By Shehu Usman Muhammad, PhD.
Expectations on the New Chairman/CEO: The expectations of the Ummah on Ambassador Yusuf is enormous, as an experienced administrator and diplomat, you are expected to ensure that the Commission drives the process of dealing with the above mentioned challenges, particularly, the challenges of bringing back the confidence of the Board of the Commission, the Management’s unity of purpose, (build trust with your members of the management), address poor team work among the general staff, encourage dialogue with the staff union, improve the professional capacity and the relationship of staff in the Headquarters and those in the zonal and outreach offices.
Likewise, address work load distribution among your capable staff to be based on reward system (carrot & stick policy). You must, urgently but, systematically work hard to change the negative public perceptions on the Commission through strengthening your organization’s Public Relations/Affairs department. Create decisive schedule of duties for every sphere of the media ecosystem. The public is now conditioned by many negative reports to view the Commission as “a Muslim organization with serious institutional integrity challenges”. The Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) listed the Commission among the 15 Federal Agencies that are “high corruption risk” organization, not because of any proven clear case of corruption, but due to simple procedural lapses or “due to structural, cultural or operational (internal and external) vulnerabilities”.
I must humbly and respectfully bring to your notice that, due to the absence of a Fix Asset Register and poor documentation, the Commission is likely to loose control of many of its assets across the country. I am sure the external auditors auditing the commission must have drawn your attention to this. Also, NAHCON ought to seriously deal with the poor utilization of its Information and Communication Technology experts in the payroll of the Commission. They have the capacity for them to be able to place the Commission appropriately to fit in with the Saudi Arabian 2030 vision. The investment the Commission made in the unit is enormous and, when given the opportunity, the unit is capable of digitizing every operational activity for the improvement of hajj management.
Transparent management of development levy usually being paid by Pilgrims need to be addressed and an annual account be rendered to the general public for their consumption.
Collaboration and Cooperation; Due to the complexity of the relationship between NAHCON and the above listed, misunderstanding arises which only strategic communication framework, development of long term but flexible planning can save NAHCON from falling into their traps. Just for me to drive some points home, there was a day I recalled, the Chairman/CEO of Hajj Commission, in the month of November 2024 was to attend to 3 invitations, each demanding his physical presence thus: Bureau for Public Procurement, whose Director General just took over after his appointment, the Sada Soli Committee on investigation of the N90B Hajj Subsidy and the Public Account Committees that was considering the response of NAHCON on the queries of the Auditor General of the Federation’s Audit Report to the National Assembly over 2018 NAHCON Audit report. These were all expecting his person presence not a representation, again in the Hajj House office, he was expected to participate in a virtual meeting with his colleagues around the globe under the Chairmanship of the Deputy Minister of Hajj Affairs in Saudi Arabia. It only calls for pure understanding of organizations/institutions within Nigeria to allow the Chairman attend to the meeting with Saudi Ministry of Hajj because, his colleagues from over the one hundred Hajj Nations are sharing experiences and providing situation report which he cannot afford to miss. But he was misunderstood by many of those offices/committee due to mistrust and poor communication strategy.
Furthermore, the States’ Pilgrims Welfare Boards/Agencies/Commissions, State Governors, Tour Operators, Islamic Religious Institutions, Organizations and other stakeholders are critical in ensuring that they are carried along through an agreed framework that is simple, collectively developed and all inclusive. The supremacy of “I own the Pilgrims” and “NAHCON is only to Coordinate” works only in the Nigerian space, as soon as you land in the airport of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, only the Commission is recognized. However, NAHCON will be of no value if States do not bring up the Pilgrims. The current arrangement and the provisions in the NAHCON Act are too loose and obsolete, hence requires some attention to address this relation.
The critical point here is for NAHCON to consider every stakeholder in the Hajj business as important, even when it considers others more important. The relationship needs to be defined, understood and prioritized.
