Hajj 2010 - Efficiency And Deficiency Analysis

Hajj, the last of five pillars of

Islam has proven over the years to be at the heart of every well meaning

Ghanaian Muslim and rightfully so. The journey to please our creator as

adherents of the Islamic faith has over the years been a needless hustle we

dare say is with an end in sight.

The trajectory of Hajj

organization throughout our history as a nation has time and again been dogged

by inconsistencies and reports of blatant exploitation by “Muslims” of fellow

Muslims. Then came the 2009 process which virtually turned what was hitherto a

nightmare into a standard for many Hajj Committees in the future to take a cue

from.

So well organized was the process

that for the first time in a long while, Muslim pilgrims did not have to endure

the hustle and bustle of staying at the AFGO village and Aviation Social Center

under the sun and in unsanitary and more worrying, islamically prohibited

conditions where men and women cohabited in an area.

Hajj 2010 I believe ends

officially with the presentation of a report by the Alhaji Alhassan Bene led

National Hajj Committee (NHC) to its appointing authority. The first point the

NHC we contend should state in its 2010 report vis-à-vis the 2009 process is

that, the 2010 process in several respects plays second fiddle to the preceding

year.

The president, His Excellency

John Evans Atta Mills’ charge to the NHC on the day of the Eid Ul Fitr to

ensure a better Hajj coupled with the Vice President, John Dramani Mahama’s

advice that fees for the pilgrimage be paid in advance set the tone for the

2010 process.

THE

PASSPORT PANIC/RUMPUS

Passports we all know are of the

essence in times of global air travel, but much as the ministerial directive

that all prospective pilgrims acquire biometric passports may have been in line

with international standards, its communication to interested parties was

poorly executed in our opinion, the result of which was the rumpus that

followed thereafter.

The passport office may have done

well to decentralize the biometric passport acquisition process by their mobile

regional offices, but in another vein, their inability to sort out passport of

pilgrims and other applicants became a source of worry leading to the

unwarranted attack of Azorka boys on the spokesperson of the NHC, Alidu Haruna.

Another sour point was the undue

advantage that non-pilgrims took to get their biometric passports, by so doing

creating congestion in the release of passports to those who really mattered,

i.e. pilgrims.

THE

LEGAL “MENACE”

Circumstances that led to a

fellow Muslim (one Afa Hakeem), dragging the NHC to court in efforts at

retrieving some money owed him by a similar body years back would have passed

off as nothing on an ordinary day as a fair and genuine claim but for the

timing.

Sadly enough, Muslims who should

have known better went about casting vile aspersions at Afa Hakeem instead of

looking to proffer measures that could avoid the process from being derailed.

In desperation to accuse, the

accusers forgot the Qur’an’s admonishment in Chapter 49 Verse 12 which states; “O ye

who believe! Shun

much suspicion; for lo! Some suspicion is a crime. And spy not, neither

backbite one another. Would one of you love to eat the flesh of his dead

brother? Ye abhor that (so abhor the other)! And keep your duty (to Allah). Lo!

Allah is Relenting, Merciful.”

All that as they say is history

against the backdrop that the NHC managed its utmost best to safeguard the

process from being derailed, whiles ensuring that the process was not

unnecessarily stalled by so doing, diffusing mounting tension at the Hajj

Village.

A

MUST TO DEPOLITICIZE THE PROCESS

The call to depoliticize Hajj in

our opinion is critical if all and sundry are to rally round the singular

interest of seeing a successful Hajj pan out year-in year-out. Politics has forced

down a “they versus us” mentality leading to a situation where for the sake

of political expediency, opponents sit in wait for the worse to happen so as to

latch onto.

We would be the first to admit

that politics would not, cannot and shall not for a long time to come be

isolated from our lives, Hajj for that matter. Be that as it may, we opine

that, the politics of Hajj should be played at the

diplomatic/inter-Governmental level relative to issuance of visas and

communication between consulates of respective countries, (i.e. Ghana and

Saudi).

The whole Hajj thing being a

campaign issue, pitching Muslims on both sides of the political divide has not

in any way helped the process, save to create unnecessary noise, a typical case

in point being the donation of water to prospective pilgrims and issues thereof

which did nothing but paint the Hajj a political event, sadly so.

The Hajj process is a purely

religious one that we (Muslims) revere for as long as it leads us on the path

to obeying that which our Lord and Creator instructs us. Sacrifices are made

far in advance of the period and for some cheap politics to threaten a life

dream aimed at fulfilling a divine directive, we think is most unfortunate.

STRANDED

PILGRIMS

The inability to airlift some 600

prospective pilgrims may have been due in part to the injunction slapped on the

NHC, crippling its operations for a few days.

Official explanation with respect

to how the NHC had taken money from more pilgrims than visas applied for, only

to request for more visas as and when necessary, albeit a convention over the

years in my opinion has backfired badly hence the need to right an obvious

wrong the next time round.

A

passionate call however is that the NHC puts top of their agenda the need to

prioritize the stranded pilgrims come next year.

ISSUE

OF GRATIS TICKET

The issue of gratis ticket is

another part of the process that should be looked at with keenness, but yet

again the politics embedded in it goes to derail any efforts at streamlining

what has over the years with successive governments become a drain on national

purse.

With about 328 tickets reportedly

going out at no cost, the nation would be spending close to GH¢ 1,016,800. In

any case, the majority of these tickets go to party members (NDC/ NPP) and with

no criteria on which Muslim is due a free ticket; individuals have landed

multiple tickets and traded some for their upkeep during the pilgrimage.

Point of emphasis; successive

Governments have hardly done anything different in this respect.

OTHER

BRIGHT SPOTS

Efforts by the national chief

Imam Sheikh Dr. Osman Nuhu Sharubutu to appease stranded pilgrims went a long

way to forestall the imminent incidence of a row at a time that the NHC were

virtually at their wits end.

Zoomlion for the Hajj Village and

Intercontinental Bank for the waist pouches that were to keep documents of

pilgrims in safe condition, all contributed to the success of the process

thereby earning our praise, the NHC might want to get a permanent Hajj Village

in the future to make some money in the off-Hajj period whiles serving pilgrims

as and when necessary.

The media; print, radio,

television and online media all played varied roles in giving the Hajj due

coverage through the good and tough times. The NHC must a matter of urgency

establish a working relationship with media – who have become key players in

the all facets of social life.

NHC

REPORT IS CRITICAL

In the light of accountability,

probity and transparency, ingredients to good governance and traits Islam

enjoins on its adherents, the NHC must present its report to its appointing

authority as is required of them, having made use of tax payers money.

All of this affords them the

opportunity to give the general citizenry necessary information to be able to

make informed pronouncements and conclusions from a process that never ceases

to whip up controversy on varied levels, be it of political discrimination or

misappropriation of funds as is usually the case.

CONCLUSION

No doubt the current Hajj

Committee has as a matter of fact cut a path that successive committees cannot

but build upon the successes thereof. The challenges are as ever present and it

behoves on all stakeholders to make a conscientious effort to ensure that the

downsides are minimized whereas the gains are built on.

Pilgrims must have inner peace as

the answer the call of their lord in the talbiyah as they recite thus, “Labaikal

Laahum Ma Labaik”

translated; “Here I am O Lord! Here I am.” 6.5 out of 10 for the effort of the NHC

in its

organization of Hajj 2010, wish and pray Hajj 2011 is better.

May

the peace of Allah be on us All.

Authors:

Shaban Barani Alpha & Abdul Nasiru Shaibu (President, CMYA)

E-mail: alfarsenal@yahoo.com