Contextualizing 2016 Hajj successes

Generally, it has been agreed by virtually all stakeholders that Hajj 2016 could be rated as the best ever in terms of planning, coordination and dissemination of information The unfortunate stampede of last year’s Hajj seems to have thrown up challenges to Hajj management body from both ends. 

 

Pilgrims movements, enlightenment and awareness, accommodations, feeding, security and health care services were given adequate attention. Congratulatory messages have been flying in the direction of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) and Saudi Arabia for organizing unarguably the best Hajj in recent years. 

Then, one may ask: what made this year’s Hajj to be termed as ‘successful’ or the ‘most successful Hajj’ in recent years? Basically, there are three indices of measurement in determining the success or failure in Hajj operation: Pilgrims’ movements which included airlifts, transportation within the holy cities, the quality of accommodation in Madina and Makkah and pilgrims’ welfare which includes feeding, medical services and sanitation. 

 

 As per the airlifts, let’s see the statistics: Three airlines namely, Max Air, Flynas and Medview airlifted 61,903 pilgrims within 26 days from 13 different airports in a 151 flight operations.  Max evacuated 30,122 while Flynas airlifted 23,100 and Medview 10,135. A total of 107 flights representing 71% of the total number of pilgrims landed in Madina while 44 flights which is 29% landed in Jeddah. The significance of this is that 71% of Nigeria pilgrims did not pass through the stress of travel from Jeddah to Madina by road. 

 

During return flight, the same number of airlines airlifted 61,534 pilgrims from Saudi Arabia to Nigeria in 23 days in 139 flight operations. 

 

It is instructive to note that the three airlines concluded their airlifts before the scheduled date. During post Arafat meeting, NAHCON commissioner in charge of operations said “Medview Airlines shall start airlift on the 18th to end hopefully on or before 4th October, while Max Air shall start on 19th to end latest by 13th October.” 

However, Flynas completed its airlifts on 7th of October while Max air ended its operation on 9th October. Medview airlines completed its airlifts on 4th October – an indication that the exercise was completed 4 days behind the scheduled date. It is a commendable feat for the air carriers. 

 

Additionally, 76,850 8kg of Zamzam water was procured and ferried to Nigeria by NAHCON for distribution to pilgrims. Out of this figure, Max air delivered 37,000 pieces, Medview Airline 15,000 and Flynas with 24,850 pieces. It is noteworthy that only Nigerian pilgrims enjoyed this ‘home delivery service of Zamzam water’. Again, while Nigeria concluded its airlift on 9th October, Pakistan completed its on 17th of October. The last flight of Pakistan landed in Quetta on Monday 17th October with 200 pilgrims from Jeddah aboard Pakistan International Airline PK-3528. 

 

 On accommodation this year, for the first time, pilgrims were housed in a five star hotel. Andalus Daarul-Khairy, Ajnihatul Andalus, Almajeedy, Aljazeera Almadina, Taiba Arac are all five star hotels. Tabac Arac is located right at the doorstep of the Holy Prophet’s mosque in Madina.  

 

The pioneer national medical team gave their best, though with room for improvements. A total of 400 medical personnel were recruited by NAHCON. The provision of DNA data bank and embedding of medical records in pilgrims E-wrist band are good innovations. According to Dr Ibrahim Kana, Head of the medical team, ‘19,934 pilgrims were attended to before Arafat as compared to 5,000 last year’. After Arafat, the figure rose to 30,107 pilgrims who received medical attention. 

 

 The reality of space management in Mina is now realistically accepted as a fact. Efforts have now been shifted to the quality of services rendered especially transportation, feeding, sanitation and health care services delivery. The car syndicate services have improved tremendously.  A lot, however needs to be done in sanitation in Mina especially on the part of Muassassah. 

 

 More importantly, the will to implement the Hajj 2016 blueprints on the part of NAHCON leadership constitutes the dominant elements that lead to this achievement. Other factors responsible for this achievements are: the collection of refunds for service not rendered or rendered unsatisfactorily from Hajj service providers during Hajj 2015, the cancellation of VIP services, the redeployment of NAHCON staff for field operations (including those at the top), the dedication of ad hoc committee members, the leadership by example as displayed by the chairman of the commission, and of course the continuous update and dissemination of information from Independent Hajj Reporters team, the national media team members and the NAHCON media centre. 

 

 However, while NAHCON has achieved its cardinal objectives for Hajj 2016, other matters still need closer attention. The payment of hadaya (animal sacrifice) and pilgrims’ basic travel allowance need to be revisited. 

The loopholes exploited by some unscrupulous state pilgrim’s board officials that made it possible to short-change some pilgrims in this year’s Hajj should be checked. NAHCON should also roll out a comprehensive enlightenment programme on the exchange values of the naira to the riyal and riyal to the dollar as such will greatly guide pilgrims on how to manage their spending during Hajj. 

 

Also, pilgrims’ BTA should henceforth be made available a week before their day of departure. 

The recurrent challenges of excess hand luggage’s and the seeming connivance of some state pilgrims officials needs to be reviewed. Penalty should be imposed on states whose pilgrims arrived airports with excess hand luggage.    

 

The factors that made it possible to achieve success this year should be consolidated. The proposed centralized online registration of pilgrims should commence in earnest. 

 

The feeding arrangement is getting better but a lot needs to be done in terms of the menu and the timing. A situation where dinners are supplied by 11pm should be discouraged. 

NAHCON should continue to train and retrain its personnel on the importance of public relations during Hajj.  It is of my prayer that 2017 Hajj will be far better than this year’s operation Insha Allah.

Muhammed is the national coordinator of Independent Hajj Reporters