The Problem of Late Preparations; Mr. Chairman Sir, let me go to the main issues that need to be addressed urgently. I have recently highlighted some of the issues in my Key Note Address titled “Nigeria and the Quest for best Hajj Operational Practices”, delivered at the Independent Hajj Reporters Annual Award Lecture Series Ceremony for 2025 Hajj, at the Auditorium of the National Mosques, Abuja, on the 11th September 2025. One of the most persistent problems in Nigeria’s Hajj operations is late preparation. Unlike countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Pakistan, where pilgrims save for years in advance through their well-structured Hajj Saving Schemes (HSS), Nigerian Pilgrims often pay fares at the last minute. This delays early planning including signing of agreements with Saudi service providers and forces NAHCON to repeatedly request for avoidable extensions on key milestones expected to be achieved as per the annual hajj calendar.
Your strategy of addressing the above, among other interventions, should focus on institutionalizing a legally backed Hajj Saving Scheme before Hajj 2027. Such a system would allow pilgrims to save gradually, earn returns on investments, and ensure early planning. Your prior experience studying successful models abroad positions you well to champion this reform. Many countries have moved away from the analog system. Furthermore, other reasons raised are “the inability of the Nigerian Government to develop a comprehensive National Policy on Hajj that will address Hajj, not only as a spiritual journey but as social and economic activity that has the potentials of improving the socio-economic status of the Pilgrims and contribute to the growth of the Nigerian economy”. There are issues also related to the challenges in dealing with the complex Saudi Hajj calendar that requires many external (Nigerian) stakeholders’ involvement, inconsistent and aggressive Saudi policies on Hajj Management, trapped funds in Saudi Arabian establishment for services not rendered to Nigeria Pilgrims which is posing a challenge to the refund exercise to relevant Pilgrims. etc.
Welcoming the New Chairman/CEO of NAHCON and a Call for Reform and Renewal (III)
By Shehu Usman Muhammad, PhD.
Reforming the Legal Framework; Mr. Chairman Sir, you need to strategically look at the current and potential threats confronting the Commission. The need for the review of the obsolete legal instrument establishing the Commission cannot be over emphasized. The Act was signed into law in 2006, that is 20 years ago. The need to ensure that law categorically distinguish between the powers and roles of the Commission and that of the States’ Pilgrim Welfare Agencies/Boards/Commissions. The Hajj Saving Scheme (HSS) must be backed by the Act clearly and unequivocally not by the regulations of the Commission. The Act must address the relationship between NAHCON and the States on the management of the fund and the types of investments.
Alhamdulillah, we have the low-risk investment such as the Halal Investment, Sukuk and investment in non-interest financial institutions etc. The investment must take care of Pilgrims, the fund managers resources and must be made in such a way as to boost and improve the hajj financial ecosystem. HSS is the solution to late preparation, it enables the Pilgrim to pay for Hajj for himself and/or family in installment, at his own phase without stress, he receives profit on investment, he is carried along in communication, he goes through training and training on Hajj gradually and is at liberty to account for his fund even after the performance of his/her Hajj exercise, he may wish to continue using the account as an investment if he/she wishes. The current practice of Pilgrims paying money in installment or at once into a bank and expect to go to Hajj same year is not HSS and it is not different from paying through states Pilgrims’ offices. HSS must be supported or prioritized over one stop-shop payment if we are serious in tackling the consistency in our inconsistency in complying with Saudi Hajj calendar.
I am glad, without over flogging the issues of HSS, to read from your biography that you were one of members of a team that studied the scheme in some countries that have successfully adopted it to the fullest. Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia (Tabung Hajj) in particular is described as the most successful in the world. The scheme has facilitated efficient Hajj and Umrah operations, effective financial management, positive economic developments, many benefits to the Pilgrims, the society and the country at large. In many occasions, Tabung Hajj, as I was made to understand, had expressed willingness to provide financial opportunities to the Commission especially in securing accommodation and transportation very early using their investment window in the scheme. Your experience should be fully deployed to address the non-acceptance of the scheme by many states, guide in the appointment of the managers of the scheme that is the Board of Trustees (BOT) and mount an aggressive awareness campaign for the general public to understand, accept and embrace the scheme. Spit fire advocacy to Governors, Emirs and religious organizations and continued media engagement is required.
