or u n it i s t h ewatchdog of NAHCON, so whatare those things you always puton the table for Tour Operators tocomply with?

Shamaki: First and foremostbefore we register you as a travel

HAJJ/UMRAH OPERATIONS:NAHCON Vows to Enforce Regulations – Shamaki

Alhaji Usman Aliyu Shamaki is the head of Inspectorate and Compliance unit of the National HajjCommission of Nigeria (NAHCON). In this interview, he spoke on the efforts being put in place by NAHCONto ensure smooth Hajj operations, regulation of services ofTour Providers among other salient issues.

Alhaji Usman Aliyu ShamakiHead of Inspectorate and Compliance unit, NAHCON

27 2017

agency to conduct the activities ofHajj and Umrah, you must haveregistered with the CorporateAffairs Commission (CAC) andsecondly your office must existwhere we can easily locate it. Inaddition to this, your account mustbe audited and also you must havean International Air TransportAssociation (IATA) and your sharecapital must not be less than N30million with the CAC. Aftersubmitting these documents to theC o m m i s s i o n t h r o u g h t h eChairman of NAHCON, then theinspectors will go out to verify theclaim made by the travel agencya n d r e p o r t b a c k t o t h eCommission that actually theclaims made by the agencies in theforms they submitted are true andcorrect.

Now what is the differencebetween the travel agencies andthe state governments since stategovernments carry the bulk of thepilgrims. Are they (state govern-ments) also regulated by yourbody? And if they are, what is thedifference in the regulations yougive tour operators and statepilgrims' welfare boards?

Shamaki: The only difference isthat the states are regulated by theirgovernments at that level becauseyou know that if a government isinvolved in the matter, the problemis a little bit less than the privatetravel agencies who are totally notregulated. Sometimes we rely onthe State Pilgrims' Welfare Boardsbecause of the regulation of thestate governments. We ensure thatgovernment policy in the states isto ensure that the travel agenciesperform their duties creditablywell coupled with the regulationsof NAHCON to ensure that theState Pilgrims' Welfare Boardsperform their duties. This is thedifference between private travelagencies and the states.

As the enforcement unit ofNAHCON, your mandate is tomake sure that these operatorscomply w ith the r ules andregulations set by NAHCON,

what parameters do you use to measure compli-

ance level by these agencies?

Shamaki: We carry out routine inspection tomonitor the states and private travel agencies tomake sure they comply with the set rules. At the endof every Hajj exercise, we publish in no less thanthree national dailies invitations for complaintsaffecting every pilgrim, an opportunity for anyservices rendered to him within or outside Nigeriaafter which the Commission will take appropriateactions.

In any case where you find noncompliance, whatare the sanctions?

Shamaki: There are many sanctions most especiallyfor the travel agencies. Let's assume that a travel

agency has refused to complydepending on what is on ground interms of services like airlifting,accommodation or transportation,appropriate actions are takenagainst such agency depending onthe level of gravity or non-compliance. Let say the issue ofaccommodation is involved; wewill make sure that refunds aremade available to the pilgrimsconcerned. And if the offence is sogrievous, we blacklist the agencyand withdraw its licence so that itwill no longer be given Hajjallocation.

In this case do you think we havehad enough of these private TourOperators or are you still going tolicence more?

Shamaki: The licensing is acontinuous process just likeblacklisting too if you don't live upto expectations or you let peopledown. So there will always beblacklisting to allow or give roomfor others to come in and give bestof services to the pilgrims.

Can we have the numbers of TourOperators that have defaultedduring your recent tour acrossthe country?

Shamaki: For example in Kano, wehave about 77 defaulters, 17 fromLagos and 13 from Abuja duringthe recent inspection tour that weembarked upon. However, I'mpleased to add that majority ofthese defaulters are correctingtheir anomalies. They have writtento the Commission that they arecorrecting their mistakes. In thesame vein, some have refused torenew their licenses while othersare acting under ignorance notknowing that NAHCON mustrenew their licenses before theycan operate Umrah or Hajj andthey have not approached us on theprocedure for obtaining license forHajj and Umrah. So, I think thetravel agencies are complying.

We learnt that what you allocatedto these private Tour Operators is10,000 seats. Are you lookingforward to increasing the seats orreducing them?

Members of the inspectorate unit inspection someof the pilgrims' accommodations

How the inner side of one of the pilgrims'accommodation looks

One of the Toilet facilities in the pilgrims' accommodations

Shamaki: Depending on thedemand by the members of thepublic, we try to assess this throughhow people pay or respond toperforming the Hajj. If the numberof people that want to travel withprivate Tour Operators increases,the number may increase but if thenumber is not increasing what isthe essence of allocating moreseats?

Does the recession we are goingthrough now have anything to dowith this?

Shamaki: Because this is not thebeginning of registration so wecannot say whether the numberwill increase or not until such atime when Hajj fare is announcedand payments have started cominginto NAHCON that you will knowwhether certain people wil lperform the Hajj or not.

What is your relationship withthe State Governments and theFCT Boards and how do youbeam your searchlight on them,compel them to perform very welland comply with NAHCON'srules and regulations?

Shamaki: Annually before thebeginning of Hajj, we call for ameeting between the Commissionand the States during which wediscuss issues that will serve thepilgrims State by State and how toaddress the problems during themeeting. Also at the end of everyHajj exercise, there is a form we callperformance status report whereall types of services are listed. Wesend then to the States to fill and

return to NAHCON asking them about theperformance, accommodation provided, perfor-mance of the airlines, performance of cargocarriers, transportation. If a State has stated to thecontrary, we go to where our attention has beendrawn to see what the State is talking about, it issomething that can be addressed by theCommission through the feedback that we get.

You said that you have a feedback mechanismwhere you ask pilgrims if they have any issue andperformance with the Hajj operators that theyengage. Now from the feedback that you havebeen getting from the pilgrims, where do youidentify as the biggest challenge for the pilgrimsin their relationship with Tour Operators?

Shamaki: The majority of complaints received arein the area of accommodation. You know immedi-ately a pilgrim pays for services, the most importantaspect of Hajj in Saudi Arabia is accommodationwhere the pilgrims stay. He stays there for aminimum of 14 days and you know people likecomfort. We have been having complaints frompilgrims who sometimes pay for five-star hotelaccommodation only for them to be accommo-dated in an apartment that is not commensuratewith what they paid. In such cases we always ask theagency to provide the balance of the money to thepilgrims. So we have challenges in pilgrims'accommodation because other services such aslocal transportation are carried out by governmentagencies in Saudi Arabia.

Along this line, what is your relationship with theMinistry of Hajj Affairs in Saudi Arabia to see tothe comfort of the pilgrims in the Holy Land?

Shamaki: We collaborate with them for the interestand comfort of the pilgrims. They have been tryingvery hard in making sure that pilgrims all over theworld are comfortable during the stay in Saudi forthe Hajj. They also assist in ensuring that the serviceproviders in Saudi Arabia perform their dutiesaccording to the rules and regulations of theKingdom.

You said where problems areidentified, the Commission triesto resolve it within and outsideNigeria. What other measures doyou have for Tour Operators thatdefault?

Shamaki: Depending on where theoffence is committed, if the offenceis committed in Nigeria, it will betreated here. Let me give you anexample of Lalle Travel and Toursfrom Minna in Niger State thatdefaulted and took away more thanN100 million that belongs to NigerState pilgrims. We dragged thismatter to the court and now themanaging director of Lalle islanguishing in jail for seven years.We to ok t he m atte r to t heEconomic and Financial CrimesCommission (EFCC) and with theassistance of the EFCC we wereable to prosecute the travel agency.And if the offence is committed inSaudi Arabia, we would collabo-rate with the Ministry of Hajj toreport the defaulter or the serviceprovider and appropriate actionsare taken in line with Saudi rulesand that is how we will resolve thematter.

“There are many sanctions mostespecially for the travel agencies.Let assume that a travel agency hasrefused to comply depending onwhat is on ground in terms ofservices like airlifting, accommo-dation or transportation, appropri-ate actions are taken against suchagency depending on the level ofnon-compliance.”

282017

Abdullahi Mukhtar Muham-mad, who with his normaltimeliness and humility wentround to shake hands withstakeholders and exchangepleasantries as they awaitedthe arrival of the chairman ofthe occasion, the Sultan of

S okot o an d Pre s i d e nt -General, Nigeria SupremeCouncil for Islamic Affairs( N S C IA ) a n d Ja m a ' atuNasril-Islam (JNI), AlhajiM u h a m m a d u S a ' a dAb u b a k a r I I I , a n d t h eHonourable Minister of the

Federal Capital Territory(FCT) and pioneer chairmanand chief executive officer ofthe National Hajj Commis-sion of Nigeria (NAHCON),Mallam Muhammad MusaBello.

Then enters one of thek e y a r c h i t e c t s o f t h eNAHCON EstablishmentAct 2006 whose actionstogether brought about thestandardizat ion of Hajj

At the audito-r ium of t heN a t i o n a lM o s q u ec o m p l e x ,

Abuja enters the man on themantle of Hajj administra-t i o n i n N i g e r i a , B a r r.

By Muhammad Ajah

NAHCON in Search of Financial Autonomy

29 2017

Management in Nigeria:“ H o n o u r i n g t h e P a s t ,Treasuring the Present andShaping the Future”, assessedHajj Management in thecountry before the establish-ment of NAHCON andlauded the roles and contri-butions of the present Boardsof the Commission towardsthe perfection of the Hajjexercise in the country.Specifically, it recognized theg i ant s te p s an d p ol i c yreforms of the Commissionin the areas of accommoda-t i on , f e e d i n g , m e d i c a lservices, airlift of pilgrims,luggage management, Hajjcarriers by way of grantingwaivers on aeronauticalcharges so as to increase theiroperational funds for moreefficient and safer operations.

Generally, NAHCONw a s c o m m e n d e d f o reliminating chains of agentsin Saudi Arabia for 2017 Hajj,saving Nigeria US$12.3million in Madinah, US$6.3mil l ion in Makkah andbetween US$50 to US$100from air fare negotiation.NAHCON was, on the otherhand, urged to intensifyefforts to overcome the majorrecurring challenges in Hajjaffairs such as shortchangingor overcharging the pilgrimsand demanding for augmen-tation to settle accommoda-

management in Nigeria, Dr.Usman Bugaje, then thechairman of House Commit-tee on Nigeria/Saudi Inter-parliamentary Friendship,Hon. Dr. Abdullahi Salame,then representatives of theMinistry of Foreign Affairs,S e n a t e C o m m i t t e e o nForeign Affairs and ActingSecretary to the Governmentof the Federation (SGF), thenpast chairmen, executives e c r e t a r i e s a n d b o a r dmembers of National HajjBoards/Committees/Commissions, then a host of firstclass Islamic scholars andchief Imams across thecountry and laterthe Comptroller-G e n e r a l o f t h eNigeria Immigra-tion Service (NIS),Alhaji MuhammadBabandede. Beforethen, already seatedwere majority of thes t a k e h o l d e r sincluding chairmenand secretaries ofS t a t e P i l g r i m s 'Welfare Boards/Agencies/Commissions, the chiefexecutive officers of theprivate Tour Operators, allrelevant Ministries, NCAA,FAAN, NAMA, NIMET,AIB, the press as well as all thep a p e r p r e s e n t e r s a n ddiscussants.

Then the Sultan of Sokotoenters and immediately UstazAbubakar Lamin opens thegreat event with a recitationfrom the Holy Qur'an and aprayer. That was how thetwo-day event began andthroughout witnessed verywell-researched presenta-tions. But to note wereextensive discussions on thepapers which instilled in theparticipants the fear of Allah,love for humanity as well asrededication and reinvigora-tion to the service of Nigerianpilgrims with passion andpatriotism.

The conference with thelead paper entitled: Hajj

“Some of the key resolutions reached at the end of theconference were that NAHCON should explore all possiblemeans to formulate economic, agricultural, industrial andother policies for the benefit of the Muslim Ummah sincethe country has no national policy on Hajj”.

NAHCON Chairman; His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto and the FCT Minister

A cross section of staksholders at a conference includingMD Med View, Alhaji Muneer Bankole

302017

Some of the key resolu-

tions reached at the end of the

c o n f e r e n c e w e r e t h a t

NAHCON should explore all

possible means to formulate

economic, agr icultura l ,industrial and other policiesfor the benefit of the MuslimUmmah since the countryhas no national policy onHajj, intensify effort forfinancial autonomy, remainunder the Presidency, investi n p r o f i t a b l e S h a r i a h -compliant ventures that willaccrue profits, stimulatereading culture and promoteliteracy among the Muslims,a s c o n t a i n e d i n t h eN A H C O N A c t w h i c hdemands adequate informa-tion and library servicesystem as well as enlighten-ment and orientation for thepilgrims, develop softwaremanagement system for Hajjby absorbing all technologi-

cal indices in Hajj manage-ment and restructure zonaloffices for effectiveness andefficiency.

Government was advisednot to hands-off from theoperations and managementof Hajj and Umrah, laudedfor granting the approval toNAHCON to acquire MetroPlaza as its National Head-quarters. The conferencerecommended that the HajjS av i n g S c h e m e s h o u l dcommence without furtherdelay with Jaiz Bank provid-ing the platform to managethe scheme in a collaborativemanner.

tion costs, drug traffickingand other security relatedoffences, abscondment, birthand miscarriages in Hajj andindiscipline, among others.

NAHCON Chairman/CEO, Barr. Abdullahi Mukhtar Muhammad

The history of Hajj in Nigeriamay go along with history ofNor thern and S outhernamalgamation. During thecolonial period, the British

imperial administration, having recog-nized the great potential of Hajj dideverything to discourage it, but failed.

The first attempt to organize Hajj in amodern way in Nigeria started with amotion by Alhaji Abubakar Imam in 1953in the budget session of the House ofRepresentatives in Lagos. The motion wastabled for the establishment of a NigerianOffice in Jeddah to cater for the welfare ofNigerian pilgrims going to Saudi Arabia forHajj every year.

The motion was approved and AlhajiSir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto,on becoming Premier in 1954, became thepilgrims' leader every year until his death in1966. Therefore, since then the organisa-tion of Hajj went through various stages,chaos and confusions, which led to theFederal Government abolishing privateagents who turned it into some kind ofshylock milking the poor and establishedPilgrims' Board in 1975.

Since then the organisa-tion of Hajj went throughvarious stages, starting fromthe decree of 1986 to that of1989 among others. But allthese decrees never solved any

problem because every year came with anew arrangement.

Confusion and untold suffering ofpilgrims continued for a whole decadebefore some relief came in 1999 when a

NAHCON Celebrates 10 Fruitful YearsBy Kabiru Yusuf Kano

New NAHCON headquarters, Abuja

31 2017

democratic civilian government came onstream.

I n 2 0 0 6 , P r e s i d e n t O l u s e g u nObasanjo's administration approved thee s t a b l i s h m e n t o f N a t i o n a l H a j jCommission of Nigeria (NAHCON)through an Act with the first boardinaugurated in 2007. From its inception, itwas vividly clear that a good foundation hasbeen laid for the Commission and man-dates clearly defined for future growth anddevelopment.

It was prior to this that NAHCONthrough its Chairman/CEO, Barr.Abdullahi Mukhtar Muhammad organizeda stakeholders' conference on the occasionof ten years anniversary for the establish-ment of the Commission with intension toassess its journey so far within the last tenyears of its existence with a view ofreviewing the general challenges andfocusing to propel improvements in HajjManagement and efficiency in servicedelivery to pilgrims.

In his address at the conference, thechairman Barr. Abdullahi MukhtarMuhammad said “Today we no longer hearabout challenges of airlift of pilgrims beforethe closure of Jeddah airport, missingluggage, abscondment of pilgrims, pooraccommodation, stranded pilgrims in theHoly Land. Our operator services havebeen standardized, problems of handbag,Tour Operators and Service

Providers have been eliminated and theHajj industry has greatly been sanitized.This glory of the decade really deservescelebration”, he stated.

It was in view of the above, he said thatthe founding fathers of the Commission,experts in Hajj management, past leaders ofthe Commission, former Board Members,veteran Hajj administrators, aviationagencies, diplomats, relevant governmentagencies, service providers and all otherstakeholders in Hajj business were invitedto partake in the conference to review theperformance of the Commission withinthe last decade of its existence and developgreater vision for another decade.

According to the Chairman, theCommission has achieved a lot in the areasof accommodation, feeding, medicalservices, airlift of pilgrims, luggagemanagement and negotiation of Hajj fare aswell as policy guidelines. He also pointedout that the Commission recorded

successes in other operationalactivities such as licensing ofSt at e P i l g r i m s ' We l f a reB o a r d s / A g e n c i e s a n dCommissions, accreditationof Tour Operator Services andabove all ensuring efficientservice delivery to pilgrims.

He a ss e r te d t h at t heCommission, through thesereforms, has been able toeliminate agents in accommo-dation, feeding services inSaudi Arabia, thereby savingUS$12.3 million in Madinah,ove r U S $ 6 . 3 m i l l i on i nMakkah, US$50 in airfare forboth north and southerndeparture centres and US$100for Maiduguri and Yola Zonesrespectively.

