POLITICIANS AND HAJJ

There are widespread reports that politicians and officials of the Federal and State Muslim Pilgrim Boards have bought off most of the allocated Hajj seats for this year, or have hoarded it for sale at much higher prices. Consequently, thousands of intending Pilgrims are finding it impossible to pay for seats. The fares have not even been announced yet by the Federal Government, a move which largely determines public response. At the moment, it would appear that many intending Pilgrims will either be prevented from going to the Hajj or will have to pay a lot more for the religious duty. This is regrettable, and a major indictment of politicians or leaders, who treat a major element of the faith of Nigerians as a Political commodity. It is also evidence of the most despicable manifestation of corruption by officials, which should not be allowed to continue.

Over the past few years, more and more intending muslim pilgrims had undergone harrowing experiences in their efforts to pay for the right to perform the Hajj because governments, politicians and officials have turned the Hajj into major sources of patronage or the acquisition of huge amounts of easy money. The practice had been more pronounced during years when elections will hold, because politicians and public office holders buy off, or simply commandeer thousands of slots to send people to the Hajj on the assumptions that Allah will accept their prayers for their successes at elections. It is also noticeable in years following elections, when politicians and public office holders send thousands of people, largely at public expense, to the Hajj as reward for support during the elections; or use the Hajj opportunities to weaken opposition. Many more seats are taken up by large members of government delegations and officials, many of whom add little value to the welfare or comfort of pilgrims.

Between the greed of politicians and corruption of officials, ordinary muslims who have laboured to save to perform a major pillar of their faith have had to struggle for very few seats available, at prices much higher than those advertised. Hajj seats are allocated by the Saudi Arabian authorities under very trying conditions, and Nigeria has historically found it very difficult to negotiate for  lager slots, owing largely to the very bad reputation of our Pilgrims in the holy land. The Saudi authorities also know that only about 3 out of every 10 pilgrims from Nigeria are first timers. The others are repeat pilgrims, many of whom have been to the Hajj many times before, and had done so at public expense. The annually-allocated slots for Nigeria are then allocated to States, and most governments and State Pilgrim Boards treat the allocations as their own property, and release them to the public only as a favour. Yet these slots are also heavily subsidised, not just directly by the manner in which government relieves the intending Pilgrim of some of the cost, but also through the billions which is spent in maintaining many large Pilgrim Boards in the country as permanent government structures. When governments and officials deprive citizens of access to subsidized Hajj seats, or make illegal money from selling them to the same citizens at higher cost, they are stealing public funds, pure and simple.

   Governments, particularly State Governments have turned the Hajj into a political instrument, and this reinforces the widespread public perception that elected leaders treat public property as private property. Seats allocated to States are taken up by allocations to the Governor, Deputy Governor, leaders and members of State legislatures, party leaders and a whole army of Party supporters. The little allocated to Local Governments are then taken up by Chairmen and Councillors and so called Stakeholders. Most of these people do not even pay for their allocations. The State and Local Governments pay for them from public funds; and the little that is left is then allocated to citizens purely on the basis of their relationship with those who run the affairs of State.

Another large chunk of the seats is cornered by Pilgrim Board officials who share them between themselves, and who are reported to sell them to the public at highly inflated prices. In fact, there are stories of an entire middleman industry thriving around the Hajj, and one consequence of this is that the vast majority of Pilgrims are either intimately connected to powerful people, or they bought their seats at costs much higher than they should have. The very few who manage to secure seats without political patronage or without additional cost perform their Hajj under difficulties and inconveniences without complaints or recourse to a caring government.

The disgraceful manner Governments and officials treat the Hajj cannot continue. All governments must stop the practice of taking away the bulk of the allocated seats, and giving it out almost free to political cronies or their relatives. If governors, local government chairman and other officials want seats, they should buy them from their own pockets, not from public funds. And they, together, should not take away more than 10 percent of all seats allocated to any State in any one year. Furthermore, the size of officials should be reduced to a level where it is reasonable, and related only to the welfare and comfort of Pilgrims. All corruption agencies should focus their attention to the activities of Hajj officials who have turned an act of worship into an avenue for corrupt enrichment. It cannot be the case that no one knows that most of our Pilgrims have to pay additional monies to secure seats, because officials claim that seats have been sold out even before fares are announced. The way forward is for Muslim leaders and honest elected officials to lead the way towards sanitizing access to the Hajj. Muslims who travel assisted and unhindered to perform the Hajj are a blessing to their communities. On the other hand, leaders who make it difficult or impossible for Pilgrims to perform their obligations will account for their actions to God. But they need to be held accountable to the people whose funds and faith they abuse first.