The NAHCON Act must also be reviewed to give the Commission the full powers to “organize and coordinate the movement of Nigerian Pilgrims (Hajj and Umrah) from Nigeria to Saudi Arabia. It is important to note that Saudi Arabian government recognizes only one institution from Nigeria on Hajj management not a collection of “Kingdoms/States”. The Commission must develop an all-inclusive and comprehensive Central Pilgrims Information Management system (Biometric Data bank) or you call it Unified Pilgrims’ Electronic Management System that the States and Tour Operators are expected to be fully involved in. It should be centrally managed by the Commission and all stakeholders can access as per their responsibility in the Hajj industry. Nothing is impossible, with appropriate engagement and understanding of all stakeholders in Hajj management.
The challenge of Exchange rate. Mr. Chairman, you need to address the avoidable superiority of dollar over the Naira during exchange exercise through the window created by Saudi Arabia for Naira to Riyal swap. The fluctuating exchange rate is one of hick in hajj fare. Incidentally, the current Vice President, when he was the Governor of Borno state led a delegation of Northen Nigeria Governors in February 2016 to Saudi Arabia where the Saudi Arabia – Nigeria Economic Cooperation (SANEC) was initiated, I do not know where it is now, but he is now the Vice President in-charge of NAHCON as such, he is a better position to facilitate, using SANEC as a pathway, to drastically reduced cost of Hajj to Nigerian Pilgrims, advance economic activities between the two countries. This initiative has the potentials of leveraging Naira-Riyal swaps, thus bypassing the dollar gate. Appropriate financial collaboration, opening the gate of Halal Economic development and Sukuk bond issuance as determinants of driving the economic development of the Country in an unprecedented manner.
Now that I have raised enough issues for you to focus on, let me discuss briefly the opening page of the assignment. The Commission, as it is now, need to have a team of experts to professionally appraise its performance since it was established using a classical institutional appraisal module, use the outcome to develop the Commissions cooperate plan, this plan is needed to strategically align the goals of the commission, optimizing how to use its resources and provide a strategic roadmap for long-term successes. This plan will guide the Commission on its growth path, provide a guide to its future resource needs and provides the guide in attracting investors to the Commission. Cooperate plans also provides some guides in the development of its short and long-term (3 – 5years) strategic plans. The strategic plan is to define the Commissions goals, vision and all specific action or activities needed to achieve them. In doing these, stakeholders that have a business in the Hajj industry must be allowed to make input in its development. This strategic plan must be validated by all relevant stakeholders for ownership of all activities listed in it. It is then used developing an annual implementation plan aligning it with the various provisions of the Saudi Hajj Calander, develop monitoring and evaluation framework, advocacy and public enlightenment blue print. ICT framework guide, Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), and other relevant operational guidelines should as well be created for an enhanced implementation. The Commission need to develop a staff performance reward system that is performance based for staff appraisals.
The Commission need to facilitate an MoU or agreement with all professional relevant stakeholders in the Hajj ecosystem. Most especially, the Foreign Affairs on the activities of their offices especially those requiring consular services. It is very important for the Commission to engage the Bureau of Public Procurement to develop some exclusive procurement guidelines due to Hajj exercise/operation peculiar/uniquely complex and time-bound accommodation and transportation procurement processes in the country but will be used in Saudi Arabia. Having these statutory documents at the disposal of the Commission will enable NAHCON, in consultation with States, set up bench marks and various standard that will be used for assessment of performances and level of compliance to NAHCON guidelines by States, performance of service providers and all stakeholders in the Hajj industry sphere Without which is like playing a football competition between two rival teams but without a goal post.