Moreover, he added the reform alsoblocked the unnecessary windows forpayment of augmentation of millions ofNaira on accommodation from the StateGovernments annually. “This singularaction provoked the hitherto disgruntledbeneficiaries that lost out due to thereforms, as such the campaign of calumny,false accusations, illicit social mediapropaganda and attempt to drag the goodimage of the Commission in to the mudbecause it is no longer business as usual”, hesaid.

Barr. Abdullahi explained that it isobvious that the Commission has not erredor derailed from its focus; neither has itdefaulted, short-changed or failed to meetup the expectations of the Muslim Ummah,the confidence of Government and thetrust of Almighty Allah. “I am indeedconfident that we are on the right track. We

Sultan Sa'ad Abubakar explaining a point of interest to formercommissioner PPMF, Alhaji Liad Tella

Cross section of Stakeholders on Hajj during the Hajj and Umrah conference,held at Auditorium of the National Mosque, Abuja

shall not relent in delivering the mandateentrusted on us”.

T he C hai r man w ho re m i nd e dNigerians that even though a lot ofprogress were recorded from inception ofthe Commission, it wasn't withoutchallenges. “Within the last ten years, Hajjoperations had suffered some sad events.Issues like the Mahram challenges, cranecrash in Makkah during the expansionwork, stampede accident in Mina in 2015as well as other major disasters are stillfresh in the memory of Nigerians”.As forits plan for the years ahead, the Chairmansaid the Commission is planning to kick-start the process of Hajj Saving Schemeand appointment of Board of Trustees andto enhance its revenue profile with a viewto gradual financial autonomy for theCommission in future as well as toimplement Hajj Development LevyProjects at the various departure centres.

The projects listed by the Chairmanare reforms on the zonal offices across thecountry, establishment of Hajj TrainingInstitute for Hajj Managers, Developmentof Software Management System for Hajjalready deployed and purchase of MetroPlaza to serve as Corporate Headquartersfor the Commission already approved bythe Federal Executive Council.

On his part, his Eminence the Sultan ofSokoto, Alhaji Sa'ad Abubakar III,appealed to the Federal Government toreinstate the position of Amirul Hajj inline with Islamic tradition. He saidwherever Muslims found themselves; theymust have a leadership that would guidetheir conduct and behaviour as clearlyspelt out in the Holy Qur'an.

“Whenever Muslims are embarking ona journey within and outside theircountry, they must select a leader amongthemselves who will guide their dealings.We cannot allow close to 100,000 Muslimsto embark on pilgrimage to the Kingdomof Saudi Arabia annually without leader-ship because it is against the teachings ofIslam. I therefore, urge stakeholders in thisconference to brainstorm and come upwith workable solutions on how we canenhance Hajj management and operationsin the country”, Abubakar said.

According to him the conferencewould enable Hajj stakeholders to reviewthe operations of NAHCON since itsinception and chart a new course toimprove Hajj and Umrah. The Sultan,

however, advised the Muslimsto always be sure of their factsbefore coming out to com-ment or condemn any personor institution.

In his address, the guestspeaker Dr. Usman Bugajecalled on NAHCON to doubleits efforts in overcoming themyriad of problems hinderingsmooth Hajj operations inNigeria, saying that despite itst e n y e a r s o f e x i s t e n c e ,NAHCON is yet to begin theactual work it was establishedto perform.

Dr. Bugaje called on theleadership of NAHCON tofirstly study and understandthe scope and depth of theirmandate and the opportunitythe mandate presents.

He added that the mandateof NAHCON does not endw i t h r e i n v e n t i n g H a j jmanagement and operationsonly, but also reinventing andre-orientating the entireMu s l i m Um r a h i n t h i scountry.

H e f u r t h e r a d v i s e dNAHCON to squarely face thechallenges of establishing thehighest ethical standards tob u i l d t h e m o s t n e e d e dcredibility and trust to succeedin its herculean tasks, sayingt h a t N A H C O N n e e d strustworthy, competent ,dedicated, highly committed,

dependable and reliable Staff to succeed inits mandatory assignment.

Earlier in his speech, the pioneerChairman of the Commission and currentFCT Minister, Malam Musa MuhammadBello said the experience he gained in theeight years of his tenure, has made him toconclude that hardly would Hajj opera-tions be hitch-free, because every yearcomes with its peculiar new problem. Headvised Hajj managers and handlers to besteadfast and have the fear of Allah, sayingthey should not be deterred by anychallenges.

The communiqué issued at the end ofthe two day Conference explained that thepar t ic ipants maintained that theCommission should remain under andanswerable to the Presidency and alsoadvised against government's withdrawalfrom Hajj matters and to take necessarydiplomatic measures to convince theSaudi government to have a rethink overits policy of air lifting forty five percent ofNigerian pilgrims.

Moreover, they called on NAHCON toimmediately kick-start the Hajj SavingsScheme with Ja'iz Bank as well as to lookinto the possibility of reducing thenumber of days Nigerian pilgrims spendin the Holy Land.

According to the communiqué,NAHCON should cooperate with Saudiauthorities to ensure total eradication ofNigerian miscreants and at the same timecommended the Commission for themeasures taken so far to ensure Nigerianpilgrims got value for their money and itsefforts that saved Nigerian pilgrims threehundred dollars each for the year's Hajj.

322017

NAHCON Chairman explaining a point of interests to His Eminence,the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa'ad Abubakar III

33 2017

Muslims in performing the2017 Hajj exercise.

Hajiya Hadiza who wasrepresented at the occasionby Ambassador HalliruSodangi Shu'aib said therewas a remarkable improve-ment for the year, comparedto previous years, in Hajjadministration.

She said the improve-ment has thrown greaterchallenges to Hajj adminis-trators to ensure they neverrelented in their efforts toachieve higher goals. “I haveconfidence in the presentleadership of the NigerianH a j j C o m m i s s i o n(NAHCON), under the ableleadership of Barr. Mukhtarand he needs the support ofState Pilgrims' administra-tors and other Stakeholdersto achieve greatness”, shesaid.

Speaking at the occasion,the Chairman National HajjCommission of Nigeria,( NA HC ON ) , B ar r i s t e rA b d u l l a h i M u k h t a rMuhammad, who glorifiedand thanked Allah for allthat was achieved, com-mended the Saudi authori-ties, State Pilgrims' WelfareBoards, stakeholders, thepilgrims and all those whocontr ibuted in wadingt h r o u g h t h e s t o r m o fchallenges, to come thus far.

T he C hai r man w hoattributed the successesrecorded to team work andselfless service as demon-strated by both NAHCONand States officials alsoadvised that all should notethat, "it's not over, until it is

Th e F e d e r a lGovernment hase x p r e s s e dsatisfaction with

the improved manner the2017 Hajj was handled by theNational Hajj Commissionof Nigeria (NAHCON),calling on State Pilgrims'Welfare Agencies/Boards/Commissions and otherstakeholders to join handswith NAHCON to maintainthe tempo and the successesrecorded.

The Minister of State,Foreign Affairs, HajiyaHadiza Bukar Abba Ibrahimmade the commendation ina speech at the Post-ArafatStakeholders Meeting heldat Makkah, in preparationfor the return journey ofNigerian pilgrims, whojoined millions of other

FG Expresses Satisfaction with the WayNAHCON Handled 2017 HAJJ OperationsBy Abubakar Jedda Usman

Meanwhile, the Saudi project for the utilisation

of Hajj meat, known as which isAdahi,managed by the Islamic Development Bank

(IDB), has facilitated the slaughter of 15,601 sacrificialanimals for Nigerian pilgrims during the year's Hajj.

The ritual was performed on behalf of thoseNigerian pilgrims whose collections were madethrough JAIZ Bank, which was appointed by Nigerianhajj authorities and IDB as the sole collector in thecountry for the sacrificial animals.

Representatives of Ja'iz Bank, along with NigerianHajj officials, visited the slaughter houses complex inMina near Makkah during the Hajj days and wasconducted round to witness the laughter.

This is the third successive Hajj season that Ja'izBank handled collections for the Hajj sacrifice,following its appointment as the sole agent in 2015 tocollaborate with IDB to perform the ritual on behalf ofNigerian pilgrims.

Interested Nigerian pilgrims paid for their sacrificeanimals through the bank, and subsequently theslaughter was handled by IDB at the Mina slaughterhouses.

The Project was established in 1983 toAdahi

oversee the slaughter of sacrificial animals for hajj andother Islamic rituals. The project aims at servingpilgrims by providing livestock that meet Shari'ah andhealth requirements, and also help to make the meatavailable to beneficiaries around the world.

IDB Slaughters 15,601 Sacri!cialAnimals for Nigerian Pilgrims

re a l l y ove r " , w h e n a l lpilgrims reunite with theirl ov e d on e s s a f e l y a n dsuccessfully.

He commende d t heN i g e r i a n E m b a s s y ,Consulate and NAHCONManagement Staff for theirr e m a r k a b l e s e n s e o fhumility and service to Allahand to humanity, and fortheir decision to share theirfacilities at Masha'ir withsome stranded pilgrims.

Barrister Mukhtar whoacknowledged the chal-l enges of shor t ages offacilities to pilgrims andof f i c i a l s , but s a i d t h eNigerian resilience andperseverance nature came tothe fore and with Allah'shelp and guidance thechallenges were overcome,or at least minimised.

I n t h e i r s e p a r a t espeeches at the occasion,C o m m i s s i o n e r s o fOperations and his counter-p a r t o f F i n a n c e a n dAdministrat ion, Alhaj iAbdullah Saleh Modibboand Alhaji Adebayo YusufIbrahim respectively, gaveaccount of their stewardship,which included habitable

President Muhammadu Buhari

342017

seventy two hours beforetheir departure time.

The Tour Operatorsdecried the unpleasantchallenges they faced, whichwere somehow tackled buthad left a bitter taste in themouth and required goingback to the drawing board totake stock and map outstrategies against reoccur-rence.

The chairman howeverannounced that the home-ward journey was expectedto start from September 07,2017 with the movement ofGombe State pilgrims toK i n g A b d u l a z i zInter nat iona l Air p or t ,Je d d a h for t a ke of f onThursday, September 7th,2017 to Nigeria.

accommodation, feedingand transportation whichNigerian pilgrims never hadit so good in the past, likethat year.

On their part, excessluggage carriers said theirf ixed charge on excessluggage is fifteen Riyals perki logram for Northernpilgrims, while the Southernpilgrims will pay sixteenSaudi Riyals.

Representing the AirCarriers, the ManagingDire c tor of Me d Vie wA i r l i n e , A l h a j i Mu n i rBankole hinted that thereturn journey was the mostchallenging aspect of theairlift exercise, advising thatstate pi lgr ims of f ic ia lsshould ensure that any set ofpilgrims for the next flightshou ld b e made re ady

Borno State Pilgrims listening to a lecture on Hajj rites

Some of the Animals provided to pilgrims for Hadaya at Mina slaughter houses

IntroductionMay 2015 witnessed to great events in the history of Hajj inNigeria. The most important event was the transition fromthe Second to the Third Board of the National HajjCommission of Nigeria. Since then, three Hajj operationshave been conducted and numerous achievements made.In 2016 and 2017 Nigeria experienced a period of economicrecession that drove Foreign Exchange rates tounprecedented heights. In view of this trend and the resolveof the Commission to align itself with the policy thrust anddirection of the new administration of PresidentMuhammadu Buhari, GCFR in combating corruption andelivering good governance to Nigerians, that theleadership of the Commission initiated and implemented awide range of policies that improved services to Nigerianpilgrims and also delivered on the promises of goodgovernance and prudent management of resources for all.The achievements made by the Commission, have beendocumented below and are verifiable:

1.0 Introduction and Gazetting of Hajj and Umrah

RegulationsT 4thhe Commission on 1 December, 2015 issued rules andregulations to guide the operation of Hajj and Umrah by all

His Excellency GCFRMuhammadu Buhari,

President and Commander–in–Chief Federal Republic of Nigeria

NAHCON Achievements Within

35 2017

raised the standards ofTour Operators, Accommodation andCatering Service providers from briefcase companies, tofull-fledged companies with permanent an verifiableaddresses, bank accounts, adequate share capital andqualified staff to carry out their activities.

4.0 Increase in Efficiency of Airlift and Related Activities

4.1 Conclusion of all phases of Airlift ahead of scheduleBefore the establishment of the Commission, it was a normfor Nigeria to be unable to airlift its pilgrims. In 2005 forexample, over 10,000 pilgrims missed the Hajj exercise dueto inability of Nigeria to airlift them to the Holy Land. In 2015and 2016 However, the airlifts were concluded 2 and 5 daysahead of schedule respectively. In 2017, the airlift wasconcluded in time which enabled the carriers operate rescueflights for some Tour Operators who were unable to airlifttheir pilgrims because of visa delays.

4.2 Reduction in time spent by pilgrims at Camps during Saudi-

bound airlifts.Before now, pilgrims usually spent many days at Hajj campsacross Nigeria awaiting airlift to Saudi Arabia. Now, bettercoordination with the assistance of a newly establishedCommand and Control centre, makes airlift more efficient.Pilgrims hardly spend 24 hours in camps without beingairlifted to Saudi Arabia

4 h.3 Direct Landing and arrival into Madina before Arafat.The efficiency of pilgrims' airlift and arrivals into Madina sawa marked improvement. The table below shows a four-yearcomparison:

4.4 Reduction in time spent by pilgrims at Jeddah airport during

Nigeria-bound airlift from days to hours.Pilgrims used to spend days in Jeddah airport during thereturn journey to Nigeria. The Commission initiallyintroduced lodging them in hotels and charging the airlineor State that caused their delay. In the last few yearshowever, pilgrims only spent hours before departing forNigeria.

4.5 Conveyance of all pilgrims' luggage together with or ahead of

pilgrims.Pilgrims normally spend days and sometimes, weeksawaiting the arrival of their luggage at various Hajj camps.This practice has stopped and pilgrims now collect theirluggage on arrival at Nigerian airports because the luggagearrive with them or ahead of them.

4.6 Taking Over the Responsibility of Delivering Zamzam water to

Nigeria for all pilgrims.Return journeys were before now always full of variouschallenges of multiple hand luggage in addition to Zamzam

entities. The rules, which have been gazetted, provide aframework for Hajj and Umrah Operations by all entities.Before now Nigeria did not have a common standard forpilgrims registration and provision of basic services such asairlift, accommodation, catering and medical services. Theintroduction and gazetting of rules and regulations guidingthese activities have provided a bench-mark against whichthe services can be assessed and improved.

2.0 Licensing of State Pilgrims Welfare Boards/AgenciesThe Commission introduced for the first time, licensing ofState Pilgrims Welfare Boards/Agencies/Commissions in linewith the provisions of NAHCON (Establishment) Act and itsrules and regulations. Each body is assessed and graded 'A','B', 'C' or 'D' in accordance with its structure, staffing, andcapacity to operate as a Hajj Agency. Apart from providing aservices delivery framework, the policy served as moralebooster to the State bodies to maintain their excellentperformance or work harder to aspire for higher licensingcategories

3.0 Improvement in the Quality/Capacity of Service

ProvidersNAHCON's regulations on the involvement of variousservice providers in Hajj and Umrah activities in Nigeria has

Abdullahi Mukhtar Muhammad, MON, FCIA, ESQ

Chairman, National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON)

Two Years of Buhari Administration 2015 - 2017

Arrivals into Madina by Air

Visiting Madina before Arafat

57%

89%

64%

92%

67%

100%

61%

99%

Activity 2014 2015 2016 2017

362017

6.0 Improvement in quality of Pilgrims' Accommodation in

Saudi Arabia.

6.1 Improvement in MadinahBefore 2015, Nigerian pilgrims were usually accommodatedin furnished apartments mostly about 20 – 30 minutes' walkfrom the Haram in Madina. Now, pilgrims are allaccommodated in 3, 4 and 5 star hotels that are in the high-brow Markaziyya area of Madina which is between 1 - 5minutes walk from the Haram. Below is a comparison of thegrade of buildings used:

6.2 Reduction of Rates for Pilgrims Accommodation in Madina.Another milestone recorded by the Commission is thereduction of Madinah accommodation. In 2017, theCommission decided to eliminate agents and deal directlywith Landlords that owned buildings in the choice area ofMarkaziyya in Madina. By doing this, the Commission wasable to negotiate prices for bed spaces downwards to arange of SAR3,000 to SAR4,500 which effectively broughtdown the cost per pilgrim from SAR2,312 in 2016 toSAR1,610 a reduction of SAR702 for pilgrims and a saving ofSAR52,650,000. Or USD14,047,491.99 in foreign exchangedemand to Nigerian Government.

6.3 Improvement in Quality of Pilgrims Accommodation in

MakkahIn Makkah, Pilgrims used to be accommodated in over onehundred (100) small and medium houses mostly of grade Band C standard between ten (10) and thirty (30) minutes'walk away from the Haram. Now, they are accommodated inninety-eight (98) larger buildings mostly of A and Bstandards.

Pictoral Comparison of Pilgrims’Accommodation

water. Despite the huge efforts put in by pilgrims, someState Boards and airlines and in addition to time wasted incollecting, screening and managing Zamzam, only a fractionof Nigerian pilgrims eventually get their Zamzam water inNigeria. Many were lost as a result of handling, theft,misplacement and many other reasons.

