The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON has reiterated its call for internationally professionalised Hajj and Umrah management.
The Chairman/CEO of the Commission, Alhaji Zhikrullah Hassan gave the call today at the on-going International Hajj Conference and Indonesian Shariah Economic Festival (ISEF) 2020. The conference seeks to discuss best practices, identify challenges and highlight opportunities in global Hajj fund Management
Alhaji Hassan stated that the time has come for a global body that will manage and proifessionalised Hajj and Umurah services across the globe. NAHCON has been making the call since 2018.
“It is time for the global Hajj and Umrah Community to truly professionalize the management of Hajj and Umrah by having a global body in the likes of International Air Transport Association (IATA), International Standards Organization (ISO) and Project Management Institute (PMI) that will set industry-specific standards, processes, accreditation, training and related issues.
He stated that the idea will ensure that pilgrims from any part of the globe enjoy similar standards of services from their individual home countries as it is obtainable with Air Travel, Hotel or Banking services.
NAHCON chairman espoused the opportunities inherent in the global initiative, which according to him, will expand the socio-economic frontiers of global Hajj and Umrah services.
“With these facts and more, and at the risk of sounding like a Trade and Investment Minister, I make bold to say that Global Hajj Fund Management is assuming an interesting trajectory in the world today.
“We see the likes of Malaysia’s Theta Edge Berhard, a bonafide child of Hajj funds making in-roads in the ICT Services sector within and outside Malaysia with posting an annual revenue of between 19 and 21 Million USD in the last two years.
“However, as far as Hajj is concerned, our two Hajj fund giants, Tabung Haji and BPKH have a lot to offer in the real estate sector in Saudi Arabia and financial services sector especially bridge financing which countries like Nigeria might require.
He recommended that the tangible actions should emerge from the discussions, urging countries to explore the opportunities presented in the conference/festival and agree for follow-up actions aimed at concretizing relationships and possible signing of MoUs or agreements.
HIS SPEECH
Global Hajj Fund Management: A call for Interdependence
By Alhaji Zikrullah Kunle Hassan
Chairman/CEO, National Hajj Commission of Nigeria NAHCON
Being a Paper Presented at International Hajj Conference and Indonesian Shariah Economic Festival (ISEF) 2020
10th Rabiul Awwal, 1442. A.H (27th October, 2020)
I welcome us all once again to this important conference to continue our discourse on issues of mutual benefit to all under the umbrella of Hajj. This collaboration is significant as it has the potential to break new grounds and yield tangible and intangible dividends we are yet to grasp in these early stages of this drive. It is not out of place to say that this effort is in line with the saying of Allah SWT in Quran 2:198:
ليس علبكم جناح ان تبتغو فضلا من ربكم….
This conference seeks to discuss best practices, identify challenges and highlight opportunities in global Hajj fund Management. You will all agree with me that in terms of Hajj Fund Management and in view of the composition of speakers in this conference, a one- month baby is by no means a match for 20 or 50-year olds. Therefore, while discussing best practices of Hajj funds management is way above our heads in Nigeria, I will attempt to dwell on the opportunities we see, the challenges we foresee and make recommendations we may see to.
Participating Countries
I find it interesting that the participating countries in this conference, collectively accounted for 19% (almost one-fifth) of the total international pilgrims that performed Hajj in 2019 according to statistics released by the Saudi General Authority for Statistics. In my layman’s estimation, the combined funds invested by these countries in the Hajj economy of Saudi Arabia in 2019 is in the region of 1.3 Billion USD in 2019 alone. To put this in a little perspective, this amount equals the combined budget of two States in Nigeria that have a total population of about 21 million people. While the total Hajj funds managed by these countries stand in the region of 25 Billion USD in 2019, the potential to hit 50 Billion before the end of the decade is high.
My brothers and Sisters, a cursory look at the potentials and comparative advantages these four countries alone have is enough reason for us to explore the possibilities abound in trade and investments within and outside the Hajj family. For instance, while Brunei has the highest GDP Per Capita of $78,900 compared to Nigeria’s $5,900; by contrast, Nigeria is blessed with a large landmass of 923,000 Sq km with 78% of it fit for Agriculture compared to Brunei’s 5,765 Sq km with only 2.5% used for Agriculture. Similarly, while Malaysia has enormous potential in terms of ICT capabilities and Islamic finance, Indonesia’s BPKH seems poised to be largest Hajj fund on the globe with abundant natural resources and a vibrant human capital to match in the near future.
Opportunities
With these facts and more, and at the risk of sounding like a Trade and Investment Minister, I make bold to say that Global Hajj Fund Management is assuming an interesting trajectory in the world today. We see the likes of Malaysia’s Theta Edge Berhard, a bonafide child of Hajj funds making in-roads in the ICT Services sector within and outside Malaysia with posting an annual revenue of between 19 and 21 Million USD in the last two years. However, as far as Hajj is concerned, our two Hajj fund giants, Tabung Haji and BPKH have a lot to offer in the real estate sector in Saudi Arabia and financial services sector especially bridge financing which countries like Nigeria might require.
Challenges
As mouth-watering as these opportunities may seem, they are not without their fair share of challenges. For instance, certain regulations might not allow Hajj-related transactions between our organizations except with special arrangements that would require lengthy diplomatic discourse. The nature and mode of operations by Hajj missions vary from country to country bringing with it, attendant challenges of authority, procedure and in some instances, bureaucratic bottlenecks. This is in addition to the varying lifecycles of leadership in our organizations which usually results to arrangements/discussions commencing with an entity which gets affected once a change of leadership baton occurs.
Recommendations.
Ladies and Gentlemen, permit me to re-echo a call the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria has been making since 2018. It is time for the global Hajj and Umrah Community to truly professionalize the management of Hajj and Umrah by having a global body in the likes of International Air Transport Association (IATA), International Standards Organization (ISO) and Project Management Institute (PMI) that will set industry-specific standards, processes, accreditation, training and related issues. This will ensure that pilgrims from any part of the globe enjoy similar standards of services from their individual home countries as is obtainable with Air Travel, Hotel or Banking services.
Secondly, These discussions should result to tangible action. Countries should explore the opportunities presented in this conference/festival and agree for follow-up actions aimed at concretizing relationships and possible signing of MoUs or agreements.
Third, A small working group could be constituted within acceptable laws and rules, to liaise and facilitate further action on items and areas of interest between countries.
I thank you for listening.
Wassalamu Alaykum, wa Rahmatullahi Ta’ala, wa Barakatuh.
