The inevitable renewal agenda for NAHCON

In perfect confirmation of the Islamic perception of indecent people who lack shame and are always ready to act out their recklessness, the propagandists are again at work. They wanted to skew the information about the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, such that the leadership that is just berthing is bedevilled. In what worse manner could the immediacy and virality of online information be optimally exploited for deceit and ironically for matters relating to the deen of Islam? The alleged sleaze, so saddening, of the immediate past NAHCON leadership was rather too humongous and too recent to be easily swept under the carpet, it’s worth noting.

Alhamdulilah for the reassuring divine assertion of the Almighty Allah to the effect that after hardship shall come relief. Certainly, the wish of every sincere Muslim in Nigeria with a fair knowledge of the situation with Hajj management is the restoration of wisdom and even enhancement of same. Only Allah has the capacity to make good things happen.

It was almost a completely hopeless situation until the federal government finally took the renewed hope agenda to the National Hajj Commission, NAHCON after suddenly retiring the versatile hajj management czar, Ustaz Zikrullah Hassan.

To date, Polyglot Hassan is the only NAHCON chairman with a most respectable mix of experience managing hajj successfully in both the private and public sectors. Indeed, he managed the Osun State Hajj Board without any board constituted for eight years and pilgrims all over the state remain in awe of Ustaz to date. Beyond the Osun pilgrims, Hassan’s fellow chairmen of hajj boards in all the 36 states of the federation and Abuja also conceded leadership to him on account of visible sterling qualities.

While at NAHCON therefore, Ustaz Hassan had commenced institutionalising structures that should endure for ages. As a thoroughbred professional (a lawyer and business management expert) with a strong inclination for creativity and continuity where necessary, he ran the 2022 and 2023 hajj operations harmoniously. Such was the glowing performance that the leadership of the hajj boards of all participating West African countries adopted him as their leader.

Resplendent in the sheer exhibitionism of a bad salesman, the succeeding regime took off on a lousy note characteristic of toddlers learning to tread with a large army of idlers anxious to flaunt their pathfinding role. The path they found turned out to be the road to perdition with the detailed disservice done to the ummah playing out to date.

The choice of a professor therefore was a most fitting reinforcement to the glorious era of Ustaz Zikrullah Hassan which ended abruptly just when the preparation for the 2024 Hajj started gathering momentum.

Why should Professor Saleh Usman Pakistan not glorify professorship further by replicating the performance of the brother professor at the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Is-haq Oloyede, described by their shared principal, President Bola Tinubu, as an uncommon scholar and an icon of integrity? Like Oloyede of JAMB, Pakistan’s academic affiliation is Arabic and Islamic Studies.

Pakistan’s fortune is probably stronger with the presence on the NAHCON board, a heavily credentialed scholar and two-time vice chancellor of impeccable integrity, Prof Mahfouz Adedimeji, ably representing the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, NSCIA.

What will Pakistan do wrong by emulating his contemporary’s good qualities to earn himself and families, earthly applause as well as Allah’s favours confidently and most importantly present Islam in the best mould to the world?

Transparency matters a lot. As is the case with the Universal Tertiary Matriculation Examination of JAMB, operators in the Hajj sector are quick to tell anyone interested that the preparations for the next Hajj commence almost immediately after the one just concluded is over. Annually, JAMB is never contented with keeping mum over its trials and triumphs. It presents the scorecard of her performance to the world for proper understanding. The world can therefore comment competently on JAMB matters even as some comments are informed and some others may not be necessary at all being unfounded and completely irrelevant.

Transparency pays all stakeholders and enables all to aspire to act right and promptly too. It signals accountability and attracts a lot of respect to those officials who are compliant. The ummah in Nigeria is anxious to see NAHCON rise gloriously back to the path of honour.

As a public trust, the commission should endeavour to earn the confidence of pilgrims from all parts of the country in ways most harmonious. The president has unmistakably demonstrated the importance of this most convincingly. What with the recent ‘transplanting’ of the whole council team of the Federal University Oye Ekiti to Federal University, Lokoja and that of Lokoja to Oye Ekiti? The idea was to ensure a pan-Nigerian outlook for the leadership of the two universities, the press statement announcing the change stated.

The Saleh Usman leadership should be able to build on the sincere growth and developmental efforts of Ustaz Hassan especially now that Hassan stands vindicated in spite of the blackmailers’ campaign against him like they are already up in hostility against Saleh Usman even before seeing him settle.

Though not a media professional, Hassan appreciated the need for a code of practice for journos that may be enlisted to cover hajj for NAHCON. For the first time in 2023, the code was introduced. The code may need to be updated and perfected but will surely help substantially in the coverage of hajj beyond sheer casual stringing.

This is particularly necessary because of the need for authenticated information on the sacred exercise as different from any social, political or ceremonial facet of human life. This may therefore call for a thorough and coordinated orientation for all journos from across all state boards and even the private tour operators. Thankfully, there is ample technology to make this happen if NAHCON endorses this.

The scholar that Saleh Usman is should even up the stake as someone familiar with research and development especially as applicable to the trend of radicalization of the communication sector changing by the day with possibilities bourgeoning.

Documentation of hajj should enjoy trendy technological skills including livestreaming such that the media team should be made to realise that the new leadership will encourage team members to update skills as NAHCON may only patronise the trendy ones. No media organisation should be made to believe that NAHCON cannot make any choice different from them as had been the practice over the years. The logic that Prof Saleh Usman should reckon with is that this is the same way digital media innovations have been multiplying and manifesting novel capacities to endear themselves to users fanning up stiff competition with newer possibilities.

Prof Saleh Usman hardly needs to be told that hajj, with little or no subsidy as may be the case this year, calls for high-grade prudence but this could even be done with more honour if NAHCON can simply adopt the stipulations of the protocols of Open Government Partnership (OGP) long signed by President Buhari, which will signal to the world that indeed this new leadership signals a very clear departure from that of the corruption-ridden and grossly incompetent immediate past leadership. With Prof Saleh Usman’s pedigree, one may simply conclude that NAHCON will head for greater performance. But how soon will this be? He has my best wishes.

Akanni, PhD, associate professor of journalism at LASU, is a veteran hajj reporter.