By Haroon-Ishola Balogun

The 2023 hajj season which commenced 27 days ago is about to climax with the assemblage of close to three million Muslims on the mount Arafat in about 12 days from now. Although the Saudi authorities have not confirmed the specific date of Arafat but with the calculation of the Dhul-Qadah which will end in two to three days from now, the ninth of the following month is always the day of Arafat.

95 Nigerian pilgrims will join others from all over the world for the annual pilgrimage.

The preparation for this year’s hajj commenced in February when the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCONn released and distributed the 95,00 slots allotted to it by Saudi Arabia with about 75,000 going to the States Pilgrims Welfare Boards/Agencies and Armed forces while 20,000 were distributed among the 174 Private Tour Operators.

Quite a lot of efforts were made both onshore and offshore of Hajj operations to ensure a smooth and hitch-free exercise.  

As at  the last count yesterday, the commission has airlifted more than 51,000 in a total of 121 flights out of its 75,000 pilgrims statutorily under its responsibility. This figure represent 69% of the total pilgrims to be airlifted. The commission has done this in 22 days.  As of the last check yesterday evening, Thursday, June 15, 2023, over 11,000 of them are in Madinah while about 40,000 are back in Makkah.

Stakeholders, astute watchers, and analysts have commended NAHCON on this first leg of achievements as well as its relentless efforts that are today yielding positive results not only in the area of airlifting but also in other areas of hajj management.

This is so because airlifting of pilgrims is a crucial exercise and a determinant of the success or otherwise of the operation.  In fact, among the whole components of Hajj operations, the airlifts of pilgrims to the holy land are major and of course a predictor variable in the measurement of a successful Hajj. No matter the planning and preparation, if pilgrims were unable to be airlifted to Saudi Arabia to perform the exercise, the result will not be different from a woeful failure.  Hajj is not done anywhere other than in Saudi Arabia.  

This must have been why the Nigerian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Ambassador Yahaya Lawal unreservedly said: “I’m so impressed with the monitoring of the airlift operation. I am so glad and delighted that the operation is going on very well” he said.

Also, the Executive Governor of Adamawa State, Gov Ahmed Umaru Fintiri, said: ‘This is unprecedented. This is the first time in the history of Hajj in Adamawa, the pilgrims will be airlifted to the Holy Land “back-to-back.” He cautioned against allowing individuals or states that arrived late to the kingdom from hijacking the well-planned airlift operations in an attempt to be the first to return. He said such may warrant an unfavorable side of him. He categorically said “I will fight if such happens”

Chairman of Nudivest Hajj and Umrah services, Alhaji Nuraen Taiwo Hassan said “The airlifting exercise is very smooth. Alhamdulillah. There are noticeable lapses, early preparations are yielding good results. This is very good,” he said.

However, with about 11 days to the beginning of the core Hajj rites, and nine days to the closure of the Saudi Arabian airspace and land borders, about 24,000 will have to be speedily transported to the Kingdom. As of today, out of the designated airlines, only the Saudi airline has almost completed its assignment, recording a total of 53 flights conveying 21,227 to the Kingdom.  

This is followed by Max Air conveying 13,417 in 25 flights, while Aero Contractor has so far transported 7,828 pilgrims in 17 flights.  Air Peace has to its credit 4,413 pilgrims airlifted in 9 flights and Azman has done only 7 flights carrying 3556 pilgrims so far.

Again, it was reliably gathered that some states have not done enough to ensure that their pilgrims are made ready for airlift, a scenario of what happened last year, just as some indigenous airlines deploy smaller aircraft where bigger ones would have made a significant difference. A peep into how they stand state by state below will give an idea of their efforts in ensuring quick and timely airlift of their pilgrims.

Abia…….0

Adamawa…..2582

Akwa Ibom……0

Anambra………0

Bauchi……..2150

Bayelsa………..0

Benue………240

Borno……….761

Cross River….0

Delta…………..0

Eboyin………..0

Edo…………….427

Ekiti……………295

Enugu………….0

Gombe………..2215

Imo……………0

Jigawa………1577

Kaduna……..1791

Kano………..2678

Katsina……..2984

Kebbi………..1889

Kogi…………………….718

Kwara………………….2407

Lagos………………….3110

Nasarawa…………….2088

Niger…………………..1452

Ogun…………………..1238

Ondo…………………..479

Osun…………………..1827

Oyo…………………….1436

Plateau……………….1398

Rivers…………………0

Sokoto………………..5155

Taraba………………..728

Yobe………………….1811

Zamfara……………..3095

Armed Forces……..546

To record absolute success, all efforts at getting the pilgrims ready for airlift should not be spared.  In the same way, the airlines, especially Air Peace and Azman should double their efforts to breast the tape in record time. The success of Hajj operations does not only lay at the doorstep of the Hajj Commission, everyone involved in the process must be ready in spirit and action to have a collective success.