Upswing beats as Hajj 2024 beckons

“Indeed, the archetypal House of God appointed for each radical is that successful the vale of Bakkah. It is astir blessed and a root of guidance for each the peoples of the world. From the clip of Abraham, determination person remained successful it wide signs – specified arsenic the Station of Abraham. Moreover, whoever enters its sanctuary shall beryllium secure. Thus Hajj (Pilgrimage) to the ineffable House successful Makkah is owed to God, arsenic an work upon each radical who are capable to attain a mode to it. And arsenic to those who disbelieve this, know, then, that God is, indeed, self-sufficient, without immoderate request from immoderate of His instauration successful each the worlds.” Qur’an 3 V 96 & 97.

Brethren, the ongoing archetypal nationalist stakeholders’ acme connected the 2024 Hajj astatine the Musa Yar’Adua International Centre, Abuja is simply a grounds that the signifier is acceptable for this year’s spiritual exercise.

Yesterday, the opening ceremonial of the two-day acme with the theme: “Partnership, Collaboration and Team work; The Tripod of occurrence for 2024 Hajj operation” attracted each who substance successful the cognition and absorption of Hajj successful Nigeria.

And without mincing words, Vice President Kashim Shettima deed the nail connected the caput tasking the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) connected prioritizing the payment of the pilgrims. And what appeared arsenic the icing connected the barroom was the announcement that the inaugural formation that would convey the archetypal batch of pilgrims from Nigeria to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been scheduled for May 15, 2024.

The acme is being organised by the Hajj Institute of Nigeria (HIN), an outfit midwifed by the NAHCON and sponsored by Lotus Bank.

The Vice president explained that definite planetary challenges person made it imperative for stakeholders to unite efforts and propulsion resources to guarantee a seamless hajj year.

Represented by the erstwhile curate of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Dr Aliyu Modibbo, the vice president said the taxable of the acme encapsulates the halfway values that are indispensable for the advancement of Nigeria’s Hajj and Umrah industry.

Noting that the hajj manufacture is not lone a pillar for spiritual devotion, the fig 2 national observed that the spiritual travel is besides an avenue to fortify taste exchange, beforehand communal beingness and nurturing bilateral relations.

“There is simply a request for each hands to beryllium connected deck. You volition callback my directive to the committee successful August past twelvemonth that it is perfectly indispensable for the committee to make a robust mechanics to springiness america maximum occurrence successful managing hajj cognition from twelvemonth to year.

Also, due to the fact that the payment of pilgrims is astatine the halfway of the pilgrimage, arsenic specified the committee indispensable springiness it the precedence it deserves. This acme should service arsenic an avenue for fulfilling specified a directive.”

NAHCON Chairman/CEO, Malam Jalal Ahmad Arabi, disclosed that adjacent to 65,500 Nigeria pilgrims would enactment successful the 2024 Hajj, adding that they would beryllium airlifted by the approved airlines from 10 departure centres crossed the country.

The NAHCON brag said the committee had decided that for this year’s operations, each Nigerian pilgrims would sojourn and walk astatine slightest 4 days successful Madinah earlier the commencement of the Hajj rites proper.

He said that the approved aerial carriers were acceptable to transport each Nigerian pilgrims to Saudi Arabia from implicit 10 departures centres.

“We arsenic a committee of NAHCON and squad volition beryllium gathering with the aerial carriers aboriginal contiguous (yesterday) to manner retired the departure centres and of people our partners successful the aviation assemblage volition besides articulation us,” helium said.

It would beryllium recalled that NAHCON had earlier announced FlyNas, Air Peace and Max Air arsenic aerial carriers for the 2024 hajj, Flynas volition kick-start the outbound formation with Kebbi pilgrims connected May 15.

Other states Flynas volition ferry to Saudi Arabia subsequently are Lagos, Osun, Ogun, Borno, Niger, Sokoto, Kebbi, Yobe and Zamfara.
Arabi stated further: “This is large alteration from the operations of Hajj successful the past decade. All stakeholders are moving to supply effectual and businesslike services to the guests of Allah (pilgrims).

“And this underscores the value of this summit. The preparations for this year’s Hajj are characterised by antithetic challenges but to God beryllium the glory we are capable to flooded the challenges.
“I tin proudly accidental that adjacent to 65,500 pilgrims of the States Pilgrims Boards, Agencies and Commissions and the Tour operators volition beryllium participating successful this year’s Hajj,” helium said.

He said that the committee nether his ticker was acceptable to partner, collaborate with stakeholders and enactment arsenic a squad for the palmy behaviour of the 2024 Hajj operation.

Arabi seized the juncture of the opening ceremonial yesterday to admit the continuous enactment for the maturation and improvement of Hajj absorption successful Nigeria by the Vice President, Kashim Shettima; the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III “who ever provides indispensable guidance for the enactment of NAHCON arsenic good arsenic the Lotus Bank for extending their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) gestures to NAHCON and HIN by sponsoring this programme.”

Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, said helium recognised the value of the Hajj and Umrah manufacture arsenic the nation’s spiritual and economical well-being.

Wike, who was represented astatine the lawsuit described Hajj and Umrah pilgrimage arsenic a ineffable spiritual work of millions of Nigeria’s Muslims, adding that it is the work of the government to guarantee that the travel is safe, comfy and spiritually enriching.

“This acme provides a captious level for stakeholders to travel together, stock ideas and complaint a origin for the maturation and improvement of our hajj and umrah industry.

“We must, therefore, enactment collectively to code the challenges facing our pilgrims from logistic accommodation, securities and different issues”, the curate added.

Earlier, the Rector of the institute, Prof. Mohammed Maiturare, said the acme was intended to service arsenic a important level for fostering practice and collaboration betwixt NAHCON, states pilgrims boards, circuit operators and each stakeholders successful Hajj industry.

“Through unfastened dialogue, cognition sharing and a committedness to moving unneurotic we tin code challenges and imaginable destructions that mightiness originate and guarantee the palmy execution of the 2024 Hajj,” helium said.