To address this, the Commission introduced the bulkpurchase and delivery of Zamzam in Phase I of the pilgrimsairlift. This measure ensured adequate provision was madefor delivery of Zamzam to all pilgrims while reducing themanagement challenges. The measure took off the burdenof purchase and handling off the pilgrims, eliminated thehours lost in screening during return journeys as a result ofZamzam and also increased safety and efficiency of Hajjreturn flights. Below is a brief comparison of Zamzamdelivery to Nigeria in the last four Hajj operations.

4.7 Reduction in cases of multiple hand luggage.It used to take between 6 and 8 hours to screen a 500 loadflight of Nigerian pilgrims at Jeddah airport. With theintroduction of Pre-airport screening, the same flights arescreened in 2 hours or less thereby ensuring timelydepartures of flights.

5.0 Improvement in quality of Buses used for

Transportation in Saudi Arabia.Nigerian pilgrims were used to being conveyed betweenJeddah, Makkah and Madina in old buses. Reports ofbreakdown of such buses on the road were a dailyoccurrence. In 2017, the Commission entered into anagreement with one of the reputable companies to conveyNigerian pilgrims in VIP buses at no extra cost. Thisarrangement ensured that Nigerian pilgrims enjoyed beingcarried in the best quality of buses during the 2017 exercise.Only one case of a bus break-down was received in 2017.Below is a pictorial comparison of the old and new buses.

Pictorial Comparison of Old and New Pilgrims' Buses

Delivery of Zamzam water 0% 82% 100% 100%

Activity 2014 2015 2016 2017

No of Buildings in Madinah

Grade A

Grade B

Grade C

49

15

16

18

48

7

24

17

27

25

2

0

27

25

2

0

Activity 2014 2015 2016 2017

No of Buildings in Makkah

Grade A

Grade B

Grade C

108

32

41

35

99

53

34

12

88

41

40

7

98

54

32

12

Activity 2014 2015 2016 2017

Old Buses New Buses

Before Now

37 2017

T h e C o m m i s s i o n r e v i e w e d t h e p r i c e s o f A L Laccommodations in Makkah downward. It is important atthis juncture to mention a few examples: Some houses thatwere previously secured for SAR7,000 were negotiateddown to SAR3,900 and SAR3,500.

Similarly, some states that previously paid SAR5,300 foraccommodations situated over 3km away from the GrandMosque, were now able to get same and betteraccommodations situated less than 2km away from theHaram at SAR4,000. In Makkah Accommodation, Nigeria wasable to save another SAR13,637,395 equivalent toUSD3,639,000. The Commission's reforms in Makkah havetherefore:

i. Reduced cost of pilgrims accommodation.

ii. Eliminated the need for $nancial augmentation by StateGovernments.

iii. Uncovered and eliminated the fraud perpetrated underthe benchmark arrangement.

7.0 Improvement of Pilgrims' Welfare in Masha'irThe standard of pilgrims' accommodation in Mina andArafat has been upgraded to one that is at par with other topranked countries. Our pilgrims now have matrasses andblankets it Muna, Desert coolers in Arafat and improvedsanitation in both places which was not the case before.

Pictorial Comparison of Mina and Arafat tents then andnow

8.0 Service-Oriented Hajj Management

8.1 Securing a Permanent Site for NAHCON.Decree no 2 of 1975 gave birth to the Nigerian PilgrimsCommission. The Commission was accommodated by theMinistry of Foreign Affairs in its Headquarters ant No 23,Marina Street and later moved to No 27 Kukawa Street,Tinubu Square all in Lagos before moving to Abuja under theDepartment of Pilgrims Affairs. While in Abuja, it stayed insome rented properties such as no 7 Abidjan Street, Wuse II;No 10 Suez Canal Crescent in Ibrahim Abacha HousingEstate before eventually purchasing its initial base at No 1Malumfashi Close, Garki. The Commission later moved to itspresent location, Sokoto House, a rented property due toFCDA regulations prohibiting the use of Malumfashi Closeproperty because it was a residential Area.

With prudent management of resources through savings,increase in off-shore revenue and Government capitalallocation, the Commission $nally secured a be$ttingproperty, Metro Plaza, at Zakaria Maimalari Street, Central

6.4 Reduction of Rates for Pilgrims Accommodation in Makkah

Traditionally, the policy for pilgrims' accommodation inMakkah was through a system of benchmark pricing for allaccommodations in Makkah. The system was to ensure thatall State Pilgrims Welfare Bodies secure be$tting andstandard accommodations for their pilgrims at that rate. In2016 the benchmark price $xed by the Commission forMakkah Accommodation was maintained for the fourthconsecutive year at SAR4,000. Some States Pilgrims WelfareBoards (SPWB's) however with the assistance of their StateGovernments secured accommodations for prices higherthan the benchmark and as such $nancially augmented thepilgrims by paying the difference. This difference rangedbetween SAR1,000 to SAR2,000.

However, on the introduction of e-payment recentlyintroduced by Saudi Government and adopted by theCommission, it was discovered that some of the propertiessecured, negotiated and paid for by some States were farbelow their prices. A particular State was discovered to havepaid SAR5,300 Saudi Riyals for an accommodation securedby an Agent at SAR2,500.

Another was discovered to have collected the approvedSAR4,000 for a property the Landlord gave at SAR1,800.These shocking discoveries necessitated the need for theCommission to review and extend its regulatory functions inthe area of monitoring and negotiating for pilgrimsaccommodation in Makkah where the State Pilgrims Boardswere largely responsible for.

The $rst step taken by the Commission in 2017, was toabolish the old benchmarking system after discovering thatit was abused by some State PWB's in collaboration withAccommodation Providers. It resolved to accept eachbuilding based on its merit and market value. It alsodeepened its involvement in the securing of theseaccommodations by being involved in the negotiations foreach building. The price for each building was negotiated ina forum under the Chairmanship of Commissioner PPMF(Policy, Personnel Management and Finance) staff of theCommission, Chief Executive of the concerned PilgrimsWelfare Board or his representative and the Landlord/Agent.

Before Now

Before Now

382017

8.3 Movement of NAHCON Management and Staff from Tent A to

Tent C.Traditionally, Nigerian officials usually stay in 'A' area ofMinna which is about three kilometers away from wherepilgrims are situated. The Commission decided to move towhere Nigerian pilgrims are to supervise and enjoy the samestandard of services with them. This has assisted in propersupervision of the services rendered to pilgrims during theperiod of main Hajj activities. It has also reduced the hugecost associated with theTent 'A' services as well as eliminatedabuse.

9.0 Introduction of Automated Pilgrims Management

SystemIn 2016, the Commission secured a bene$cial partnershipwith the Pakistani Hajj Mission where a customiszedPilgrims' Management Solution was developed anddeployed by the Pakistani Information Technology Bureau(PITB).

The Bureau worked with the ICT unit of the Commission todevelop a computer-based multi-faceted solution forpilgrims registration, %ight, complaints and healthmanagement systems.

The solutions that would have cost the Comission about Fivehundred thousand US Dollars ($500,000.00) was developedand deployed free of charge. This enabled the Commissionsave money while leveraging on the relationship itestablished in 2016 to enhance efficiency of HajjManagement.

Business District Abuja, to serve as the Commission'sHeadquarters. The property which cost Two Billion, FourHundred Million was funded 97.6% by savings and internallygenerated revenue by the Commission while the FederalGovernment supported the purchase with a capitalallocation of Five Hundred and Eighty-Seven million Nairaonly being 2.4% wasThe property has been fully paid for andformally handed over to the Commission.

The new office complex of the Commission sits on astrategically located two plots of Land on 991/992 ZakariaMaimalari street in the Central Business District. Theproperty is neighbouring the National War, College andInternational Conference Centre. It consists of a four-storeymain building, two annexes, a spacious parking space thatcan hold up to 600 cars, two 500-KVA generators and amotorized borehole and water treatment plant.

Pictorial Comparison of NAHCON's Present and NewOffice Accommodation

8.2 Relocation of Head Office from Jeddah to MakkahSimilarly, the operational office of the Nigerian Hajj Missionin Saudi Arabia since inception in 1975, had been situated inJeddah. However, the need to be closer to pilgrims made theCommission to relocate its Hajj operational headquarters toMakkah in 2015 to be closer to pilgrims.

The NAHCON Operational Head Office, Makkah

Present Office Acquired Office

Before

Now

Management's Tent In Minna Management's Tent In Arafat

10.0 Reduction of Cost of Hajj and Cost of Administering Hajj

10.1 Reduction in Air FaresFrom the year 2012 to date, the airfare for Hajj had beenUSD1,700 and USD1,750 for pilgrims from the Northern andSouthern departure points of Nigeria respectively. In a bid tomanage the 2017 Hajj fares, the Commission constitutedtwo committees to further negotiate downwards, the 2017airfare proposed by the Airlines' Technical ScreeningCommittee. At the end of negotiations, the airfare for 2017Hajj were negotiated downwards to USD1,700 USD1,650and USD1,600. This reduced the airfare by USD50 forNorthern and Southern Departure Points and USD100 (forMaiduguri and Yola Departure points). The total savingsfrom this amounts to USD4,056,850.

39 2017

Recently, the Commission was inundated with complaintsfrom the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and other Agencies over theillegal use of these cars especially outside Hajj seasons. In2016, the accumulated penalties for traffic violations from allNigerian vehicles reached Three Hundred Thousand SaudiRiyals (SAR300,000.00) equivalent to Twenty-Four MillionNaira (N24,000,000.00).

To tackle this problem, the Commission introducedmeasures aimed at curtailing the misuse of vehicles in SaudiArabia. The measures include a centralized parking andmanagement of the vehicles and a shared responsibility infinancing the arrangement.

11 Tackling Corruption and Hajj-Related Malpractices

11.1 Tackling Hadaya Related Cases.The Commission through investigations by its SecurityCommittee discovered that there was a lot of racketeeringgoing on under the guise of facilitating the performance ofsacrifice for pilgrims. Some self-appointed agents(Hadaya)in Nigeria and in Saudi Arabia collect monies from pilgrimsfor the purpose of performing . The SecurityHadayaCommittee discovered that in many instances, the isHadayaeither underperformed or not performed completely.

The Commission decided to strengthen its cooperation withthe Islamic Development Bank Adahi Project through JaizBank Plc as the only approved medium for whileHadayaapplying punitive measures on those who seek to disregardthe arrangement. The Commission resolved to adopt thisapproach to ensure no Nigerian pilgrim is defrauded as thereputation and capacity of these banks is not in doubt. Dueto this reform, the Commission saved innocent pilgrims frombeing duped to an estimated $1.6 Million. It also improvedthe image of Nigeria in Saudi Arabia.

11.2 Tackling Pilgrims Basic Travel Allowance (BTA) Related

MalpracticesAnother area touched by the reforms is the pilgrims BTAwhich was USD750, USD1,000 and USD1,500 for minimummedium and maximum BTA's. It was discovered howeverthat because of the exchange differentials provided byapplying official exchange rates, Some State Officials andStakeholders connived with some bankers to top up theactual forex required by pilgrims who paid minimum Hajjfare, collect the maximum Hajj fare from CBN, remit theamount initially requested by the pilgrims and keep thechange. This racket is popularly referred to as “loading”. Theamount Government lost to this round is mind-boggling. Toarrest this, the Commission made all BTA into a uniformamount of USD800.

11.3 Tackling the Menace of Illegal Tour Operator CompaniesThe extortion, poor services and in many cases, outrightdefrauding of innocent intending pilgrims by 'agents' weresome of the reasons Government started getting involved inHajj arrangements since 1954. Although significant progresshas been made, 'agents' seem to have resurfaced in theguise of Tour Operators many of whom are not dulyregistered. The Commission in early 2017, toured the entire

10.2 Reduction in Local ChargesOne of the reforms introduced by the Commission in 2017,was the decentralization of Hajj fares. Each State of theFederation proposed the contents and amounts it proposedto charge its pilgrims.The Chief Executive or officer in chargeof each state appeared before a special committee wherethese proposals are defended with reasons. On manyoccasions, estimates found to be high or irrelevant werereduced or removed till the final amount to be charged isagreed upon and signed off by the Commission and theState concerned. A total savings of One Billion, FiveHundred andThirty Eight Million Naira ( 1,538,000,000) wasNmade from this exercise. Without the reform, this amountwould have been imposed on Nigerian pilgrims as was thecase before when the Commission allowed States the freehand to determine their local charges.

10.3 Reduction in Cost of Pilgrims SuitcasesIn 2017, the States under the auspices of the Forum ofChairmen and Chief Executives of State Pilgrims WelfareBoards and Agencies had contacted and agreed with asuitcase manufacturer, Lanyo Travelling Bags and LuggageLtd to supply the suitcases at the cost of N21,500 per set.

NAHCON came to know about the arrangement during thedefence of the local charges component of the faresmentioned above. In a bid to further reduce the cost of Hajj,it decided to negotiate the agreed price down to N16,665.

10.4 Reduction of Dependence on Federal Government SpendingThe Commission was able to boost its Internally GeneratedRevenue profile without increasing its charges of pilgrimsand reduce its dependence on Government to finance HajjOperations. The Commission reduced its dependency onFederal Government in funding its offshore operations from69% in 2014 to 23% in 2017 as shown in the table below. TheCommission is gradually moving towards completeindependence from Federal Government funding on itsentire operations.

10.5 Reduction of Hajj officialsThe Commission was known for sponsoring many officials toassist pilgrims. This practice of recruiting officials waspruned to essential medical and security personnel as wellas institutional representatives.

10.6 Management of Vehicles owned by Nigeria in Saudi ArabiaNigeria has been described to be one of the countries withthe largest fleet of vehicles in Saudi Arabia due to theindiscriminate purchase and mismanagement of vehicles byvarious State Pilgrims Welfare Boards. The total number ofvehicles as at July, 2017 stood at Three Hundred and Sixty-nine (369). Countries like Indonesia and Pakistan with overOne Hundred and Fifty Thousand (150,000) pilgrims twicethe number of Nigerian pilgrims have less than 20 cars intheir fleet.

FG !nancing of Offshore Budget 69% 68% 28% 23%

Activity 2014 2015 2016 2017

402017

public about its activities. The Commission's account onFacebook; Twitter and Instagram handles @nigeriahajjcomtook off from 2016 to complement print and broadcastmedia coverage of the Commission's activities.

14.0 Introduction of National Medical TeamNigeria used to go to Hajj with a medical team for each stateas well as a Federal medical team. The combined manpowerprior to 2015 used to be over 2000 personnel that include,Doctors, Nurses, Pharmacists and Environmental Healthworkers to serve 95,000 pilgrims. This duplication of effortsand wastage was curtailed from 2016 when a single NationalMedical Team to serve all Nigerian pilgrims was formed. Theentire team was less than 500 and it served all Nigerians.Statistics of pilgrims served was discovered to haveincreased considerably as indicated in the chart below:

There was initial resistance to this initiative by some Statespartly due to beneficiaries of budgetary allocations to StateMedical teams and partly due to the fear of change. Howeverwith explanations backed by facts and interactions atvarious fora including the Nigeria Governors Forum, betterunderstanding of its benefits was secured which led tobetter cooperation in 2017.

15.0 Establishment of Pilgrims' DNA DatabaseIn the aftermath of the unfortunate stampede 2015 in which317 Nigerian pilgrims and officials lost their lives, theCommission resolved to establish a DNA bank for Nigerianpilgrims through the collection of buccal swabs frompilgrims. The measure was to enable the Commissionquickly identify and trace pilgrims in the event of death andabsence of any form of identity. It will address the challengeof identification that was faced in 2015.

1 G6.0 On- oing Activities

16.1 Implementation of Hajj Savings Scheme.One of the core mandates of NAHCON as provided for insection 7 of its (Establishment) Act, is providing a HajjSavings Scheme which will provide for gradual payment forHajj and reduce dependence on Government for fundingthrough investments. The Commission has commenced theprocess of implementing the Scheme which is expected to

length and breadth of Nigeria to sensitize Tour Operatorsengaged in Hajj or Umrah without licensing on the illegalityof their business and gave them time to normalize theiroperations by being duly registered and coming underregulatory radar. A total of 113 unregistered Tour OperatorCompanies across the country were visited and given 21days to regularise their operations. At the expiry of the graceperiod, 86 companies complied.

The Commission has instituted legal action againstdefaulters and has so far obtained court injunctions to seal12 Companies across the country. Many of the owners ofthese companies had listening ears in the corridors of powerhence pursued their fraudulent activities with impunity. Theresolve of the Commission to sanitize the industry throughits reforms led to these companies utilize their influence toinstigate various investigations against the Commission.

12.0 Ensuring Value for Money.

12.1 Refunds to Pilgrims for Un-rendered or Poorly Rendered

Services.The Commission in March 2016, refunded the sum of 1.75Billion Naira to Pilgrims Boards of the 36 States of theCountry and the FCT for onward refund to pilgrims. Similarly,it refunded the sum of 526 Million Naira in 2017 This refundwas as a result of services not rendered or poorly renderedduring the 2015 and 2016 Hajj exercises while that of 2017 isbeing processed for payment. The refunds were publicizedin National dailies while Government Anti-Graft Agencieswere involved in monitoring the refund to pilgrims. It was ademonstration of commitment to ensure that Nigerianpilgrims got value for money.

