Hajj 2015: Of Successes And Challenges -By Ibrahim Muhammed

The return of the last batch of Nigerian pilgrims from Saudi Arabia on October 24, marked the end of this year’s hajj operation, thereby marking a successful end to an exercise which commenced of August 2015 when the first batch of pilgrims departed Lagos aboard Medview air with 222 Ogun state pilgrims and landed in Medina Airport. Except for the twin tragedies of the Haram crane incident and the Mina stampede, this year’s hajj exercise recorded an improvement in key areas of operations. From the newly introduced e-track visa policy to pilgrims airlifts, pilgrims enlightenment, accommodation, to the movement of pilgrims within the Holy sites in Saudi Arabia.

Six airlines participated in airlifting of 66, 000 states’ pilgrims this year. They are Max air, Medview Air, Topbrass air, Donier, Kabo Air and Flynas. During the outbound journey, a total of 65, 728 pilgrims were airlifted to Saudi Arabia in 177 flight operations in 26 days, i.e from 23rd of August to 17th of September 2015.

The outbound airlift was completed in three days before the closure of Jedda airport, a significant departure from the past. More importantly, 93 percent of pilgrims were airlifted to Madina directly; thereby eliminating the stress of transporting pilgrims by roads from Jedda airport to Madina.

The return journey saw a total of 63, 831 pilgrims airlifted back home in 162 flight operations in 27 days. The return leg was completed seven days before the closure of Jedda airport, a record that the Saudi authorities made reference to. First, a total of 26 and 27 days were used to airlift pilgrims to and from Saudi Arabia respectively. Secondly, gone are days when Nigeria had to request for extension of time before it could airlift its pilgrims. It is worthy of pride that Nigeria can now compete with countries like Malaysia, Pakistan and Indonesia in terms of operational standard in hajj exercise.

However, the delays experienced during the return leg calls for more proactive action. Though, it is gladdening that airliners were compelled to feed and accommodate pilgrims in hotels in Jedda as compensation for such delay. What pilgrims want is to be airlifted back home as at when due. The air carriers understand that accurate and reliable flight schedule are critical aspects of Hajj planning as many other elements are dependent on them. These include, cost of living of the pilgrims, cost of accommodation in Makkah and Madinah due to over stay, and the processes of release of pilgrims to Jeddah Airport.

Furthermore, the newly introduced policy of delivering ‘Zamzam’ to pilgrims has also recorded tremendous success. Over 85 percent of pilgrims got their ‘zamzam’ on arrival as pilgrims no longer need to hustle for Zamzam water in the Holy land. For 100 percent success, a committee should be created for this important policy by next year.

The introduction of e-track as a way of processing visa by Saudi authorities created fresh operational challenges to NAHCON and state pilgrims boards. The e-track links the Hajj visa of every pilgrim to a package of services consisting of specific elements, such as housing, transportation, and food, which should be clearly stated and announced via the electronic system, so that the pilgrim can identify these elements in advance before their arrival in Saudi. In addition, the monitoring authorities will be able to follow up how the services registered in the system match the services that are actually provided.

Interestingly, the Saudi Hajj authorities which introduced the online process faced serious challenges in its implementation due to its newness and time factor. However, despite these challenges, NAHCON did extremely well in implementing the track system. Virtually all Nigerian pilgrims that had no problem with their passports were able to secure their visa through this process. The ICT department of the hajj commission deserves a pat on the back. Some states muslim pilgrims welfare boards like Zamfara, Kaduna, Lagos and Kano also did excellently well. However, states pilgrims boards need to upgrade their operation in compliance with new trends. It is disappointing that in this era of electronic information and communication system, some state pilgrims boards do not have ICT or computer units.

NAHCON should therefore direct states pilgrims welfare boards to establish ICT units equipped with all necessary hardware and software as soon as possible. Nahcon should also establish ICT department in its zonal offices to complement the ones at its headquarters. This achievement is worth stated because without visa, pilgrims could not have participated in this year hajj exercise.

The enlightments programme sponsored by NAHCON in both the NTA and FRCN made tremendous impact on pilgrims. Such programmes should be an all year round exercise for maximum benefit to pilgrims. States   pilgrims’ welfare boards should complement NAHCON by producing similar programme to be aired in their various local media.

– Muhammed is a public affairs commentator