By Afusat Agunbiade-Oladipo
The National Chairman of Hijrah Organisation of Nigeria, Prof. Yusuf Badmas has commended President Bola Tinubu for returning the National Hajj Commission (NAHCON) to the office of the Vice President.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that NAHCON was in the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).
Badmas a former board member of the NAHCON gave the commendation during an interview with newsmen in Ilorin on Sunday.
According to him, the decision to return the responsibility of hajj operations to the office of the vice president will greatly improve the service delivery of the commission and free it from uneccessary bureaucracies.
He added that the decision would also fast track the operations of the commission with little or no delay.
He recalled that at inception, the commission was initially under the portfolio of the office of the Vice President before it was transferred to the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
“That was how it was when Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was the vice president under President Olusegun Obasanjo.
“I remember very well what Atiku did was to bring onboard the Hajj desk to his office and knowledgeable people were chosen to supervise the appointment of people who served in the committee of Hajj commission and made himself available in case any problem arose then” he said.
Speaking on the perennial challenges facing Hajj operations, Badmas blamed it on the indiscipline and lack of proper financial management on the part of the pilgrims, as well as lack of back up plans (Plan ”B”) on the part of the officials of the Hajj commission.
He explained that the pilgrims were not always patient enough after completing the hajj rites and they are eager to come back home thereby embark on unnecessary agitations with the pilgrim officials and not allowing the lessons of the spiritual pilgrimage to pass through them.
Badmas stressed the need for officials of NAHCON to always have alternative plans incase they have challenges or hitches in their initial arrangements.
He added that the state officials of the pilgrims board must always be in contact with their pilgrims on the date of their departure and guide against keeping them in perpetual suspense .
He, urged the Kwara government to create a Hajj commission rather than the existing State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board in order to properly cater for the needs of pilgrims from the state.
NAN reports that President Tinubu on July 20, approved the return of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the NAHCON to the Office of the Vice President for supervision, in compliance with their various establishment acts. (NAN)