13.0 Expansion of Public Enlightenment and Engagement.In line with Section 4(1)g of the NAHCON (Establishment)Act, the Commission embarked on enlightenment activitiesand was able to achieve the following:

13.1 Introduction of Radio and Television Enlightenment.The programme, tagged. Hajj: As You Answer the Call isalways aired on NTA Network Television on weekly basiswith the aim of enlightening pilgrims as well as showcasingactivities of the Commission. The same programme is beingconducted through the Federal Radio Corporation ofNigeria (FRCN) network.

13.2 Introduction of the National Media Team.The Commission also introduced a harmonized system ofcovering and reporting Hajj activities through theestablishment of a National Media Team for each Hajjoperation to ensure Nigeria operated as Country and allMedia activities are properly managed and journalists giventhe necessary support to perform their duties. The Nigerianpublic in the last two years have enjoyed an improvedreportage of Hajj activities.

13.3 Public Engagement over Social MediaThe Commission also established various publicengagement mechanisms through use of Social Media toinform, enlighten, engage and receive feedback from the

41 2017

bearing on the welfare of common Nigerians. Each Nigerianpilgrim under Government quota benefits from a costsaving of about $300 while the Nigerian economy as awhole was saved from foreign exchange demand of $21.7Million in 2017 alone. This is in addition to Billions of nairasaved from State Government Augmentation. They havealso put a stop to numerous fraudulent practices thathitherto held sway in BTA processing, and inflatedHadayacosts of pilgrims' accommodation in Saudi Arabia. Themodest achievements recorded are just the beginning of ajourney to achieving excellent service delivery for HajjAdministration in Nigeria.

take off fully before the end of the tenure of NAHCON3rdBoard.

16.2 Establishment of Training Institute for Hajj Managers.In view of the non-existence of professional training for HajjManagers in Nigeria, the Commission initiated the processof establishing a Hajj training Institute in collaboration withlocal and foreign institutions. The proposed institute willserve as a professional training centre for all Hajj Managers inNigeria and neighbouring African Countries.

1 .0 Conclusion7The achievements listed above by the Commission are acredit to the current Administration as they have direct

The Chairman, Chief ExecutiveOfficer of the National HajjC o m m i s s i o n o f N i g e r i a(NAHCON), Barr. Abdullahi

Mukhtar Muhammad has advocated forglobal discussion on Hajj quota to ensureeffective utilisation of facilities in Minaand Arafat.

The Chairman made this call duringthe 2017 post Arafat meeting withstakeholders held at Ruqiyyah Hall,Makkah, following the challenges ofinadequate space in Mina, adding that theprevious three years Hajj exercise did notexperience these challenges because of thereduced number of pilgrims from acrossthe world on the orders of Saudigovernment due to the expansion servicesbeing undertaken in most of the Holymosques.

He said the restoration of the 20 percent quota by Saudi Arabia led to a highernumber of pilgrims this year which in theend impacted on the resources in Minatent city, suggesting that all countriesshould collectively agree on the need toreduce the quota thereby making it easierfor the authorities to manage Hajj well andsuccessfully.

“Hajj Management should be a globalresponsibility, through an articulate

policy and plan to ensure

r e s p o n s i v e c o n d u c t a n d

behavior of all pilgrims while in

the holy land to guard against

stamped and all forms of

discomfort not only among the

pilgrims themselves but to their

officials and those of the host

government and it security

agencies.”

“The Saudi Arabian Governmentunder the leadership of the custodian ofthe two holy Mosques has shown greatwisdom in managing and making Hajjeasy for all. Our prayer is that God willgive them the wisdom to address thechallenge of Mina just like they did forthem in Jamarat and Haram,” he said.

Towards meeting the requiredstandard of accommodation facilities forNigerian pilgrims, the chairman saidN A H C O N w i l l c e n t r a l i s eaccommodation for Nigerian pilgrims inMakkah during 2018 Hajj season, sayingthat

“Centralising the accommodationmeans having Nigerian pilgrims from

NAHCON Advocates GlobalDiscussion On Hajj Quota…as the Commission ready to take overMakkah Accommodations

By Yakubu Musa and Abubakar Jidda Usman

“It could be recalledthat in 2015, Iaddressed a

gathering like this,and there I said we

should give theissue of Makkah

accommodation atwo-year moppingup period. I think

today we are in2017 and so weshould consider

that periodexpired.”

Barr. Abdullahi Mukhtar MuhammadNAHCON Chairman/CEO

different states housed together in largehotels , a depar ture f rom currentexperience where all states individuallyseek for accommodation for theirpilgrims in Makkah”, the chairman stated.

The chairman, who reappeared afterhis first speech specifically to make theannouncement, expressed dismay overthe rate of complaints the commissionreceived on the nature of pilgrims'accommodations in Makkah.

NAHCON took over the provision ofaccommodation for pilgrims in Madinahwhich has seen Nigerian pilgrims stayingin Markaziyya area, steps away from theProphet's Mosques.

While states independently seek fortheir hotels in Makkah and some of themend up housing their pilgrims far from theGrand Mosque making it difficult for thepilgrims to observe their daily prayers atthe Haram.

“Very soon we will discuss with stateso u r p r o p o s a l t o t a k e M a k k a haccommodation collectively as a nation,not individual states. The idea is to getcloser to Haram by occupying biggerhotels that can house pilgrims from 10 to12 states.

An official from one of the states isalready discussing with one of the hotelswhich can accommodate 16,000 pilgrimsat a time”, said Mukhtar.

Barr. Mukhtar who expressed the hopethat all the 36 states, Federal CapitalTerritory and the armed forces will keyinto the proposal, also said “What we aregoing to pay is not going to be too differentfrom what we are paying the smaller hotelsat the moment”.

He explained that this is coming just asthe commission has put stringentmeasures to monitor the activities of thestate pilgrims' boards in 2017 Hajj.

“It could be recalled that in 2015, Iaddressed a gathering like this, and there Isaid we should give the issue of Makkahaccommodation a two-year mopping upperiod. I think today we are in 2017 and sowe should consider that period expired.

He stressed the need for all Hajjparticipants to come together to addressthe challenges and proffer a lastingsolution.

“I know there might besome level of resistance, but thisis just what we have to do; youeither be in the ship or you beon your own. Any state thatdecides to stay away should beprepared to organise visas,negotiate for services andinterface with all relevant SaudiArabian authorities on theirown”, the chairman warned.

B a r r . A b d u l l a h icommended Saudi Arabianauthorities for organising ahitch free Hajj exercise duringthe four-day stay in Mashaeer.He also commended Nigerianpilgrims and officials from thestates for their abil ity toovercome challenges duringthe observation of Hajj rites.

“Kano, Sokoto, Lagos andsome pilgrims from privatetour operators under serviceoffice 19 all had challenges ofinadequate space in Mina.However, the situation was wellmanaged by the of f ic ia lsconcerned and the Muassassawas made to provide a better,more spacious tent; while Lagosmoved without a hitch, othersdecided to stay due to logisticsreasons.

“ T h i s e x c e p t i o n a lbehaviour by Nigerian pilgrimsa n d o f f i c i a l s d e s e r v eexceptional commendation,”he said.

In a related development,the Commission has again beencalled upon to ensure, insubsequent years, that allN i g e r i a n p i l g r i m s w e r eaccommodated in houses closeto the Haram in Makkah asfully obtained in Madinah.

The C hair man S enateCommittee on foreign Affairs,Senator, (Alhaja) MonsuratS u m o n u m a d e t h e c a l lexpressing displeasure over thedistance of the accommodationof some pilgrims who mustcover over two kilometers to getto the Haram for their dailyprayers.

Senator Mansurat who stated that thejoint committee of the National Assemblywould continue its visit to some pilgrims'accommodations to complete assessmentof the exercise they began on arrival to theholy land, also said the move was toc o n f i r m t h at p i l g r i m s w e r e n o tshortchanged and that they really gotvalue for their money.

While commending NAHCON foreffectively wading through the typhoon of

422017

Dr. Abdullah Balarabe SalameChairman House of RepresentativesCommittee on Saudi-Nigeria Inter-ParliamentaryFriendship and Hajj matters

Senator Alhaja Monsurat SumonuChairman, Senate Committee on foreign Affairs

challenges faced during 2017 Hajj

operations, particularly at the Mashaa'ir

areas, she urged the commission to wield

the big stick on any State Pilgrims Welfare

Board found to defraud its pilgrims.

In his remarks, the Chairman House of

Representatives Committee on Saudi-

Nigeria Inter-Parliamentary Friendship

and Hajj matters, Dr. Abdullah Balarabe

S a l a m e c o m m e n d e d NA H C O N ' s

handling of this year's Hajj, saying there is

h o w e v e r , r o o m f o rimprovement.

He s aid t h is re quire dcooperation, good will andunderstanding from the StatePi lgr ims Welfare Boards.Barrister Abdullah stated that acomprehensive plan was beingworked out to pull resourcestogether between NAHCONand the state Boards for therealisation of this objective.

“Next year a large numberof Nigerian pilgrims are housedfew meters away from theHaram in Makkah. And thiswas possible without muchheavier financial implications”.

The Chairman opined thatthere was the need to put headst o g e t h e r a m on g Mu s l i mnations for a round tablediscussion on a realisable andmanageable quota of pilgrimsfor al l nat ions to reducepressure on the facilities atMashaa'ir areas.

The Chairman confirmedthat the Commission hasalready swung into action toensure that next year a largenumber of Nigerian pilgrimsare housed few meters awayfrom the Haram in Makkah.And this he said would bep o s s i b l e w i t h o u t m u c ha d d i t i o n a l f i n a n c i a limplications.

In a related development, ithas been suggested that thepractice of sending old persons,who can hardly bear the rigoursof Hajj exercise, to perform theannual religious rites should bediscouraged. NAHCON'sCommissioner in charge ofhealth matters, Dr. IbrahimKana gave the advice in hisspeech at the stakeholders'meeting.

He said it was touching anddishear tening to s ee thehardship the extremely elderlypersons undergo during theHajj rites, without guides or

assistants, saying there's a limit to whichHajj officials can go in handling such case?

Speaking earlier, Nigeria's Charge 'D'Affairs in Riyadh, Salisu Umar, urgedNAHCON to carry out sensitisation ofNigerians holding visitors' visas toe n l i g hte n t he m on it s i l l e g a l i t y.Mr Umar said some Nigerians performingHajj with such visas instead of Hajj visawere recently arrested.

He also asked NAHCON to take noteof all the challenges faced in this year's hajjin order to address them before the nextone.

“About 85 per cent of 'Zamzam' waterf o r p i l g r i m s h a v e a l r e a d y b e e ntransported back to the country and willbe distributed to pilgrims upon return”.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner incharge of operations at NAHCON,Abdullahi Saleh, in his presentation saidthe commission has concluded allarrangements for a hitch free returnjourney by Nigerian pilgrims adding that

which commences its flight operationsWednesday will conclude its return flighton October 2, while, Medview will beginon September 10 and finish on September25 and Max Air, which begins airlift onSeptember 9, will conclude on October 5 .

th

Mr. Saleh called on pilgrims to avoidcarrying excess luggage saying “theconveyor belt at the Airport is calibratedto reject any luggage weighing over 32kg.”He urged states to provide weighing scalesfor pilgrims at their accommodation toweigh their luggage “even before headingto the airport.”

He said about 85 per cent of 'Zamzam'water for pilgrims have already beentransported back to the country and willbe distributed to pilgrims upon return.

43 2017

His Royal Highness, Alhaji Rilwan SulaimanEmir of Bauchi and representative of theSupreme Council of Islamic Affairs

Alhaji Abdullahi Moddibo Saleh,NAHCON Commissioner in charge of operations

“This year a large number ofNigerian pilgrims are housed

few meters away from theHaram in Makkah. And thiswas possible without much

heavier financialimplications”.

Nigerian Consule-General in Jeddah, Ambassador Muhammad Sani Yunusalistening to one of the State officials while on pilgrims' accommodationsvisit in Makkah

The front view of the Al haram of Makkah

Security operatives at Masjidul Haram in Makkahwhisked away a Nigerian pilgrim from Sokoto Statesuspected of picking a lost item within the vicinity of

the Grand Mosque.

The item might have fallen out of the pocket of anotherpilgrim and the security operatives suspected that thepilgrim had intention to convert the item to his personnelbelonging.

Speaking to a cross section of pilgrims in Makkah,Nigerian Consul General in Jeddah AmbassadorMuhammad Sani Yunusa advised pilgrims against pickingany item that does not belong to them.

He explained that the premises of Haram have over twothousand CCTV cameras.

According to him, he and other officials of the NationalHajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) had madefrantic efforts to locate the whereabouts of the victim ofcircumstances to secure his release.

The Consul General used the medium to ask thepilgrims to always use the best opportunity in the holyland to pray for peace and unity to prevail in Nigeria.

442017

Two Pakistani pilgrims have set a realexample of true friendship. EjazDalali Ahmad and Ahmad Dalo Raj,both over 80 years old, decided toperform Haj together. They made a

promise to one another decades ago that theywould raise money together and go to Hajjtogether. What makes the lifetime journey allthe more interesting is that Ahmed Dalo Raj isblind; he lost his sight many years ago.

When they finally made it to Makkah, thetwo friends showed the world that the bonds offriendship is so thick, that even at this age theydisclosed that they could depend on eachother — for Raj, who is totally blind,

depended on his friend Ahmed for guidanceand direction.

The two close friends from Pakistanwaited for 25 years to come to the Haj together.Ahmed refused to do Hajj alone and insistedthat his longtime friend, Raj accompaniedhim but the latter did not have enough moneyto meet the expenses of Hajj.

"I always had enough money to meet Hajjcosts but my friend Raj did not. So I had to waitfor him for about 25 years until he hadcollected sufficient funds needed for Hajj,"Ahmed said.

He said he was overjoyed and exultantwhen his friend told him that now he had the

required amount of money so they couldrealize their dream of a quarter of a century ofdoing the fifth pillar of Islam together.

"My friend Raj is blind. We were togethersince our early childhood. We agreed to do theHajj together when we were both 55 years oldbut it took him about 25 years to save theamount of money needed for the Hajj," Ialways had the money which was enough forHajj but I waited for my friend until he had the

Picking Lost Item atHaram May Take you to Jail-NAHCON Warns PilgrimsBy Nasiru Adamu El-Hikaya

“Over 25 years have passed since Ejaz raised enough money to go toHajj alone but he did not go. He waited for me. I will always be indebtedto him and will never forget what he has done for me.”

WHAT A FRIENDSHIP:80yrs Friend Waits for 25yrs to Perform Hajj With Friend

True Friends! Ejaz Dalali Ahmad and Ahmad Dalo Raj,over 80 years old friends

sufficient amount. This only came true thisyear, following 25 years of wait," Ahmed said.

Raj depended completely on Ahmadduring his movements in Makkah and the holysites. "Ahmad is the guide on whom I dependon going to the tent, the toilet, the Jamarat andother places," he said.

Raj said he could not thank Ahmedenough because he waited for him for a longtime until he was able to save the Haj costs andalso for guiding him during the Hajj.

"Ahmad is my eyes by which I can see. Heis the stick I am using to find my way. He is thepower on which I lean. He has always beenfaithful and loyal friend to me," he said.

Raj said he could not thank his friendenough and does not know how to reward himfor his good deeds. "I prayed for him duringthe Haj and will continue to pray for him forthe rest of my life," he said.

Raj said: “Over 25 years have passed sinceEjaz raised enough money to go to Hajj alonebut he did not go. He waited for me. I willalways be indebted to him and will never forgetwhat he has done for me.”

45 2017

Sign language is the most-used language atthe holy sites, as it can be used to guidecrowds, organize them safely at the

Jamarat and warn people about overcrowding.

Crowd flow expert Akram Jann said thereare more than 100 languages used at the holysites, but the only one that can unify them issign language, which does not need dictionariesand can help pilgrims of all nationalities.

Fayza Netou, president of the Deaf andMute Club, said signing is used to guide lostpeople, and is not limited to the hard of hearing.

“I've seen many pilgrims lose their way, andsign language has been the only solution to helpand guide them. This made me and thevolunteer teams want to serve pilgrims,” saidNetou.

She added that the club, in cooperationwith the Presidency of the Affairs of the Two HolyMosques, has organized training sessions forpresidency members to teach them about signlanguage in order to help pilgrims.

Volunteer teams have used sign language atthe holy sites for 16 years. There are eightsessions organized at the Haram in Makkah totrain women and men to use sign language.The sessions help workers who do not speak themost common languages, enabling them tocommunicate with all pilgrims. A

Sudanese pilgrim, 73years old, was happywhen he received a callinforming him that the

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosquesinvites him to perform Hajj and beone of the guest of King Salman'sProgram of Hajj Guests, Saudi PressAgency reported.

The program bears the full costsof travel and stay of guests in Makkahand the Holy Sites. “I was overjoyedwhen I received the call. It was adream coming true. I have alwayswanted to perform Hajj and visitMakkah and the Holy Sites ,”Mubarak Abu Dhar said.

Dhar lost his son in action as hewas killed as martyr during hisparticipation in the Arab CoalitionForces aiming to restore legitimacyin Yemen.

