By Ibrahim Muhammed
National Coordinator
Independent Hajj Reporters
The appointment of two veteran Hajj field officers by Gov Uba Sani to be part of the Kaduna Special Hajj Committee evokes the memory of yesterday years when people were appointed within the Hajj eco-system based on experience and in-field practical experience
Gov UBA Sani has on Wednesday approved the appointment of Haliru Maraya and Abdullahi Bayero to the Special Hajj Committee under the Chairmanship of the current executive Chairman of the Agency, Alh Salihu Abubakar
His Excellency’s decision to bring both Haliru Maraya and Abdullahi Bayero on board deserves commendation, especially at this critical period when selfless and results-oriented hajj officials are on the decline.
It is an added-value appointment, and their experience and dedication will serve as motivating factors for other board staff when the hajj operations kick off properly. I am sure His Excellency might have diligently scrutinized their record in hajj operations and found them worthy of the positions.
During the 2005 Hajj, I was part of the advance team to Saudi Arabia along with Haliru Maraya where we served as a receiving team at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. The airport then had no umbrella and we spent 2 weeks at the airport under chilling weather conditions. A cup of hot tea becomes a routine ritual to keep us awake because every 5 to 6 hours, a flight carrying Kaduna pilgrims will be landing. Sheikh Haliru Maraya and other officials are saddled with the responsibility of receiving the pilgrims and enlightening them on dos and don’ts and also ensuring their seamless transit to either Makkah or Madina. Haliru Maraya is a workaholic and committed person.
I was detailed to capture the bio-data of every pilgrim that arrived to serve as the database for the board’s plan in Makkah or Madina and we succeeded in obtaining the database of about 7,800 pilgrims without any challenges.
Also In 2007, I, Sherif Ahmed, the then (weekly Editor of Néw Nigeria Newspaper now a Registrar at BUK) and Haliru Maraya served in the adhoc Committee of the Kaduna State Hajj team. One interesting thing about those years is that everybody worked in virtually all committees because the target is to make things comfortable for our dear pilgrims. You are in the Media team and you will join the pilgrims’ movement committee. An Ulama committee member will be joining the catering committee in serving food to pilgrims.
This is a period when appointed hajj officials demonstrated high levels of commitment irrespective of the size of the attached benefit.
Abdullahi Bayero has been a hajj field officer for the past 15 years and also worked in the background for the realization of last year’s hajj subsidy granted by this administration. Whenever I have the opportunity to interact with Abdullahi Bayero, he demonstrates deep knowledge of the hajj industry.
He once served as Special Assistant to the Kaduna State Governor on Stakeholder Relations – a position that makes him part of critical decisions including related matters in the state
In 2019, he was a Member, the Ulamah Committee, National Hajj Commission of Nigeria. In 2017, he served as a Member of, the Feeding Committee of the National Hajj Commission.
Halliru Abdullahi Maraya is an expert in Islamic Matters, a long-standing peace advocate and promoter of interfaith dialogues. He was a Special Adviser to the Governor of Kaduna State from 2011 to 2015,
A one-time Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Kaduna State on Islamic Matters from 2010 to 2011, and Northern Coordinator, Global Peace Foundation and has also served in national hajj Ulama committee
