2013 Hajj: How far have we gone?

But if any deny faith, Allah stands not in need of any of His creatures (Qur’an 3:97). The Prophet (SAW) is reported to have said that: Allah has made the observance of Hajj obligatory on you, so observe it. (Related by Muslim) There is unanimity of the Muslim jurists on the obligation of Hajj at […]

But if any deny faith, Allah stands not in need of any of His creatures (Qur’an 3:97). The Prophet (SAW) is reported to have said that: Allah has made the observance of Hajj obligatory on you, so observe it. (Related by Muslim) There is unanimity of the Muslim jurists on the obligation of Hajj at least once in a life time of a qualified Muslim.
As a religious duty it has rules that guide its observance. What I want to do is discuss the challenges facing Hajj operation in Nigeria and recommend measures to ameliorate if not control them. For Hajj to be acceptable by Allah, certain requirements must be fulfilled.
Some of these requirements have been laid down in the Qur’an and others in the Hadith and yet a few in the Ijmaa. In the Qur’an for instance, the verse quoted above mentions capability – al-istita’ – as a condition without which Hajj does not become obligatory on a worshipper.
The capability referred to in the verse, according to leading exegetes means provision for expenses covering the exercise on one hand and safety and security of the pilgrims throughout the trip on the other. In another verse which appears to be a follow up to (Qur’an 3:97), adequate provision is emphasized and piety (right conduct) is described as the best of such provision.
The verse reads thus: And take a provision (with) you for the journey, but the best provision is (piety) right conduct. So fear me ‘O ye that are wise. (Qur’an 2:197). The piety or right conduct implies the observance of the rules of Hajj solely for the sake of Allah and according to its rules.
When this is done, the Prophet (SAW) is reported to have assured pilgrims with these qualifications of Allah’s forgiveness and admission into the Paradise. Muslim Jurists have also added maturity, physical and mental fitness as well as freedom as other requirements of Hajj. Fulfillment of these requirements makes Hajj obligatory on a Muslim and failure to perform it thereafter is a sinful act according to the unanimity of the Muslim Jurists.
Hajj operation in Nigeria has a long history. There was evidence that prominent Muslim leaders in the pre-colonial Kanem Borno, Hausa land and the Sokoto Caliphate observed the rites of Hajj and made adequate provisions for the welfare of pilgrims from their domains in the holy land. However, since independence till date what used to be a hitch free operation in the pre-colonial times are now faced with several challenges.
The operation has experienced perennial hiccups which have had adverse effects on the observance of Hajj on one hand and dented the image of the Nigerian nation on the other. To ensure a hitch free Hajj, commissions, committees, directorates and boards were inaugurated both at the national and state levels and saddled with this onerous task.
Such commissions, committees, directorates and boards have been backed up by enabling legislation to ensure legitimacy and clearly define their mandates. Despite these supports especially from the government, Hajj operation in Nigeria apart from the 2008 Hajj which was adjudged the best in the recent times by President Umaru Musa Yar’adua has been characterized by undue hardships and difficulties suffered by Nigerian pilgrims.
In fact, the sadness, anger and frustration caused by the failure of Hajj operations in Nigeria cannot be quantified. Inability of the various government agencies to achieve successful Hajj operations in the country is caused by a number of challenges. Some of which will be discussed with a view to finding lasting solutions to them and ensuring a hitch free Hajj operation. However, the fruits yielded by the new policy were equally challenged by the tedious responsibilities of daily inspections of the accommodations and problems linked with some pilgrims’ lack of orientation on how to use facilities provided in the houses.
There were quite few cases when pilgrims stayed little above one hour at the Hijra station due to the inability of the General Car Syndicate to provide buses for the pilgrims who were due to depart to Makkah and thus give way to the incoming pilgrims. This often caused ripples between the Hijra officials and the Saudi authorities. There were few times when the network system delayed pilgrims’ processes.
There also occurred cases when the mixture of Nigerian pilgrims with pilgrims of other nationalities in one bus caused delay at the station due the inability of the other nationals to process their accommodations in good time. Despite all that, the average time spent by the majority of the pilgrims at the station ranged between 10 to 30 minutes.
On November 12, 2011, the Amirul-Hajj and leader of the federal government delegation to the 2011 Hajj, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, mni, CFR, alongside NAHCON chairman, undertook an inspection tour of the Nigerian accommodations in Madinah. At the end, the Sultan expressed happiness with the new arrangement and commended NAHCON for ensuring that Nigerian pilgrims do not only attain hajj mabrur, but enjoy maximum comfort.
It is good news that this new arrangement was a great success. Having mentioned these achievements that won’t go without enumerating some shortcomings on the side of the tour operators where I want to categorically stress that the Nigerian government or the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria NAHCON, should focus more attention to checking the inefficiencies going on with tour operators.
One would agree with me that all is not well with some of the services of the tour operators. The most important thing in the Hajj operation is the perfection of the airlift, that is inbound and out bound but what is baffling is the way tour operators operates without necessary particulars especially meeting the requirement from the Nigerian Civic Aviation Authority NCAA.  Over the years the problem has persisted – the situation where they successfully finish the out bound but the inbound becomes a very big problem. This is where the issue of rescue comes in. The question here, therefore is how could you have a reliable airline to handle this situation? Recall in 2007 after the Hajj pilgrims belonging to one airline, were stranded at the airport in Jedda for some days. Another airline, Tradecraft, had to come in to rescue. The same airline ended up evacuating almost all the international pilgrims that year.
Like a drama, a similar incident occurred in 2008 though not with Bellview but with its counterpart, a new airline with its first operation in Hajj. Tradecraft had to engage itself in a rescue mission again. These shortcomings continue to occur almost every year. What is actually going on? With the efforts on ground I think there is the needs for NAHCON to set aside a reliable airline permanently on rescue mission, and  also come up with certain ideas of encouragement for the best performing airline. I remember, though at the last stakeholders meeting on Hajj before the commencement of the airlift the Sultan of Sokoto Sa’ad Abubakar told the airlines and tour operators not to relent on their efforts to take their responsibilities with all seriousness.
Therefore it is also imperative on airlines that have some technicalities with their particulars to ensure all is well. About 75,000 Nigerian pilgrims are expected to take part at this year’s Hajj exercise in Saudi Arabia, our hope and prayers are that may exercise be hitch free.

Tahir wrote from Bauchi, Gombe road