His son was chosen to take partin the Decisive Storm and wasdispatched to the Saudi borders tofight alongside his fellow brothers.“My son had always wanted to die asa martyr serving his country. Hepromised me and his mother that hewould take us to Makkah to performHajj when he returns but he died as

martyr,” he said.

Jalal Fadallah, 90 years old fromSudan, lost his son too in action, whowas a first lieutenant in the Sudanesearmy. “My son was a loving, kind,and ethical person who loved hiscountry. He called me few hoursbefore he was killed and told me thathe would take me and his mother toperform Hajj when he returns home.I am happy that the Custodian of theTwo Holy Mosques fulfilled my son'sdream and gave us a chance toperform Hajj.”

Culled from ArabNews & Saudi Gazettereport

During Hajj, Sign Language Most Common Among Pilgrims

An Asker directing an Indian with hands sign language

Sudanese Pilgrim's Wish Ful!lled

462017

He said there was theneed for adequate knowl-edge of Hajj regulations byanyone report ing Hajjactivities.

The Chairman statedthat the Saudi authoritieshave their extant rules andregulations on every aspectof the Hajj exercise thatreporters must be conver-s a n t w i t h t o e n s u r einformed and balancedreportage.

Barr ister Abdul lahiMukhtar promised thatafter the completion of theairlift of pilgrims backhome, NAHCON would setup a special Hajj coverage,

reporting and managementCommittee to achieve thedesired aims and objectives.

Barr ister Abdul lahiMukhtar thanked the mediateam for the way memberscarried out their assign-ments and urged membersof team to verify the veracityof any information beforethey go to press.

While confirming thatthe airlift of pilgrims backhome has been going onsmoothly without any hitch,he however, implored all tofervently pray for Nigeria toovercome her pres enttrying period and goodhealth and wisdom for allthe leaders, particularly thePresident.

The National HajjC o m m i s s i o n o fN i g e r i a ,

(NAHCON), is developinga blue print for the media toensure effective coverageand rep or t ing of Haj joperations in Nigeria and inthe Holy Land.

The Chairman of theCommission, BarristerA b d u l l a h i M u k h t a rMuhammad disclosed thisduring a dinner organisedfor the NAHCON 2017media team and StatePilgrims' Welfare Boardspublic relations officers atthe NAHCON headquar-ters in Makkah.

Blue Print On Hajj MediaCoverage Under Way –NAHCON

Dr. Bel lo Muhammad Tambuwal as Madinah

Coordinator, we will like to hear from you how 2017 Hajj

operations arrangements went, especially in Madinah?

Tambuwal: Actually, I have been in Madinah for the lastnine to ten years. So, I can give you very good account ofwhat or a comparative analysis of various operations withinthe decade. Throughout my experience of staying inMadinah since from the time I was deputising up to thetime I took over the mantle of coordinating the activities ofthe office, I can say 2017 is the best outing we have inMadinah. I am saying it without prejudice or without anyiota of the feeling to praise anybody. It is based on realityand the facts I mentioned.2017 have been a very peculiaryear, because it was the second year that we have provided100% accommodations for Nigerians within Markaziya inMadinah. The houses we have rented are by far better than

NAHCON chairman $elding questions to journalists atNational Assembly, Abuja

A cross section of members of the 2017 media committee

For the $rst time, the National Hajj Commissionof Nigeria NAHCON secured accommodationsfor pilgrims in area of Madinah asMarkaziyapart of efforts to move pilgrims closer to MasjidAl Nabawy to give them access to the Masjid atease. In this interview with Madinah Coordinatorand secretary to the Commission, Dr. BelloMuhammad Tambuwal, Hajj Mabrur sought toknow what other bene$ts were derivable fromhaving accommodations in area. TheMarkaziyaexcerpts:

Nigeria Will MaintainMarkaziya Accommodation–Tambuwal

47 2017

Tuwo for them. So, we had toreverse and replace themw i t h s u p e r g e t t e e a n dMacaroni. But for the othercompanies, I believe thosethat perhaps have Africantouches, prepared almostthe best Semovita and thepilgrims enjoyed it. Theycame here and told me,we've heard that you havesuspended the provision ofSemovita of so and socaterers, but for us don't do itbecause we are enjoying ourSemo, we are Ok with ourCaterer, let him continue.

So, up to now the man issupplying them and evenyesterday somebody toldme, he ate not the Semovitabut even their rice and beansas if he was a Nigerian.

So, that made me veryhappy. And not only that, toensure we give the taste andto ensure the quality of thefood, some members of thefeeding committee were

stationed inside the kitcheno f t h e c a t e r e r s , f r o mmorning till evening to seehow the food is prepared,the ingredients, the taste andeven how it is packaged anddistributed to pilgrims.

So, a lot has been done thisyear on feeding but gradu-ally In Sha Allah one day wewill get there to be able tocook our own food in ourown way to give the Nigeriant a s t e . T h e r e f o r e , t h echairman in his magnanim-ity has requested the caterersengaged to employ theservices of some Nigerianswho are experienced inpreparation of NigerianMenu and this is just thebeginning. I believe by nextyear or so, and subsequentyears we will be able toprovide the needed taste forour pilgrims to eat and feel athome.

Let us take you back on theissue of accommodation in

Madinah, what challengeshave you face in gettingaccommodation withinMarkaziya, consideringthat is the area eyed byalmost all the powerfulcountries when it comes topilgrimage?

Tambuwal: Really we facedchallenges during the entryof contract agreements,because you need to matchthe contract number into thesystem for optimum benefitbecause all transactionswere done on line. If youhave a hotel very close toh a r a m , s u c h c o n t r a c tnumber of that hotel shouldbe the first entry and thenthe landlords approval thenit is indicated in the system,then it will appear at hijrastations also it will appear atthe airport as well as inMakkah. All these involvedi n t h e p r o c e s s o f t h eaccommodation.

So, this is the challenge wefaced. But we have learntsome experiences which Iam sure In Sha Allah we willbring it to bear in thearrangements of 2018 Hajj.We have quality houses sothat we can take maximumrotation of these housesbecause if you have a housethat you have rented for onesession you need to optimiseits utilisation, enter it twiceor thrice or possibly fourtimes. Once you can enterthe contract you can retakeit, but gradually we will bethere.

Sir, considering that manycountries are looking forthos e hous es c l os e toh a r a m , h o w d i d y o um a n a g e t o g e t t h e mwithout agent?

Tambuwal: Wallahi, it wasjust by the will of Allahb e c a u s e u p o n a l l t h e

that of 2016. Feeding wasalso improved from onemeal to two meals per dayand pilgrims were confinedwithin a radiant of maxi-mum of about 500 meters toHaram.

With the commencement ofthe , he will be ableIqamahto perform abolition andcome down from his hotelaccommodation and attendthe five daily prayers, unlikebefore, when pilgrims wereaccommodated within therange of 1 to 2 kilometres.So, in that circumstance ifyou attend to one prayer, youtrick one kilometre, you goback one kilometre, nextprayer you may miss it.

In the yester years, we havewitnessed a lot of road trafficaccident while crossing theroad, but this time aroundall of them were confinedwithin area. TheMarkaziyaenvironment is very clean.There is no road crossing,food is made available andthey perform their rites withease.

The second issue I think isthe issue of feeding, this yearwe t r i e d t o i nt ro du c eNigerian menu so that atleast people would feel veryclose to home, because eventhe Saudi know sometimesthey do tell us Nigerians areso agitated their food. Nomatter what type of food youbring they prefer . So,Tuwolet us include the intoTuwothe Menu, so that we preventthem f rom buying theTakari to eat.

Therefore, this year weintroduced Semovita andTu w o n S h i n k a f a , b u tunfortunately, we have somechallenges at the beginningin respect of this. Mostespecially with the twocompanies contracted toprovide the Semovita and

Dr. Bello Muhammad Tambuwal, Madinah coordinator

482017

Tambuwal: Of course somecountries are waiting to takeover from us. That's whysomebody was advising thati f NA H C O N w a nt s t omaintain these houses,definitely immediately after2017 Hajj before going backhome we must seal anotherd e a l w i t h l a n d l o r d s ,otherwise, next year there isno guarantee.

Another thing I observedwith regards to these housesis that, we need to educateour pilgrims on hygiene.Indiscriminate eating offood bought from road sidevendors has to stop. It isunfortunate to see ourpilgrims sitting down in theopen and eating on the floorsimply because they want tobe eating and watchingvehicles passing by.

So, they never know theimplication of what they aredoing. You have a very goodaccommodation, but thenyou came outside eatinguntil somebody goes roundto talk to you, only then foryou to decide to go back.A l h a m d u L i l l a h i t h a tsituation has now improvedb e c a u s e o f f r e q u e n tenlightenment. So, next yearwe will emphasis more onthis issue.

“Pre v iously, you weregetting the houses al lthrough agents popularlycalled accommodationproviders and this year welearnt that you eliminatedall of them. When theoperations began we read ar e p o r t t h a t t h e y a r eplanning to destabilise theoperations even threaten-ing to make the entire Hajjoperations impossible,have you faced any chal-lenge from them?

Tambuwal: Really we camewith that impression fromhome and we got preparedfor that. Whoever was thereto dislocate the arrangementof Hajj, we are ready for him.So, we came in with securitymen and we screened ourcasual staff we recruitedincluding our permanentstaff. We also set observersfor each of the casual staff weemployed to observe theiratt i tude and how theyconduct themselves.

So, later we realised that thea t m o s p h e r e w a s n o tpreva lent in Madinah,maybe in Makkah but inMadinah there was nothinglike that. And in Madinahthere were no too manyagents that were eliminated,

maybe two or three compa-nies.

What we did was, conditionswere set, one, if you own aproperty of your own bringit . If you don't have aproperty, def initely wewould not do business withyou. Two, if you are limitedliability, NAHCON can dobusiness with you, but if youare one man proprietor,NAHCON would not dobusiness with you becauseyou can't take millions ofpilgrims' money and justgive it to an individual.

In the event that anythinghappened, you have nothingto fall-back on whatsoever.S o , w h a t e x p l a n a t i o nNAHCON would give backto government? That's whywe said Limited LiabilityCompany.

Therefore, you must knowthe company and its equitycapital. If the share capital istoo low, you cannot do muchbusiness with that company,in the event of any risk, wehave a fall-back.

Therefore, in Madinah I cantell you that since the timewe started to date, theowners of these propertiesdid not allow any body to

countries that were lookingfor the houses, Nigeria wasthe first or second that cameto scout for housing. Afterlast year Hajj , I thinkChairman led a delegationto Madinah, the MoUs weresigned and after the signingof MoU, he just said lets goand scout for accommoda-tion in Madinah.

We came in, but the processwas not starting while theportal was opened. So, weidentified those houses, sawthe landlords, we discussedwith them, we showed themthe properties we wantedand both of us agreed thenwe paid them 10% per centas an evidence that we areinterested. We have sealedthat deal. But much laterwhen we went back, the ratefor the accommodation roseup, accommodation was nolonger available.

Before, some countries usedto accommo d ate t he i rpilgrims 100% per centinside Markaziya, but theycannot do so now becausethose houses are not there.This year, over 70% ofPakistan pilgrims wereaccommodated outsideMarkaziya and also over40% of Indonesian pilgrimswere outside Markaziya,t h e y o n l y e a t w i t h i nMarkaziya.

They have done all theycould, some have even topup much higher over andover above what Nigeriapaid, but because of earlyarrangements we havemade, they were not able toget these houses.

Going by what you havej u s t s a i d , t h a t m a n ycountries are pursuingt h o s e h o u s e s w i t h i nMarkaziya, what effort isNA H C O N p u t t i n g t omaintain these houses?

Dr. Bello Tambuwal $elding questions from Hajj Mabrur Correspondents

49 2017

For example, like Bornopeople who are well knownwith loca l food ca l led'Barabisko' should startpreparation, next year, weneed to take Barabisko andwe need to drink Fura daNono. So, NAHCON willwrite to Saudi Authority, weprocess, get licences and weimport these items into theKingdom for our people toenjoy the local meals. TheTabung Hajj which peoplealways quote as an examplehas spent by today more

than 50 years in operationwhile NAHCON is just tenyears old, but one dayincrementally, we will getthere.

Let me tell what our pilgrimswere saying about theiraccommodations closenessto Haram: one of them wassaying “ I don't even prepareto go to the Mosque untilwhen Azan is called forprayer, then I will performabolition and go and getSalat. Another lady wasquoted telling her relationthat our accommodation iscloser to the Haram muchmore closely than our houseto the Mosque in Nigeria.

Anot her pi lg r im f romNigeria was saying he never

thought that these buildingswere meant for black peoplelike him, until when he wasaccommodated in it now.Another Malam was saying“you Nigeria should try toaccommodate your pilgrimsinside Markaziya, if you dothat Allah will give youParadise. That was whyNAHCON try her possiblebest and Almighty Allah hasaccomplished that, today allour pilgrims were accom-modated inside Markazaiya.

Look even people fromother nations were surprisedthat Nigerians are accom-modated in Markaziya areab e c a u s e o n e o f t h o s epilgrims from the foreigncountries was quoted saying“So, Nigerians are accom-modated in Markaziya, well,next year we too will try tobe there.

That 's why Pakistan iscoming there today andSudan too is there. So, thechallenge is always there.Last year, the challengeswere less because Iraniandid not perform Hajj, butt h i s y e a r I r a n c a m e ,therefore next year there willbe more challenges since thefigure of Iran was restoredand I believe there would be

more challenges in 2018 asmany countries are lookingfor accommodations inM a r k a z i y a d u e t o i t sfacilities and the nature ofthe environment.

Since you have alreadyforeseen there will be morechallenges in 2018, whateffort is NAHCON makingto maintain these houses?

Tambuwal: Usually beforethe closure of the opera-tions, Chairman used toinvite all the stakeholders fora meeting and ask for theirobservations, experiencesand challenges. There andthen we will put all togetherand start preparations forthe subsequent year's Hajj.

So, 'I believe we will be equalto the task and I am sure theCommission will meet someof these accommodationsproviders to start planningagainst 2018 Hajj so that wecan maintain the status quo.”

With all these successesyou mentioned and withfe e db ack NAHC ON isgetting from its staff, whatare the areas that need to beimproved?

Tambuwal: The areas thatneed to be improved on are:one, feeding as I mentionede ar l i e r ; t wo, pi lg r ims 'education and orientation;three, we need to improve oninteraction because one ofthe essence of staying inMadinah is to allow pilgrimsto interact. Let Edo peopleinteract with Sokoto, letKano and Enugu meet andBorno and Osun pilgrimsmeet and socialise so longwe are Muslims. Friendshipcould be established hereand it will last forever evenafter Hajj.

come in between them andthe commission.

We signed the contract withthem. We paid the initialdeposit and when pilgrimsenter the houses, secondpayment was made and aftert h e w h o l e o p e r a t i o n sreconciliation will be paidand they will be settled.

So, in essence you are

saying NAHCON did not

make any deal with agents?

Tambuwal: No! To the bestof my knowledge, there wasno agent here in Madinah.

Earlier on you said that

NAHCON never had it so

good like this year, what is

r e s p on s i b l e for t h e s e

successes, Sir?

Tambuwal: Wallahi, weknow Nigerians want to thebest all times and leadershipalso is ready for what thepilgrims want. Numberthree, since the day after theconclusion of 2016 Hajj, Ican tell you that Chairmanand I, none of us have goneo n a n n u a l l e a v e . Weconcentrated on prepara-tions as if Hajj is tomorrow.So, Hajj is tomorrow youhave to prepare today.

Therefore, we sat down inoffice, planning! planning!And planning! That's howwe were able to get gooda c c o m m o d a t i o n s i nMarkaziya within the earlierpossible time. We also gotgood business especially infood even though in feedingmuch is left to be perfectedbecause still we need to do alot more. Now we have aplan that in future we arethinking about allowingpeople who are interestedt h r o u g h t h e S t a t e t onegotiate the type of mealsthey want to take.

Malam Kabiru Yusuf Kano, Hajj Mabrur Coordinator (right)listening to Dr. Tambuwal while answering questions

502017

NAHCON Begins Preparation for 2018 HajjBy Sani Tukur and Tunde Akanbi

The National Hajj Com-m i s s i on of Ni ge r i a ,( N A H C O N ) , h a scommenced prepara-tions for the 2018 Hajj.

“We already have a team in Madinah tostart negotiations and kick-startplanning our operations for 2018Hajj.”

The chairman of the commission,Barrister Abdullahi Mukhtar Muham-mad, revealed this while addressingmembers of the national media teamand spokespersons of State Pilgrims'Welfare Agencies at a dinner orga-nized for them by the Commission atNAHCON's office in Makkah.

According to him, the committeecomprised representatives from theNigerian mission in Saudi Arabia,representative of Forum of StateChairmen and secretaries from the sixgeo- political zones, comprisingLagos, Adamawa, Kaduna, FederalCapital Territory (FCT) Abuja, Enuguand Rivers State.

He stated that the committee'sterms of reference would include toplan for the organisation of accommo-dation in Madinah, to consolidate onthe feat achieved during the 2017 Hajjand to review and negotiate the priceof the accommodation downward ifpossible.

Barrister Mukhtar said that thedecision to form the committee was toeffectively plan ahead to secure thepilgrims' accommodation in theMarkaziyah area of Madinah.