Economic Opportunities; You need to change the current narratives. NAHCON currently is not a business-oriented institution to be qualified as a self-funding organization and it is not a fully funded Commission. Neither of the two. There is too much reliance on charges administrative service rendered to the Pilgrims, charges on airliners on each pilgrim, on accommodation providers etc. All the charges are from the Hajj fare already paid by the Pilgrims. The Pilgrims needs to be relieved of some of these charges. Government needs to take over and provide some support through direct funding of the Commission like it is funding other Commissions, even though, there is a current debate going on, the debate on privatizing and commercializing Hajj operation vs government-controlled Hajj Affairs among stakeholders, with each argument having its merit and demerit. But this debate is not for me today. I am just interested reducing the cost of hajj using any available means.
Conclusion. Let me conclude by submitting that the Commission, in the last 20 years, has established itself as a body responsible for Hajj Affairs in the Country. You now need to move it to the next phase of development of the Ummah through diversification and strategic policy development that will facilitate the Commission to be visible in the social, cultural and economic space using Hajj and Umrah activities. NAHCON needs to develop friendly policies that will attract partners and investors in and outside the country to participate in the development of hajj industry in the country.
There is the need to emphasize, as I stated in the above presented paper, that 50,000 – 95,000 annual Pilgrims from Nigeria to Saudi Arabia are also contributing to the economic ecosystem associated with the annual pilgrimage. Therefore, the Commission need to use the opportunity to promote export of goods and services, transfer of technology, export of talents under human capital development, cultural exchange and educational development and many more.
The Commission should be leading in demonstrating practically what Allah, in the Qur’an, Surat Al-Baqarah [verse 198] said; “There is no blame upon you for seeking bounty from your Lord [during Hajj]. But when you depart from ‘Arafat, remember Allah at the – Mash’ar al-Haram, remember Him, as He Has guided you, for indeed, you were before that among those astray”.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is not looking at Hajj from only a religious dimension alone. It is on the Saudi website that … “Hajj generates an estimated $12 billion per year for Saudi Arabia. As part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 roadmap to diversify its income streams and to become less dependent on oil. Saudi Arabia intends to boost its numbers of religious tourist arrivals for both the Hajj and the Umrah to 30 million Pilgrims by 2030” …” These arrivals will provide a boost to the economy through money spent on foods, travels/visitations, accommodations and other expenditures. It is important to equally note that, China, as a country, is the greatest beneficiary of the annual Hajj exercise economically, because “In May 2025, China exported goods worth $5.27 billion to Saudi Arabia…”. What Nigerians are buying from Saudi to Nigeria as souvenirs are 60 – 70% from China. What is Nigeria exporting to Saudi Arabia during Hajj and Umrah?
A Call to Leadership; Mr. Chairman, I implore you to take advantages of the good will and respect of all level governments and many religious stakeholders on Hajj and Umrah, to change the narrative. Hajj remained one of the 5 pillars of Islam that every Muslim desire to attend/perform. Hence all members of the Ummah are ready and willing to support a transparent and accountable Hajj management under your leadership and your able management team. Your task is very clear and includes restoring public trust in NAHCON, strengthen collaboration with stakeholders at home and abroad, institutionalize reforms that will ensure transparency, efficiency, and accountability as well as to position NAHCON as not just a regulatory body, but/rather a driver of socio-economic development for the Ummah and Nigeria. Your media team need be supported to ensure relevant messages goes out at the right time to the grassroot and appropriate feedback are generated back to the Commission for necessary action.
Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”. His Excellency, Ambassador Yusuf, now stands at such a moment. The Nigerian Muslim community looks to unto you to lead with vision, integrity, and courage. Welcome once again and wish you Allah’s guidance.
Shehu Usman Muhammad, PhD.
