By Ismail Abdulaziz
The 2022 Hajj exercise has finally come to its climax with pilgrims completing the major religious rites of staying at Mina for four days, staying a day at Arafat and a night at Muzdalifa in fulfilment of the tenets of Islam and practice of the revered Prophet Muhammed.
The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has started making arrangements to transport pilgrims back home to reduce the weariness and for pilgrims to implement the spiritual uplift required of them after the Hajj to show that their endeavour during the exercise has been accepted by Allah.
As part of these preparations, the Chairman of the commission, Alhaji Zikrullah Hassan, visited pilgrims in their camps at Mina; this is a Holy site, where every pilgrims across the globe must spend at least two days after Arafat before proceeding to Makkah for the final rites of the Hajj.
The visit by the chairman was also used as an opportunity for both the Senate Chairman on Foreign Affairs, Sen. Adamu Bulkachuwa and the Nigerian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Yahaya Lawal, to meet pilgrims and get first feedback on the Hajj exercise in its totality and how it affected the pilgrims.
The visit is a standard practice carried out by NAHCON to get the feelings, observations and criticisms of pilgrims about the conduct of the whole Hajj exercise for that year. This visit involved pilgrim’s narrating their experiences from the services they received from preparation for the Hajj, departure to Saudi Arabia as well as what transpired during the Hajj exercise.
Top on the lists of recommendations by pilgrims for this year’s Hajj was the need to have an improved feeding arrangement that will have appropriate time for serving food, having local food as well as the quality of the feeding.
The NAHCON chairman enlightened the pilgrims of the new arrangement that allowed only Saudi Arabia accredited service provider to provide feeding for pilgrims at Arafat and Mina Holy sites. He, however, said that a formal letter had been written to the Saudi Arabian authorities for redress of this feeding situation and to seek for refunds, where agreed standards were not met.
Similarly, the pilgrims suggested a better information flow during the Hajj exercise in respect of when exactly intending pilgrims will leave Nigeria instead of staying for days at Hajj camps. This, the NAHCON boss, said would be addressed between the commission and the state pilgrims welfare boards.
On complaints about intending pilgrims, who missed Hajj 2022, Hassan pledged that top priority would be given to this category, urging that those able to make it this year should not apply next year to allow their intending pilgrim brothers to make it too.
It was not, however, a complaint galore as the pilgrims also gave the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria thumbs up in places where successes were recorded in the 2022 Hajj. These include areas of preparations for the Hajj where pilgrims recognised the quick interventions of the commission in making sure that recommendations and guidelines released as criteria to meet up for the operations by Saudi Arabia authorities became fruitful.
The Saudi Arabia ministry of Hajj and Umrah gave an unexpected notice for the commencement of the Hajj and this was largely due to the two years none performance occasioned by the coronavirus (COVID-19) health pandemic that led to the lockdown of the world. Though indications were given of the possible performance of the operations, the official decision was communicated to NAHCON barely three months for the number of seat allocated, price and accommodation arrangements. And to top it all, new rules that where not part of the Hajj operations were introduced by the Saudi authorities.
These include arrangements for payments to accepted companies through a new system that was abrupt and feeding of pilgrims in Arafat and Mina camps. In spite of all this, NAHCON was able to meet its obligations to intending pilgrims that have paid money two years ago and the new ones, especially those of the private tour operators.
The pilgrims also commended the rising to the task of the commission in ensuring that the emergency nature of the 2022 Hajj standards did not lead to lowering of standards in basic welfare of pilgrims; such as getting accommodation near the two Holy mosques in Madinah and Makkah. Many pilgrims got their Basic Travelling Allowance (BTA) in dollars even within the short notice for the exercise.
Pilgrims also lauded the fact that more than 90 per cent of pilgrims shortlisted for the operations were able to make it in spite of the odds of delayed or cancelled flights by some states pilgrims welfare boards at the initial stage of departures from Nigeria.
Already, NAHCON has started preparations for a smooth departure of pilgrims to their various states. The NAHCON Makkah Coordinator, Dr I. M. Sodangi, on Monday met with stakeholders including heads of Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah, National Reception Team, Feeding, Accommodation and Assistant Director Aviation, Muhammad Sanda. The meeting reviewed phase one (inbound) of the operation and strategising for the 2nd phase (outbound) operation. Sodangi stated that the stakeholders would ensure a smoother operation during this outbound then the inbound.
As the pilgrims complete the 2022 Hajj exercise, a spiritual rebirth is expected of them which should reflect in their daily interactions with other people in their homes, work and total attitude to life generally. It is also expected that the journey back home will also come with the pledged ease to the pilgrims so as to avoid unnecessary displeasure and bickering by Nigerian pilgrims during such exercises on a yearly basis.
(NAN)