According to him, NAHCON'saccommodation is being challengedby some other countries such asPakistan, Iranian and Indonesianmissions who wanted to acquire anddisplace Nigeria from exclusive andhighbrow neighborhood which is justa short distance from the MadinahHaram Mosque.

He also said the team may discussdownward payments for services,considering the early engagementssaying that the commission will workwith states to get “befitting houses thatare close to the Haram for our pilgrimsas Nigerian pilgrims are currentlyhoused in various hotels acquired bystate Muslim Pilgrims' Welfare Boardsand agencies across Makkah. It is ourhope that we can accommodate manystates in one building for the 2018Hajj,” he said.

Turning to media relation, thechairman said efforts will be made in2018 to bridge what he called theexisting gap between members of thenational media team and those fromthe states. “We will network mediaservices such that all informationcoming from the states will be sharedby those in the national media teamand vice versa in order to avoidduplication of stories.”

While giving example of a reportsaying a Nigerian pilgrim had beensentenced to three months in prison

for picking a purse at the Haram andrefusing to handover to the owner, hestated that the reporter who filed thestory just spoke with a local govern-ment chairman who gave him wronginformation and he went to press.

“The truth is the pilgrim inquestion has not been sentenced, theauthorities here are investigating theissue and our lawyers are closelyfollowing the matter,” he said. Heurged members of the media team to“always monitor the progress made butverify facts and figures from thecommission before going to press.”

In his response, the chairman ofthe 2017 Hajj national media team,M a l a m U b a l e Mu s a , t h a n k e dNAHCON for giving journalists thechance to perform Hajj and serveNigeria and Nigerian pilgrims. “Weare happy with what we have seen andas far as we are concerned NAHCONhas done very well,” he said.

He however praised the Commis-sion for its foresight in forming themedia team to cover the 2017 Hajj

Members of the NAHCON's Committee on 2018 Hajj Accommodations holding negotiationswith one of the Service Providers, Sheikh Talhat Elyas in Madina

Immediately after inauguratingthe committee which was laterdivided into three; batch one andt h re e we re d isp atche d to

Madinah under the leadership ofAbdullateef Onimago and ShehuMakarfi as Coordinator, to coordinate

and manage the feeding exercise in

Madinah. The other batch departed to

Makkah under the leadership of the

Committee Secretary Barr Farah Said.

Among its objectives were to ensure

appropriate quantity, quality and

distribution of meals to the Pilgrims,appropriate documentation of themeals served for the purposes ofreconciliation, to ensure sanitary,hygienic preparation and delivery ofwholesome meals to the Pilgrims andfacilitate uniform and coordinatedfeeding system for Nigeria pilgrims.

Others were to ensure the Pilgrim getvalue for his/her money in the feedingexercise, appraise performance andsupervise Caterers in the feedingexercise , document Successes ,challenges and recommendationsleading to the achievement of theabove listed objectives of feedingexercise.

Hajj Mabrur team met Alhaji ShehuMarkarfi being the Coordinator ofone of the three sub committees andsought to know how their sub-c o m m i t t e e k i c k s t a r t e d i t sa s s i g n m e n t b e g i n n i n g w i t hMadinah?

Makarfi: Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim.Let me start by saying, sequel to ourarrival to Madinah on the 10 August

th

2017, we meet with the MadinahCoordinator who doubled as theSecretary of the commission, Dr. BelloTambuwal, discussed and strategizedon how to face the assignment.

So, in Madinah there were three (3)Caterers selected for the exercise. Theyare Andalus Kitchen, Jabir and HijrahKitchens, each kitchen is expected tofeed 30,000, 35,000 and 10,000Pilgrims in Madinah respectively.While there were 13 Kitchens selectedby states to provide feeding for them atMakkah and Masha'er (Mina andArafat).

Some States exclusively selectedCaterers for Makkah and a separateCaterer for Masha'eer, some statesselected one Caterer for both whilesome selected two caterers for theirState i.e. dividing the total number ofPilgrims between the two Caterers.

Therefore, without wasting time, ourcommittee quickly designed somemonitoring and evaluation tools toappraise the menu, quality, quantity of

51 2017

exercise, saying the measure hasaccorded reporters the opportunity tohave firsthand information on manyaspects of the exercise, hithertounknown to them.

Malam Ubale Musa, however,called on NAHCON to ensure thatsynergy exists between it and state

welfare boards and agencies in termsof infor mat ion management ,advising NAHCON boss not to shyaway from calling on any member ofthe media team for any assignment infuture as the need arises.

Abdullahi Musa Suleja of NTA $rst from right and Dankama of FRCN Kaduna listeningto NAHCON Chairman during the occasion

The Chairman/CEO of NAHCON, Barr Abdullahi Muktar Muhammad,

inaugurated a 25-Member National Feeding Committee (NFC), on

27th July 2017 under the Chairmanship of Alhaji Ibrahim Adebayo,

the Commissioner in Charge of Policy, Personnel Management and

Finance (PPMF) with a view of monitoring and supervising the

feeding of Nigerian pilgrims at Madinah, Makkah and Masha'er

during the 2017 Hajj operations.

Feeding in Makkah, Madinahand Masha’er, is Pilgrim's Right-Makar!

By Kabiru Yusuf Kano

The dress code of the staff were fairlygood except that there was no nasalcover for cooking staff and some oftheir finger nails were long. Also weobserved that the production capacityof cooking for large volume is availablebut due to his poor attitude, heunderutilized the required productionoutput leading to shortfalls and lowcapacity.

Similarly, the quantity of food per-pilgrims was low compared to whatother Caterers are providing; thestorage system was good and hadcapacity to store large volume of foodand there were cold rooms forperishable products and related items.

Moreover, most of the electronicCabin warmers for preserving andtransporting the cooked food werefaulty because the door lock systemswere bad, cello tapes were used asimprovised to hold the doors tight anda major discovery was made that 26bags of raw rice stored in thewarehouse expired and we wasted notime in counting and banning theproduct from usage. “The catereraccepted and promised not to usethem again”, he added.

But as for Andalus Kitchen we sawthe environment of their kitchen wasvery clean and hygienically good for

cooking, the dressings of the staffwere excellent and good orderliness.

There was large production capacityfor cooking in the kitchen. In fact,there was optimal utilization of theirproduction capacity because they feedother countries too.

Sir, a part from the environmentwhich you gave pass mark, whatabout the quality and quantity of themeals?

Makarfi: Yes, the quality of the foodwas good and the quantity with the fishper-pilgrim was satisfactory. Thestorage system was good and has thecapacity to store large volume and coldroom for perishable products. And heclaimed to have four Nigerian workers,but we saw only one.

522017

food, timely delivery, hygiene of thekitchens, hygiene of the eating area,provisions for special diet needs (HBP,Diabetes etc), provision for desserts(Fruits, Water & juices), the packagingof the food, means of conveyance.

Also a tool was designed to appraisethe view of the Pilgrims on theirsatisfaction or otherwise and anothertool for assessing the performance ofthe kitchens too was designed andadministered.

Sir, among the objectives of youra s s i g n m e n t w a s t o e n s u r eappropriate quantity, quality of themeals to the Pilgrims as well assanitary, hygienic preparation andf a c i l i t a t e u n i f o r m i t y a n dcoordinated feeding system forNigeria pilgrims. How do you goab out c ar r y i ng t h i s l au d abl eassignment?

Makarfi: Yes! In Madinah threecaterers were selected for the exercisethey are Andalus Kitchen, Jabir andHijrah Kitchens, each kitchen isexpected to feed 30,000, 35,000 and1 0 , 0 0 0 P i l g r i m s i n M a d i n arespectively and there were 13

Kitchens selected by states to providefeeding for their pilgrims at Makkahand Masha'eer (Mina and Arafat).

Some States exclusively selectedCaterers for Makkah and a separateCaterer for Masha'eer, some statesselected one Caterer for both whilesome selected two caterers for theirpilgrims. That is to say, they divide thetotal number of Pilgrims between thetwo caterers.

So, on the 11 of August, 2017 we tookth

a quick action by visiting the pilgrimsat their various accommodation hotelduring breakfast period [6. 30 am]w h i c h s o m e c h a l l e n g e s w e r eexperienced like late delivery of meal,deficient quantity and quality of mealsupplied especially by one of theCaterers, distribution system and lackof co-operation by Pilgrims.

On the 12 of August, 2017 theth

committee gave the three caterers asurprise visit in their respectivekitchens as a result we observed atJaber catering Kitchen that theenvironment of the kitchen was notclean and was not hygienically soundfor cooking. Refuse disposal systemwas bad especially behind the kitchen.

Nigerian Consul General in Jeddah, Ambassador Muhammad Sani Yunusa supervisingpilgrims' meals while the Chairman, National Feeding Committee, Alhaji Shehu U MMakar$ and other C'ttee members look on

As for Al Hijra catering, they have aclean and hygienic kitchen but theirtoilet needed proper cleaning daily,their cooking equipment were modernfor medium scale production, all thestored products and goods were withinthe safe period of consumption andthe head of the kitchen was a Nigerianwith good experience

As you already gave pass mark tosome and others needed to catch upin your assessment, what were yourachievements and challenges?

Markarfi: Yeh! We can say over 90% ofthe planned food at Madinah weredelivered, 80% at the Masha'er alsodel ivered and 97% in Makkahdelivered and Nigerian Pilgrims wereable to access food and drinks thattheir sources were unquestionable interms of its wholesomeness andhygiene. Secondly, Nigeria has joinedthe committee of nations that have anorganized way of feeding its Pilgrims,hence have reduced means of foodrelated complaints in hospitals likefood poisoning and other related

diseases as the risk of contracting foodpoisoning was reduced to zero level.No evidence from the hospital recordsshowing any complaint of stomachupset and food poisoning amongothers reported by any Pilgrim.

Another achievement was, Nigeriandishes were introduced to increase thepalatability and taste of the food, whileefforts are on the pipeline to create arelationship that will facilitate theimportation of Nigerian spicesofficially into the kingdom. This is toimprove the intake of the food by thePilgrims and promote Nigerian foodculture to the kingdom.

Wherever you recorded successes,there must be some challenges. So,what were the challenges yourcommittee faced while performingyour duties?

Makarfi: Really we can't say there wereno challenges, there were. One of themwas the inadequate kitchen space:Taking into cognizance the number ofpilgrims to be catered for in every fieldoffice, the current size of kitchens andits facilities cannot produce thequantity of food required within thehours specified.

The kitchens were used for cooking,storage of both raw and cooked mealsand serving points to pilgrims. Thisresulted to late delivery of most mealsat the Masha'er.

Then there was the poor attitude ofsome state representatives on thef e e d i n g e x e r c i s e . S o m e s t a t erepresentatives are still of the opinionsthat the exercise is a NAHCON` affair,so they isolated themselves from theexercise. It was very clear that statesthat showed interest and concern tothe exercise recorded greater successwhile others didn't, resulting in somewastages of food especia l ly inMadinah.

Also, there were disorderliness ofsome pilgrims in receiving meals, dueto poor presence and coordination ofState officials. Typical of Nigeriaattitude was displayed in rushing,picking double or triple plates by one

person in addition to lack of standardin the use of different sizes of plates.

This made some Caterers to usesmaller size, some medium size whilesome used a bigger size plates and

lastly, there was a rejection by Pilgrimsof some food belonging to JabirKitchen at Ilyas 1 & 2 Hotels due to itsbad nature.

Finally, if NAHCON seeks youra d v i c e , w h a t w i l l b e y o u rrecommendation in this regard?

Makarfi: Our recommendations willbe as this, NAHCON should set up acommittee on comparative study andstandardization of pilgrims' feedingbefore 2018 Hajj exercise and there isthe need for nomination of standingmembers of the Committee to sustainthe gains and institutional memoriesof the exercise.

Then, there is the need for earlypreparation in forming the Committeewithin Nigeria, including earlynomination and orientation of Statec o m m i t t e e s o n f e e d i n g a n dsustainable education and awarenessprogram to States/Tour Operators andtheir pilgrims on the feeding exercise.Many Pilgrims do not know that theyhave paid for the food.

NAHCON has to tackle the problem oflack of adequate communicationbetween the Caterers and Statebecause most states could not relatewith their Caterers earlier becausethey did not know them or they couldnot communicate with them as atwhen due.

There should b e a p ermanentrepresentat ive from NAHCONcommittee at each kitchen of theCaterers in Madinah, and Stateofficials at Makkah kitchen and thereis the need for enl ightenmentcampaign for the Pilgrims to be awarethat it is their right to be fed inMadinah, Makkah and at Masha'erbecause they have paid for it.

53 2017

Type of food serving Nigerian pilgrims

An example of a meal for a single pilgrim

542017

could have prayed that Saudishould continue to allowparticularly Hajj visa to befree no matter how manytimes one wishes to go andperform the Hajj.”

“Look, there are variouscircumstances that leadpeople to go and performHajj for the second time. Itmay be they made mistakesin their last Hajj and theydecide to go back andcorrect the mistakes whicheven Islam allows. Or onedid something that invali-dated the Hajj withoutknowing and when he getsb a c k h o m e , s c h o l a r spublically guided him, so, heneeds to go and repeat hisHajj. Really such kind ofpersons should be exoner-ated”, he suggested.

The chairmen foresawt h a t m a n y c o u n t r i e sinvolved would seek ford i a l o g u e w i t h S a u d i

The newly intro-d u c e d f e estructure includesa single-entry visa

that will cost travelers 2,000S a u d i R i y a l s ( $ 5 3 3 ) ,applicable to all visitors forHajj or Umrah, except firsttime pilgrims.

The chairman NationalHajj Commission of Nigeria(NAHC ON), B ar r i s te rA b d u l l a h i M u k h t a rMuhammad confirmed thenew policy, adding that thepolicy has been applied in2017 Hajj operations, “forHajj, it come very sadden,our expectation is that thepolicy will be implementedin 2018 Hajj, but along theline they changed the portalfor the process of securingvisas for the pilgrims“.

Barr. Mukhtar who saidt h a t h e i s s u r e S a u d iauthority will not reverse itsd e c i s i on on t h e i s s u esug gested t hat i t on lyremained for NAHCONand State Pilgrims' WelfareAgencies/Board or Com-mission to come together tofind ways of managing it sothat new pilgrim will nottake the burden as visa fornew timers is free.

“ I d o n ' t s e e S a u d iAuthority going back onthat because they have madeit very clear that anybodygoing to perform Umrah orHajj for the first time thevisa is free, but if you want togo for the second, third,fourth or as many times asone wishes, he has to pay2,000 Saudi Riyals.”

“It is easy for them toidentify whether a pilgrim isnew or old timer, becausethey have all the informa-tion in their database. So,immediately they slot yourpassport automatically itwill show and it will deductt he 2 , 0 0 0 SR f rom ou raccount. Virtually all thosethat have been to Hajj lastyear, 2,000SR have beendeducted”, the chairmanmade it clear.

H e s a i d a l r e a d yN A H C O N a n d S t a t eP i l g r i m s ' W e l f a r eB o ard s / Age nc i e s h aveunderstanding on how toaddress that without goingback to the pilgrim becauseit is an issue that comeu n p r e c e d e n t e d a n dunexpected. Come 2018definitely it will be part ofthe Hajj fare. So, NAHCON

w i l l a n n o u n c e i t t h atwhoever intents to repeatHajj beside whatever will bethe total cost of the Hajj fare,2,000 mandatory SaudiRiyals must be paid.

According to him, Saudigovernment has neverhidden to anybody that theyare moving away from oileconomy revenue to non- oil- r e v e n u e . H e f u r t h e radvised that “If we asMuslims are contributingthat amount of money tobetter the facilities beingused in performing Hajj, Ithink we should support theSaudi government towardsthat direction.”

“I f you lo ok at t heamount of money Saudi isspending in taking care of allthe Hajj areas, it is huge. So, Ipersonally don't think thereis any wrong in Muslimscoming to support them, butif one could find his way, he

2018 Hajj/Umrah VisaS -T P SR 2,000 E F -SECOND IME TO AY XTRA EE AUDI

…even some officials must pay

NAHCON Chairman/CEO, Barr. Abdullahi Mukhtar Muhammad

New amendments have been introduced tovisa fees in Saudi Arabia, the country'scabinet of ministers has announced. Mostnotably, the changes will see all visa feescompletely waived off - and fully paid for bythe Saudi government - for all first-timepilgrims coming for either Hajj or Umrah.

55 2017

Authority on the possibilityof waiving that 2,000 Riyals.“Maybe Saudi may play thebig brother role to say thathav ing heard f rom al lMuslims from differentparts of the world appealing,I think the King may decideto use his Royal power tocancel that.”

“I think in sha Allah,Allah would raise the Saudimore in the same mannerHe is blessing them and givethem greater capacity too v e r c o m e w h a t e v e reconomic challenges theyare facing like any part of theworld and they will continueto do the needful for theMuslims to perform the Hajjwith ease”.

“ B u t , i f i t b e c a m einevitably, as Muslims weshould proudly contributewith intent that we arecontributing towards aneverlast ing course andeverlasting rewards which isbelieved that will be used tobetter our facilities for theuse of the entire Muslimcommunities from all overthe world. So, if we do this,t h a t w e d e c l a r e t h a tintension and give out that2,000 Riyals will earn somerewards from that”, thechairman stated.

