Pilgrimage sponsorship: Mixed reactions trail NAHCON’s operations, as Govs slam inefficiency

…N90bn subsidy not for sponsorship, but to help stranded pilgrims – MURIC

…National VC of Council of Ulama backs Gov. Bago on probe of NAHCON

…It’s time to end pilgrimage sponsorship – Bishop Emmah Isong blows hot

Rauf Oyewole, Bauchi

Controversies have continued to erupt after the call by the Niger State Governor, Muhammad Umar Bago and Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State to scrap the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) and set up an agency that will regulate pilgrimage.

The two governors have publicly criticised the hajj management of the Hajj pilgrimage, calling for reforms and decentralisation.

Recall that Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed accused NAHCON of failing to meet expectations despite exorbitant charges of over N8 million for a Hajj seat.

He deplored the hardship faced by Nigerian pilgrims in Saudi Arabia while stressing the need to decentralise Hajj operations.

According to the governor, the decentralisation would allow state governments to take full control of Hajj affairs and ensure adequate welfare of their respective pilgrims who paid for Hajj fares through the State Pilgrims Welfare Boards.

Also, Bago, who spoke in a viral clip, sharing his experience in 2024 Hajj demanded a thorough investigation into a N90 billion subsidy given by the Federal Government.

The Governor had earlier posited that “As a state governor, I want to lead a committee of the governors and the Nigerian Governors Forum  (NGF) to scrap NAHCON. NAHCON is not helping matters.”

He said the Federal Government is too big to be worried about Hajj problems.

“This is a local government issue, not a state one. State governments should be able to organise pilgrimages and engage agents from the private sector who can manage this more effectively, as other countries do. The government has no business in doing this,” he said.

“Can you imagine governors of Nigeria, the Speaker of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, paying to NAHCON and having no place to sleep and being embarrassed? People will say it is because governors have been affected. Yes, they have been affected, but it is good that we are affected, and this is the time for us to change the narrative,” he said in the video.

He further lamented that: “We have failed and continue to fail. NAHCON is supposed to be a regulator, not an operator, but it has continued to act as an operator and has, therefore, failed pilgrims. Can you imagine that feeding, accommodation in Medina, tents in Muna, transportation, and healthcare workers are all managed by NAHCON? No other country in the World does this.”

“NAHCON has no business chartering flights; it is not their responsibility to feed the pilgrims. For example, I am from Niger State. If you allow me to feed pilgrims, I will be able to transport food that people are locally used to to Saudi Arabia to feed my own pilgrims,” he said.

While speaking, the Founder/Executive Director of Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), Prof. Ishaq Akintola, advised Governor Bago to channel his suggestion on how to improve the Hajj operation.

According to him, NAHCON has been engaging in internal restructuring and has always welcomed new ideas.

On scrapping NAHCON, Akintola said that: “We want the Federal Government to stop interfering in Hajj operations, we are capable of handling our things. About five to six years ago, the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs demanded that the Hajj operation be handled by Muslim Community; the government does not need to interfere at all.

“The only place the government needs to come in is the area of international relations, international travels, issuance of passports and protocols.”

MURIC dismissed the uproar on the N90 billion subsidy by the Federal Government, saying that some people were out to give the government of the day a “bad name.”

According to him, “The Federal Government did not sponsor pilgrims. The N90 billion given was not for sponsorship. Economy of Nigeria nosedived and the Naira fell against the Dollar. The value of what they have paid became short and they needed additional N2 million each to meet up. As a responsible government, the Federal Government intervened by supporting the pilgrims who could not meet up with the deadline.”

Akintola said that such intervention could be extended to Christians Community as the government has been doing to its citizens in distress. He cited the Ukraine war where Nigerian students were trapped and the government quickly intervened to evacuate the stranded students.

MURIC said it would not comment on the demand for a probe of NAHCON as it has enough evidence of any mismanagement of funds.

Speaking on the sponsorship of pilgrimage, National Publicity Secretary of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) and Former Chairman of PFN Cross River State, Bishop Emmah Isong, said in his personal opinion, it is time to stop sponsorship of pilgrimage to holy lands.

According to him, Nigeria has many religious historical sites that could attract foreigners to Nigeria.

He said, “Let’s make it a public-private partnership. I mean where the government will provide security and manage visas, diplomatic matters.”

He said that as a stakeholder in Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), he never used government resources to perform pilgrimage.

“I raise money to sponsor myself. Somebody should do so. We must not be colonialistic in our ways.

“What we have now is people sponsoring their girlfriends, those who have three or four wives are sponsoring their families to both Mecca and Jerusalem. The poor man doesn’t go on pilgrimage, those without connection don’t go on pilgrimage. Pilgrimage is your personal venture for spirituality. So what is the business of Nigeria?”

Also speaking, the National Deputy Chairman, Council of Ulamas, Sheikh Danazumi Musa, aligned with the submission of Governor Bago to probe the fund released to NAHCON, saying that the as a major stakeholder must have experienced or noticed injustice before coming to the public to demand for the probe.

“In Islam we don’t tolerate injustice. I’m in support of a special Committee of Inquiry into this year’s Hajj exercise. There are a lot of complaints from the pilgrims.”

Musa believed that there was nothing wrong in subsidising Hajj for Nigerians pilgrims, adding that subsidy is given to citizens across the World when a responsible government feels that things are tough for its people.