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I don’t understand. Who is Senator Ali Ndume referring to? Few days ago, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) made an upward review of hajj fees. The rationale behind the increment, according NAHCON’s spokesperson—the right honourable gentlewoman Fatima Sanda Usara—was due to the fluctuating nature of exchange rates. She explains that “In the event of change in the dollar’s value at the time of final remittance into the Commission’s IBAN account, pilgrims will either receive a refund or the balance will be reconciled accordingly at the appropriate time.”
This clarification is clearer than the word “clarity” itself. Accordingly, pilgrims would have to cough out nearly N2m in addition to the initially fixed rate. What is unclear, however, is the allegation by the distinguished senator that there was a deliberate plan to deny Muslims the opportunity to partake in the exercise. Who are those scheming against Muslims? Immediately Ndume made this allegation, I quickly checked to confirm what I know. My check confirms that the political leadership of this country still carries the insignia of the Muslim-Muslim. Neither President Tinubu nor his vice has renounced Islam publicly—they are still Muslims.
I further found out and confirmed that NAHCON Chairman, Jalal Ahmad Arabi, and its spokesperson who made the clarification referred to above are practicing Muslims. So who is working against Muslims in Muslim-Muslim regime? Perhaps only Ndume knows. Ndume did not mention any name but he called on President Tinubu to approve payment of the extra cost as subsidy. Though meticulously selective, and in fairness to Ndume, he did not advocate for blanket subsidy. He emphasized that subsidy should be considerably given only to first timers—those who are making it for the first time to Makkah as pilgrims.
Ndume is not alone. The would-be-pilgrims are also lamenting the hike. I have listened to some Muslim clerics who also complained about the sudden increment in hajj fees. Their complaints are all understandable. What I find problematic is their demand for hajj subsidy. While that demand sounds fair and reasonable to those making it, it sounds too ridiculous to hungry Nigerians. Government should subsidize hajj!? What is hajj in the first place?
Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam. It is not just one of the five pillars, it is the least prioritized in the sense that a Muslim’s Muslimness may not be affected—in anyway—by not performing it. The point is: the Lord of the worlds who instructs us (Muslims) to perform hajj conditions His instruction that the intending pilgrims should have the means to embark on the once-in-a-lifetime spiritual journey. If you do not have the means, you are exempted. If you are exempted, like my humble self, heaven will not fall.
In other words, if some Muslims in Nigeria could not make the spiritual journey this year to Makkah due to the sudden hike in hajj fare, nothing untoward will happen to them, to Islam, to any Muslim, or even to Nigeria. In fact the world will not feel their absence in the Holy House—Kaaba. I have tried hard to convince myself on the need for hajj subsidy. It does not make any sense—given the overwhelmingly existential hunger that is driving thousands of Nigerians to their graves.
To make his point sounds logical and sentimentalize the necessity for hajj subsidy, a Muslim cleric urged President Tinubu government to do the “needful” to ensure that they (Muslims) enjoy the Muslim-Muslim ticket they supported. I thought the Muslim-Muslim ticket was supported with the hope that it will sanitise the country, bring about economic progress, and overall development such that people would be well-to-do enough to perform hajj from their pockets with ease.
Justifying hajj subsidy, the cleric claimed this is not the first time that government would intervene to beat down cost of making hajj. Former presidents, Obasanjo and Jonathan, who are not Muslims aided pilgrims—by means of subsidy—during their time. This is subsidizing the rich with the sweat of the poor (taxpayers). This is least expected from Muslim clerics—turning logic on its head. I make bold to say that this is against the spirit of Islam. And it should be against the Muslim-Muslim leadership if we assume there is truly a tinge of Muslimness/Islam in it. In Islam, the rich give the poor; not the reverse.
While every Muslim has the right to dispense their money and prioritize their needs as they wish, I think this is the time to help cushion the effect of this killing hunger especially as fellow Muslims struggle to fast in this blessed month. I believe many of my family and friend members (and even neighbours) will not forgive me if they learnt that I paid millions of naira for hajj from my pocket while they are struggling to rescue their enfeebled souls from the jaws of death due to hunger. Anyway, hardship is relative; so is poverty.
Northern governors were even called upon to help people perform this year’s hajj. This is sickening. Our rulers should understand that the electorate voted them into power to create jobs and provide basic necessities. None of them, as far as I know, campaigned with the promise to subsidize hajj. This is not the time for politics, rulers should face governance. We can not teach God His religion; He teaches us. We cannot acquire knowledge of religion from Him only to later know more than Him. He says and I emphasize, “And Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah) to the House (Ka’bah) is a duty that mankind owes to Allah, those who can afford the expenses (for one’s conveyance, provision and residence).” (Q3:97).
Anyone who cannot afford it because the fare has been jerked up by N2m (or thereabout) should patiently wait till they are rich enough to make it. If you are not rich to perform pilgrimage, stop deceiving yourself. Wait for your time. Subsidy is not for you. I learnt Rivers State Governor, His Excellency Siminalayi Fubara, paid up for his state’s Muslim intending pilgrims. What! Is he being generous? I am personally not impressed. It is a political gesture. How can you promote a cause you don’t believe in? The responsibility of those we elected is to govern us; it is not to subsidize hajj. It is to help stamp out poverty in our midst through job creation, economic empowerment, and prioritization of our wellbeing.
Three years ago, Governor Bala Muhammad of Bauchi State was even more wasteful than Fubara. Unlike Fubara who subsidized pilgrimage fare for Muslims, Muhammad sponsored Christian pilgrims in his state—he paid it all. In an article titled “On Bauchi State’s Sponsored Christian Pilgrims: When Shall Common Sense Prevail?” I asked: “How do you justify wasting public funds on spiritual rites that are personal—that do not benefit the State? What is our problem in this country? Why are we bereft of good ideas that can sprout progress and development? Why are we so infested with regressing ideas such as wasting public money by sending pilgrims to Saudi Arabia, Jerusalem, and (now) Jordan? Who did this to us? When shall we get it right in this country? Why are our policies always anti masses?” After three years, nothing has changed.
Rather than acting unsolicitedly in God’s name by subsidizing hajj, government should do something about the volatility and valuelessness of naira vis-a-vis dollar. God does not ask any government to subsidize hajj. What God wants from the government is to be just, kind, trustworthy, considerate, sympathetic and nice. On this, the government stubbornly and serially disobeys God.
Dear Senator Ndume, please get it right. Hajj cannot be justifiably subsidized in this context. I also believe our clerics—who want subsidy for the rich when the poor are serially stampeded to their graves in quest for palliatives (peanuts)—will get it right one day. Ebin Pa Wa O!
Abdulkadir Salaudeen
salahuddeenabdulkadir@gmail.com
