The Gale of departures of key officials at the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) is likely to affect the successful conduct of Hajj operations in Nigeria unless urgent steps are taken to redress the situation.
Since the completion of Hajj 2024 operations, key officials of the commission including the head of Aviation, Engineer Goni Sanda, the coordinator of the Hajj Savings scheme and head of Tarududdiya, Dr Aliyu Tanko, Secretary of the commission, Dr Abdullahi Rabiu Kontagora, former Director of Administration, Dr Sodangi, Abubakar Bell Kaoje, a veteran Hajj official, and of late the SA Technical to the Chairman of the commission, Dr Shehu Makarfi had all left the services of the apex Hajj regulatory body.
These departures are coming at a time when the commission is facing serious operational challenges and policy challenges.
So many stakeholders who spoke to HAJJ REPORTERS were particularly worried over the departure of Engineer Goni and Dr Tanko, who they opined are “simply irreplaceable”.
Everyone familiar with NAHCON operations is aware of the diligence and depth of knowledge exhibited by the two officials.
“Engineer Goni was a tireless officer who was always at the top of his game and ensured airlift of pilgrims were seamless. With him in charge, issues around the abandonment of pilgrims at various Airports both here and in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia became history. Nigeria often completes both outbound and inbound airlifts of pilgrims ahead of schedule because of the competence exhibited by Engineer Goni. I just hope we will not revert to the olden sad days of Airlift chaos,” one of our sources who declined to be named said.
On Dr Tanko, the source said, “This man is a workaholic, and I don’t know whether there is anyone in the Commission who can match his dedication.
Speaking further, the source said Dr Tanko is basically responsible for the smooth ways in which pilgrims are evacuated from their hotels in Makkah to Minna, Arafat and back in recent years.
“Every 8th of Dzul Hijjah. You see Dr Tanko up and doing and the man works nonstop until all Nigerian pilgrims have been evacuated to Mina. The same is replicated when it is time to move to Arafat and back. I can confirm to you that that man can work for 24 hours non-stop. Presently, I am not sure we have anyone that can do half of what he used to do. The gap is too much,” he said.
Other notable departures are that of a former Director of Administration, Dr. Sodangi who spent several years in the commission and had garnered valuable years of experience but had to leave after reaching the age of retirement. It is also the case with Abubakar Bello Kaoje, a veteran Hajj official who led several zonal offices and was instrumental in successful Hajj operations over the years.
HAJJ REPORTERS had earlier reported how the immediate past secretary of NAHCON was forced to resign his position as a result of ongoing investigations regarding the conduct of Hajj 2024 by anti-corruption agencies.
On his part, the SA Technical to the chairman of NAHCON, Dr Shehu Makarfi who joined the services of the commission following the appointment of the current chairman, Prof. Abdullahi Saleh reportedly left due to undisclosed reasons.
Dr Shehu Markarfi’s appointment elicited confidence in the minds of stakeholders due his level of expertise in the Hajj industry and his diverse knowledge of Hajj administration. He has been part of medical teams both at the state and at the national level. A Former Permanent Secretary at Kaduna State Ministry of Health and a commissioner of Education in Kaduna State. He could have been the right strategic hand for the current Chairman
Another source who spoke to Hajj Reporters said “The atmosphere in NAHCON is not encouraging because many of the staff believe that the ‘Oga at the top’ knows little about the dynamics of hajj exercise and that he could have relied on these experience hands to get it right. Now that they are leaving in trickles, we don’t khow the 2025 hajj operations will look like,