Talking on how the newpolicy will affect the socalled Hajj officials, thechairman who categorizedofficials into four types,explained that the first arethe one recognized by SaudiAuthority. This category ofofficials, are 850 for theentire Nigerian pilgrims.Each State has its own quota;these are the one recognizedas officials and the fee is notapplicable to them.

Other category, he said isthe State own officials as

each State has its own levelof officials which is asNAHCON and Saudi areconcern are pilgrims. But,within the State level theyare called officials becausethey are given official letters;they are allowed to haveofficial's identification.

Those people are mostlyw e l f a r e s , g u i d e s , t h epreachers, first aid, person-nel and staff of the State andaccompany the pilgrims.They are not part of theofficials recognized by theSaudi authority, but they areonly within the category ofofficials recognized andknown by the State. 'If onecomes to process their visa,you should process them asordinary pilgrims and thatremain their status if theycome to Hajj. Most of thejournalists falls under thesame category.”

The third category of theofficials as mentioned by thechairman, are from the localg o v e r n m e n t . I n s o m epredominant Muslim States,you will see that even localgovernment sponsor someone or two persons to assistpilgrims from that particu-lar local government. It is agood idea since there isnothing wrong in doing thatbecause sponsoring peopleto officiate in assistingpilgrims to discharge theirresponsibi l ity, there isnothing wrong in that.

These two groups asmentioned by the chairmanare not known by Saudi. It isjust a local arrangement. Hefurther said NAHCON isthinking of injecting areform whereby no humanresource is wasted and toomuch of public funds inf inancing of f ic ia ls not

needful stopped. Definitely,something has to be donebecause the State with just1,000 or 2,000 pilgrims, butwith 300 or 500 officials,what for?

“We will continue tobring in some reforms thatwill address that in the sameway we addressed that of themedical services. I know itmay be a very painful reformbecause the beneficiaries ofthe old order may not like it,but in the spirit of managingour resources transparently,we should be able to makethat Hajj is not a means or atool of wasting public funds.No! But it is a means ofmeeting the best use ofpublic fund where necessaryto a ss i s t Ni ge r i ans todischarge their religiousobligation with ease”, heconcluded.

Th e N a t i o n a l H a j j

Commission of Nigeria(NAHCON), has concludedarrangement to establishHajj Training Institute and

Hajj Savings Scheme before 2018 Hajjoperations. The Commission's chairmanBarr. Abdullahi Mukhtar Muhammad,disclosed this adding that the InvestmentScheme will assist intending pilgrims toperform Hajj through installment or partpayment.

Other plans to be executed ashigh l ighted by the chairman areformation of a twenty four hour HaramCommittee to be headed by him, online

registration of pilgrims, perfecting the e-medical registration and recording,among others.

According to him, institutionlisingHajj saving scheme if established, wouldensure financial autonomy for thecommission as the scheme would be runlike micro-finance institution, that themoney from such savings will be investedin specific projects and profits shared inline with Islamic principles, adding thatunder the scheme Muslims will be able toperform Hajj when their savings arereasonable and sufficient.

The chairman said: “The commissionby the provision of the Act is looking at the

NAHCON to Establish HajjTraining Institute, SavingScheme by 2018 – ChairmanBy Kabiru Yusuf Kano

possibility of rolling out what we call“Hajj Savings and Investment Scheme',which will be like a Micro-financeoutfit through which the intendingpilgrims will be paying for their Hajjinstallmentally within a short or longperiod of time and the money will beinvested into the Nigerian economy."

“By the end of the day the pilgrim,

who invests will have portion of the

profit to augment or balance up his or

her Hajj and the commission will also

get some benefits. Similarly, the State

Pilgrims Welfare Board or any agency

that register the pilgrim will also get

some benefits."

While urging Nigerians especially

Muslims who have intention to

perform Hajj, he further said “Our

target at the end of the day will be a

win-win situation as intending

pilgrims will be paying their Hajj

without too much stress.”

One of the advantages of the

scheme, he added is that savings will be

commensurate with one's income and

it will in turn create employment

opportunities in the country and

NAHCON would do everything

within its mandate to ensure that Hajj,

as a religious obligation, is no longer a

drain on the government coffers.

According to him, the concept of the

scheme is largely to encourage inward

looking by religious agencies on how

best they can effectively manage their

affairs without depending totally on

government.

“Discussion is under way between

Saudi authorities and the commission

toward fostering partnership in some

strategic areas of human endeavour for

mutual benefits and we should not just

embark on pilgrimage to spend money

but we should also explore the

possibility of bringing something of

economic value back to the country.”

Also speaking on the same subject,

the commissioner in charge of Policy,

Personnel, Management and Finance

(PPMF), Alhaji Yusuf Adebayo

Ibrahim explained that the scheme

will put sanity into Hajj operations in

562017

operations in subsequence exercisebut will give more comfort to Nigerianpilgrims in Saudi Arabia.

“We want to roll out Hajj SavingsScheme which is going to serve aslasting solution to some of theproblems we encounter in the courseof our preparations. Money comes intrickles not in bulk and if you don'thave bulk money, you cannot plan andsay you want to go for Hajj.

“Our target at the end of the daywil l be a win-win situat ion asintending pilgrims will be paying theirHajj without too much stress.”

“Some will pay their money a weekor two to Hajj and they want to fulfilltheir religious obligations. With thisscheme we are bringing on board, youkeep saving and you will know whenyou are going for Hajj. So, this issue ofrush will not be there.

“Once you start your savings, youknow how much they are collecting, ifit is 2018, 2019 or 2020 you know whenyou are going and plan ahead ratherthan rush or be looking desperately formoney that is not there,” Adebayostated.

The Chairman/CEO, National Hajj Commissionof Nigeria (NAHCON), Barr. Abdullahi Mukhtar

Muhammad explaining the advantagesof the scheme

Nigeria and put a permanent end torush by pilgrims to pay their Hajj fares.

He stated that the introduction ofthe scheme will not only enhance Hajj

Alhaji Yusuf Adebayo Ibrahim, Commissioner in charge of Policy,Personnel, Management and Finance (PPMF)

57 2017

home. Therefore, the mainaim of coming for the Hajjhas been accomplished. IfI'm to rate it, I'll give it aboutseventy to eighty percentsuccessful.

Indeed I'll say that this is aHajj that threatened to be aHajj managers' nightmare,b u t t u r n e d o u t t o b eb e au t i f u l l y e x e c u t e d ,proving the dexterity of thet o p m a n a g e m e n t o fhandling crisis and makingends meet despite all odds.Once again Alhamdulillah.

H/M: You said there weresome challenges, can youexplain further on that?

Sulaiman: There is thismaxim that says Hajj is likea silken gun, which, thetime you fold the right sideis exactly when the left sideis loosening. In otherwords, it is a continuum ofchallenges, never ending.The proof of your mantle asa manager is to be able tohandle these expected andunexpected challenges.Indeed, building upon thep r e c e p t t h a t h u m a n

arrangements are neverever perfect, man himself isnot perfect. After all that'swhy we are said to behuman.

Let me look at it this way.Take all the major indices ofthe Hajj. The fare has beencollected. No pilgrim hasbeen left at home for lack ofvisa, BTA or an aircraft toconvey them to the holyLand. Indeed you could sayabout the same thing evento tour operators compa-nies. The Commission hadto come in to arrangespecial flights to evacuatetheir pilgrims at the lastminute.

Another example is, at theonset, the exchange rate forthe dollar ballooned due toeconomic circumstancesthe world over. We collectedthe dollar at N197 last year,it came to be N305 this year.By the calculation of theCommission, indeed, evenby t h e a c t i ons of t h eCommission, the quantumof the dollar to be chargedeach pilgrim was lowereddown, relatively, yet, thetotal amount to be paid innaira ballooned from aboutN1.1 million to N1.5 oreven N1.6 million simplybecause of the exchangerate.

H / M : H o w c a n y o udescribe your coordina-tion in Makkah for the2017 Hajj?

Sulaiman: In one word,A l h a m d u l i l l a h . I a mg r a t e f u l t o A l l a h f o rbringing us this far. Thebottom line of anybodygoing for Hajj is to stand atthe plain of Arafat, in thepart of the day and a bit ofthe night. That has beenaccomplished. Over twentythousand pilgrims wereairlifted to Nigeria and therest are on transit back

Alhaji Sulaiman Usman is the Makkah coordinator of the 2017 Hajj. Hajj Mabrur team met him anddiscussed on how he coordinated 2017 Hajj, considering the threats from some quarters that theyconcluded all arrangements to make the exercise a nightmare. In this interview with Sa'adatu Albashir,Kazeem Ategbeshe and Hassan Umar Faruq, he explained in details how NAHCON changed the badthinking of these undesirable elements into executing a beautiful Hajj operation. Excerpts:

2017 Hajj, A Beautifully ExecutedOperation –Director, PRSILS

Director Planning, Research, Statistic, Information and Library Services (PRSILS)consulting NAHCON chairman on how to make things work perfectly

582017

until it was getting too late.So the Commission reactedto this.

They sent officers includingyours truly to various zonesin the country to conferwith the ulama in the areasto appeal to the members ofthe public that are willingand capable of paying forthe Hajj to pay so that if atthe end of the day, there is areduction, then they will getthere difference. After allthe Commission is alreadyknown for making refundsthat reach the pilgrims evenwhen they least expect it.

T h e f a r e c a l c u l a t i o ntemplate was publicizedwidely, everybody had tosee. It was at the nationala s s e m b l y, R a d i o , T V.Circulation was very wide.That was another challengeand because of this delay,against the backdrop of theearly arrangements made,accommodations, feedingand so many other things in

Saudi Arabia, had almostbeen concluded, which wasstarted immediately afterthe 2016 Hajj, contracts hadbeen entered into, memo-randum of understanding,Hajj payments made.

And suddenly, the figurewas hovering around 20 to30 thousand dollars. Sowhat are you going to do, tellthe people in Saudi thatnobody was coming and Idon't need your house againeven though I've given youmy commitment. Or areyou going to allow people,now that you have mobi-lized them through theulama to come and pay andyou continue to collect themoney so that you makegood their contractualagreement here (Saudi) butthen you have a Hobson'schoice, you have the devilsalternative as they say.

You continue to collect theHajj fare then your planningis zeroed. It's flattened

because you are supposed tostop at a reasonable time,enough for the states tofinish their operationalpreparation and documen-tation, enough to airlift thepilgrims, enough to doeverything on time. So,obviously, difficult as it is,this painful choice wasmade to allow people tocontinue to pay almost atthe last week of the airlift.

NA H C O N c l o s e s t h eevacuation of pilgrims onthe first phase some 3 to 4days before the closure ofJeddah Airport. But thisyear, we had to seek forspecial clearance to bring inpilgrims some 2, 3 days afterthe of f ic ia l closure ofJeddah Airport and event he Madinah Air p or t ,allowing Nigerian pilgrimsto proceed to Madinah daysafter the route had beenclosed. Pilgrims had to go tof i r s t b e f o r e M a d i n a ha f t e r w a r d s . A n o t h e rchallenge, in the last 3 years,

This is an obstacle. You can'tblame the Commission, youcan't blame the States, youc a n ' t e v e n b l a m e t h egovernment. Governmenth a s t o b e r e a l i s t i c .Government cannot playthe ostrich and pretend thatthere's no problem and givethe dollar at N20 per dollar.Then will Nigeria be theretomorrow, if the economy istreated anyhow and if themonetary policy is treatedhaphazardly?

T h e r e w a s t h e n t h i sresponse that efforts wouldbe made in response topublic outcry to bring downthe exchange rate. A fewpaid. Many people waitedfor that so that they wouldpay. They had paid about amillion naira and evenmore, so they felt if theexchange rate was going tobe reduced, there would beno need to pay anythingmore or even get moneyback. For that, we were alsowaiting, on and on and on

Part of the State Pilgrims' officials putting head together to ensure hitch–free 2017Hajj

59 2017

knowing what you know.Because pilgrims havehigh expectations withoutnecessarily knowing whatintricacies that go on at thebackground.

Sulaiman: Hajj is a callfrom Allah SWT. WhoeverAllah has called should justanswer the call, if you havethe means. By means, itm e a n s y o u r l e v e l o freadiness or preparedness.Your physical readiness,mental readiness, economicreadiness, among others, soas long as these things arefulfilled by you and the fareis announced, just go aheadand pay. How much is AlJannah worth? So as long asyou have it, just pay...GO,worry about the changeafterwards. Just go for Hajj,that's my advice.

Taking about managingexpectation, I'll say thatpeople should monitor theexchange rate, each year.The time is gone whengovernment would give youconcessionary or specialexchange rate. It's simplynot realistic. Now, shouldour economy go back to theGowon era, when the theng o v e r n m e n t s a i d o u rproblem is not money buthow to spend it? Then youcan expect but as long as theissue remains how to get thelittle that would enable usdo the necessary, peopleshould continue to be readyto pay for their Hajj. Afterall, Hajj in Islam is not aSadaqa thing.

H/M: The Chairman ofNAHCON had said in hisspeech during the post-Arafat briefing that theCommission would workout modalities to be the

pilgrims go first to Madinahbefore Makkah.

Another challenge is theshortage of tent accommo-dation at Mina. You did notcommunicate with theo r g a n i z i n g b o d y t h enumber of pilgrims you'rebringing and how many toeach state, in good enoughtime, to enable them collectt h e s p a c e s f r o m t h eministry of Hajj. So theywork on the figure they hadi n i t i a l l y w h i c h i s 4 0thousand before it wasi n c r e a s e d t o o v e r 6 0thousand. Don't forgetother countries are alsonegot iat ing for space.Resultantly some pilgrimsdid not have space in thecamp. This also affectedlogistics for food deliveryand preparations. If all thesehave been concluded ontime, these would not havearisen.

H/M: What message doyou have for Hajj manag-ers on how best to handlerelated challenges becausethe job seems to be a hardone.

Sulaiman: It's a hard onereally, no doubt about it . Tome, a Hajj manager shouldfo l l ow t h at m a x i m ofplanning for the best butpreparing for the worst, atall times. But however,never ever lose hope inA l l a h ' s g u i d a n c e a n dsupport at all times becausewho you're dealing with areHis guests. He'll always bethere for you if you do itsincerely. That does notmean you'll not continue toplan against any eventuality.

H/M: What would be youradvice for the next batch ofpi lg rims, come 2018,

coordinator of pilgrims'

a c c o m m o d a t i o n i n

Ma k k a h. What is the

situation to that regard?

Sulaiman: I would haveloved you ask the chairman,but now that you askedme......I'll respond to thebest of my knowledge, andmy limited understandingof the subject. You see, whenpeople started shoutingover this issue, like I told mycolleagues here, I laughed,yet I understood. I under-stood because it's a newthing coming. Not every-body accepts change at thevery onset, it takes time.

The obvious reaction ofmost people is to resist, noteven look at it in depth, atthe justification or themoral or even the necessityfor these changes. After all,one needs to look at the factthat, in life, nothing isconstant but change itself.So how would you expect toremain static. Because statesh ave b e e n org an i z i ngaccommodations for theirpilgrims in Makkah formany years, why would youexpect that they wouldcontinue like that.

Let me give you a scenario.Suppose, which is a verylikely supposition, the Saudigovernment decides tobuild a Hajj village, someone hundred, two hundredki lometers away f romMakkah, and says that'swhere it's going to accom-m o d at e t h e p i l g r i m s ,because Makkah is hilly,Makkah is choked up,there's no flat land that canaccommodate everybody.

And then they provideshuttle bus service and or

railway tube that wouldbring you to and fro, 30 or40 minutes maximum. Takeyou to Madinah. If they areable to do that and theymove everybody there, thenthey look for a chunk andsay, 'Nigeria, two hundredthousand', because propor-tionately we are allocatedtwo hundred thousandbecause our population hasgrown, they give us a space,paid for electronically to theSaudi government for thisaccommodation.

Are you trying to tell methat each state shouldindividually negotiate foronly their people. TheSaudis will give it to oneb o d y. I f t h e y g i v e t oIndonesia that brings twohundred and fifty thousandand above, deal with onebody, why should they dealwith thirty four or thirtyeight entities from Nigeria,where the total figure is lessthan a hundred thousand.That is one scenario.

But where do you expect toget a better bargain whenyou have collective bargain-ing advantage of number orwhen you have divisiveindiv idu a l b argain ingarrangements. Where doyou get more advantage?Definitely in collectivebargain. So is it because ofthe interest of some people,the interest particularlybeing 'that's what they areused to', so you would notmove onto this obviouspractical things! It cannotc o n t i n u e t o h a p p e n .Change must happen andthe most important thing islook at it and adapt, or die asthey say.

602017

The Chairman/CEO of the National Hajj Commission of

Nigeria (NAHCON), Barr Abdullahi Muhammad Mukhtar

,MON ,FCIA has convey his warmest congratulation to

King Salman, the Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman and the

people of Saudi Arabia on the occasion of the Kingdom 87th

National Day anniversary.

Barr. Abdullahi, said the Kingdom has come a long way since the

building and unification into a nation as shown in its role as the

defender of the two Holy Mosques and a towering nation in

world affairs. He particularly praised the Kingdom for her

friendly disposition as good host of over five million guests of

Allah who visited it during Umrah and Hajj.

“The Kingdom has made tremendous expansion and improve-

ment of its infrastructural facilities which has eased the perfor-

mance of religious rites in the Kingdom and enabled many

teaming pilgrims to achieve Hajj Mabrur.”

He therefore expressed the confidence and hope that the

brotherly relationship between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia on

one hand and that between the Commission and Ministry of

Hajj on the other would continue to be sustained and strength-

ened for the betterment of the people of both countries. "While

we look forward to strengthening the existing cordial relation-

ship between us, we want to wish the Kingdom the best of

goodwill especially in achieving its Vision 2030 goal", the

chairman said.

NAHCON Felicitates WithSaudi On National Day

61 2017

services in any of the NMTclinics. Collecting data foranalysis was also tedious.The new system, EHRM,w a s c om m i s s i on e d toensure that the operationsa t t h e c l i n i c s r u n a ssmoothly as possible, andalso accurate and timelydata can be col lected.Ac t ivat ing t he EHMRinvolved multi-disciplinaryapproach to prepare thenew system, ensure privacyand security compliance,design practice workflows,train the care team andmanage adoption process.

Implementation of theEHMRThe EHMR system is a webapplication; therefore thefirst stage of implementa-tion after the tool wasdeveloped was to host it on aweb server. The designdecision to make the systema web application was takenbecause of the advantages ofsuch a system, which are:

*The appl icat ion isplatform independent andcan be used from any devicethat has a web browser andaccess to the internet. Thismeans that there is no needto install the software onany computer, which cutsdown cost and reducessetup time.

Th e 2 0 1 7 H a j js t a r t e d w i t hp l e n t y o fexcitement, for

t w o r e a s o n s : f i r s t l y,consolidation of our dreamNational Medical Team andsecondly, the deployment ofElectronic Health MedicalSystem (EHMR) into themedical operation. We feltour dream of having realtime data is here with us, notto talk of the availability ofcomputers in all the clinics,albeit with full internetconnection. There was alsothe feeling of indirectlymaking all the medicalpersonnel ICT compliant.

Following the successrecorded in the first everNational Medical Team in2016, the National HajjCommission of Nigeria( NA H C O N ) s e t u p acommittee chaired by Dr.Ibrahim Abubakar Kana to:review performance of the2016 medical operation,discuss and address allo b s e r v e d c h a l l e n g e s /concerns/misconceptionthat emanated from the2016 operation, and agreeon modalities for the jointconduct of the 2017 Hajjand beyond. Membershipwas drawn from some Statesof the country as well as theTour Operators and theA r m e d F o r c e s . F a r

reaching decisions weretaken which included: Thatfor 2017 and b e yond,Nigeria will present ONES I N G L E N AT I O N A LMEDICAL TEAM whosem e m b e r s h i p w i l l b econtr ibuted joint ly byNAHCON and States; andthat Electronic MedicalRecords should be deployedin all the clinics.

The Electronic HealthMedical RecordPrior to implementing the

EHMR, the NMT used

paper as medical record

system that manually stored

summary of daily patients'

c o n s u l t a t i o n s . T h e

previous system made it

cumbersome to check if

patients have accessed

HAJJ 2017:National Medical Team Goes Fully Electronic

By Dr. Ibrahim Abubakar Kana, MBBS, FMCOph, PGDPA,

Cert. Health Financing/PBF

Dr. Ibrahim Abubakar Kana, Head Medical Team 2017 Hajj

622017

*The software developercan access the system to domaintenance and trouble-shooting remotely at anytime. Any changes he makesto the system can be seeninstantly by the users.

On-The-Job Mentoringand MentorshipThe Chairman/CEO ofNAHCON who has alwayss upp or t e d t h e E H M Rgraciously approved theprocurement of computerswhich were deployed to allthe clinics: six All-in-Onecomputers were distributedto each clinic and one to theCentral Medical Store.

Although training wasconducted in Nigeria on theus e of the EHMR , weidentified that there was stillneed to continue on the jobtraining for the users. On-the-Job mentoring wasconducted to staff at variousstations during start-up ofeach clinic. Also, Head ofClinic or identified staff wasassigned in each clinic to:

*Ensure that the staffknows how to use thesystem, encourage andmotivate them to do so;

*Create and assign rolesto new users;

*Provide assistance andt r o u b l e s h o o t i n g o ntechnical issues not relatedto the backend codes of theEHMR;

*Act as a liaison betweenthe staff at the clinic and theperson in charge of theEHMR;

*Alert/Send reports incase of system failures andalso ensure that the problemis addressed within theshortest time possible.

Challenges of the EHMRAlthough the implementa-tion of the EHMR wassuccessful, there were fewchallenges that needed to be

addressed. Most of thesechallenges were effectivelyhandled. The challengesare listed in the table belowincluding the priority levelto show how significantly

they affected operationsand the solutions that wereprovided. The recommen-dation for future operationsare provided for eachchallenge identified.

Give Your Utmost Best; Hajj Is A Divine Duty…Chairman Charges Ad-hoc Staff

IT competency among aconsiderable number of staffwas very low which madethem incapable andsometimes unwilling to learnor use the system

Lack of internet connection atsome clinics due to poornetwork reception in the area

Internet access wasinconsistent immediatelyafter Arafat due to the highdemand on the serviceproviders

Some modules were notworking well. This wasexpected because the tool hasnot undergone any rigoroustesting in a real worldenvironment

High

Medium

High

low

A local server was created for thatparticular clinic and they weregranted local access to the EHMR.

A backup of paper-forms wereprepared in case of down time ofthe EHMR and these were used tocontinue operations at the clinics.When the network became morestable, the information from theforms were inputted into the systemlater.

The system developer was onstandby in Nigeria to address anysuch issues and he was able to fixthem within 24 hours of afternotification.

IT competence should beconsidered as one of thecriteria for the appointmentof members of the medicalteam in the future/morerigorous refresher trainingbefore the Hajj period.

Proper planning to identifythe best network for eacharea and make priorarrangements for internetaccess before operationbegins.

Use of local server in the KSAto connect all clinics canaddress this. However, it hasadditional cost considering its3-months Operations.

Challenge Priority Level Solution Recommendation

The National Hajj Commissionof Nigeria (NAHCON) hascharged its Saudi based ad-hocstaff to diligently carry out their

assigned responsibilities adding that “bevery conscious of your job and beresponsive in terms of passing anyinformation that will make Hajj easy forthe Pilgrims and general staff ”.

The Chairman of the Commission,Barrister Abdullah Mukhtar Muhammadwho gave the advice while addressing thea d - h o c s t a f f a t t h e N A H C O Nheadquarters in Makkah further said they

should always be responsive to theyearnings of pilgrims whenever situationsdemanded.

He said it was a divine duty on anypermanent or ad-hoc staff or official ofNAHCON to give his utmost best tosimplify and make things easily possibleto the Nigerian pilgrims.

According to him, the role andimportance of the Saudi-based ad-hocstaff would not be overemphasized as theygive assistance not only to pilgrims butalso to some core staff and officials of theCommission who accompanied pilgrims

63 2017

The awareness was on basichealth practices includingh e a l t h e d u c a t i o n ,enviromental sanitation,p e rs on a l hy ge i ne andpreventive measures forcommon illnesses associ-ated with Hajj. We hopethat in subsequent Hajjoperations, the Committeewould work in close liaisonwith the Ulama in order to

increase the potency of itswork.

Mina/ArafatStaying in the tent city ofMina and plains of Arafatconstitute a special part ofHajj with its inherent healthchallenges. This is due tohigh population density,c l o s e c o n t a c t a m o n g

pilgrims, limited areas ofconvenience and increasedphysical activities from thelong walks and standing.These are compounded bythe high environmentalt e m p e r a t u r e c a u s i n gexhaustion and ultimately,h e a t s t r o k e w h i c h i scommon during this shortperiod.

Health AwarenessCommitteeAnother innovation in the2017 medical operation wasthe Constitution of theH e a l t h A w a r e n e s sCommittee (HAC). Thecommittee was mandated tocreate awareness in pilgrimsaccommodation, NMTclinics, Mina, and Arafat.

from Nigeria to the Holy Land, due to languagebarrier.

Barrister Abdullah Mukhtar called on them toassist with relevant, useful and practicableinformation and suggestions that would improveservice delivery, to ensure that pilgrims got value fortheir money.

He enjoyed them to pray for good health andAllah's guidance for the President, all leaders and thewisdom to lead Nigeria to the Promised Land ofprogress, stability, peace and development.

In their contributions, the ad-hoc staffs thatincluding drivers, cleaners and messengers,comprising males and females suggested thatNAHCON should in subsequent Hajj operationsconsider the possibility of engaging the services ofmore interpreters, particularly at various hospitalsthat attend to Nigerian pilgrims for properunderstanding of the patients health challenges andaccurate diagnosis of ailments and propermedication.

After reviewing all issues discussed and the needfor special attention to them, the Chairmanvolunteered to personally head the HaramCommittee to be constituted for next year's Hajj.

Chairman/CEO assigned himself Head of Haram Committee for2018 Hajj after hearing issues that needs special attention.

Discussion session: provision of translators at all hospital was decided.

Dr. Bello Muhammad Tambuwal, Secretary to the Commission beingedexamin by medical doctors in one of the clinics in Madinah

One of the doctors examining a member of the 2017Hajj Media Team member, Alhaji Sufyan

Alhaji Abdullahi Modibbo Saleh is the man in charge of

operations at the National Hajj Commission. In this

interview with Salisu Sani Idris, Muskilu Mojeed and

Mikhail AbdulAziz, Modibbo bares his mind on how

the operations were carried out successfully despite the

delay in registration at the early stage. Excerpts:

DESPITE DELAY IN REGISTRATION:

642017

Multinational SurveyThe Saudi Ministr y ofHealth invited Nigeria,Indonesia, Pakistan andother countries to partici-pate in two MultinationalS u r v e y s n a m e l y :Knowledge, Attitude andPractice (KAP) Survey ofHajj pilgrims concerningheat-related illnesses andExploring the experienceso f p i l g r i m s a n d t h eenablers and barriers toHealth Promotion. Thesurveys were organized bythe Global Center for MassG a t h e r i n g M e d i c i n e ,Riyadh. The Center is aW H O C o l l a b o r a t i n g

Center for mass gathering.The studies have beenreviewed and approved bythe King Fahd Medical CityInternal Review Board.

The aim of the surveys isto improve mass gatheringhealth and managementd u r i n g Ha j j , d e v e l o pappropriate ways of doinghealth promotion duringHajj and providing thebaseline for further studiesregarding health promotionduring Hajj. The survey isparticularly important inview of the fact that Hajj inthe next 10 years will be inhot condition. Dr. JibrinSuleiman is coordinatingthe survey.

ConclusionAs the 2017 Hajj is con-cluded, I have the pleasureto say that the Saudi ArabiaWHO Centre for MassGathering is organising the3 I n t e r n a t i o n a l

r d

C o n f e r e n c e o n M a s sGatherings Medicine titled:'From Mass GatheringsM e d i c i n e T o M a s sG a t h e r i n g H e a l t h :Evolving Perceptions And

Practices'. Yours sincerely isthe only head of countryMedical Mission invited todeliver a lecture amongstworld leading experts onMass Gathering Medicine.His title of presentation isN o n C o m m u n i c a b l eDisease during Hajj: TheNigeria experience. This isa n a c h i e v e m e n t a n drecognition to NAHCONand the Nigerian FederalMinistry of Health. Theconference is scheduled for23 -25 October, 2017 at

rd th

t h e K i n g S a u d B i nAb du l a z i z Un ive rs i t y,Riyadh, Kingdom of SaudiArabia.

A t t h e e n d o f t h eoperations, about 60,000consultations were docu-mented, over 300 admittedin all the clinics, over 200referred and three deliverieswith one miscarr iage .Sadly, 30 of our pilgrimsdied due to various ill-nesses. To Allah we comeand to Him we shall allreturn. Alhamdulillah! 450Medical personnel partici-pated in the 2017 Hajjoperations.

With the above in mindand institutionalized fromlast year, NAHCON and thel e a d e r s h i p o f N M Tdeployed members andenough drugs to State tentsto cater for the health needsof our pilgrims. Twenty fivemakeshift clinics wereoperated within State tents.The team also deployed sixambulances stocked withe m e rge n c y d r u g s an dconsumables strategicallyl o c at e d an d c e nt r a l l ycoordinated with emer-gency numbers provided.The operation was a hugesuccess.

A Patient attended to in one of the clinics n Makkahbeing i

NAHCON Airlift all Pilgrims within theSchedule Time – Moddibo

Alhaji Abdullahi Moddibo Saleh, Sir youare the commissioner in charge ofoperations, we observed that both the outbound and the return airlift operationshave ended on a resounding success thisyear, despite the fact that there were delayin registration. Can you share with us anoverview of the whole operations?

65 2017

Mo d dib o: Alhamdu l i l l ahi . Federa lgovernment through NAHCON selectedthree airliners to airlift Nigerian pilgrims toSaudi Arabia for the 2017 Hajj. Alhamdulillahi, the entire three approved airlines havedone very well. I really commended them. Tocoordinate and airlift over 80 thousandpilgrims with each individual charactersuccessfully is something. In addition, theywere able to airlift all the pilgrims within theschedule time.

So, what was the secret behind this success?

Moddibo: The secret of the success was theteam work, so we worked as a team, wecarried the state alone, we carry the TourOperators alone and a lot of things that youwi l l image how we overcome thosechallenges. If not for the spirit of team work itcould have been may be something else.

But we learnt that there were someproblems with the food arrangements andthe space provided in Mina, what caused allthese?

Moddibo: The quality of the food served topilgrims was very good even though there arepockets of challenges in terms of the timing ofdelivery of some of the meals and in somecases the quantity but the quality generallyfrom what I have seen and tasted was ok.Therefore, we ensured that Nigerian pilgrimsgot the best service in all the services renderedto them and some things were very obvious.

Certainly in Mina for some states there werechallenges of space particularly in Kano andSokoto where the space allocated to them wasquite inadequate so people were not properlyaccommodated and on that we will definitelydiscuss with the Mu'assasah who areresponsible for that and we will discuss thepossibility of getting refund for any servicethat was not properly rendered.

Many pilgrims accused Tour Operators inthis regard, did NAHCON realize that andif that was true what measure wil lNA HC ON t a k e a g a i n s t t h e s e to u roperators?

Moddibo: We have observed right from dayone that there were some challenges with theTour Operators. It was more glaring but withour intervention, the Mu'assasah were able toget alternate space in the Turkish area wherethey moved almost about 6,000 people to

Alhaji Abdullahi Modibo Saleh,NAHCON Commissioner in Charge of Operations

decongest the tour operators' side andof course despite that effort thefacilities needed in that place were notput into place.

It took almost one day to get feedingand bedding issues sorted out but allthese are lessons that we have to takehome to avoid late registration ofpilgrims so that we should be able tofinish registration in good time, toestablish the number of pilgrims thatwill come for the Hajj and send it to therelevant service providers to enablethem plan well ahead of time.

I think that is the challenge they hadwith the Tour operators but we will

investigate more to get more of thereasons or what led to the inadequatespace for the Tour operators so that wewill avoid the reoccurrence of that infuture and where we establish that aTour Operator is at fault we willsanction him and where a TourOperator is not at fault the serviceprovider is at fault then we will go forrefund to ensure that our people getvalue for their money.

Can you shed more lights withregards to the pilgrims' behavior int e r m s o f c o m p l i a n c e w i t hTaraddudiya and the medicalchallenges experienced duringArafat?

Moddibo: By and large the Mina andArafat outing was a huge successbecause the movement from Makkahto Mina, from Mina to Arafat and fromArafat to Muzdalifah was accident freeand there was no case of any abnormalbehaviour on the part of the pilgrimswhich we really thank Allah for that.

Really, there were some pockets ofm e d i c a l c h a l l e n g e s w h i c h w eexperienced, but it was handledpromptly by our medical team and toAllah be the glory. In some departureor some vacation centres there weresome delays but the delay wasattributed to human traffic on theroute of the Taraddudiya itself.

S o, for s afe t y of pi lg r ims t hemovements of the buses were delayedso as to give room for the human trafficto ease out. I really commended Saudigovernment because they have beenon this initiative and at any point theyenvisage traffic in the buses they willcommunicate to us that your buses aretaking so and so route and that it willbe delay for 30 minutes due to humantraffic. So, on our own part we willinform our emergency help line tocommunicate to the state officials andI think it helps a lot.

The most important thing is that mostof the state behaves orderly and full ofappreciation and commendation evenby the Saudi Authority till the end ofHajj operation. The commissionensured that all the stakeholders werefully involved in Hajj operation andmost of our officials did not evenperform the Hajj rites.

They sacrificed their Hajj for thewellbeing of pilgrims. So if we were tocombine p er forming Hajj andofficiating hajj probably we could nothave attended the level of success werecorded but we are not there yet. Weexperienced some challenges whichwere normal and our prayers are toovercome those challenges as theycome.

662017

Nigerian pilgrims at King AbdulAziz International Airport, Jeddah on their way back home

Pilgrims boarding plane for Saudi Arabia

67 2017

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