Ghana's bad Hajj image . Time to reverse the trend

September 29, 2008 pg 34 (Feature)

By Musah Yahaya Jafaru

ACCORDING to reports by the Ministry of Hajj in Saudi Arabia, although Ghana is one of the countries with the smallest number of pilgrims (2,700), the country creates about 30 per cent of the problems in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the Hajj.
Indeed, countries with huge numbers of pilgrims ranging between 60, 0000 and 200,000, such as Indonesia, Turkey, Iran and India and neighbouring Nigeria organise their Hajj without any skirmishes.
This year the signs are already looking ominous as two bodies are entangled in a controversy over who has the mandate to organise this year’s Hajj.
Prospective pilgrims are thus confused as to whom they should pay their Hajj fares to. They are also at a loss as to the amount to pay, since the two groups have given different quotations.
The restructured National Hajj Council (NHC) which was formed following the recommendation by the National Hajj Conference held in Accra early this year claims that it has the mandate of 10 stakeholder organisations to organise the Hajj, but the Interim Hajj Management Committee (IHMC) constituted by the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Usman Nuhu Sharubutu, insists that it has the authority of the National Chief Imam to organise the Hajj to, as it puts it, correct the mess created by the previous NHC and IHMC.
As if by design, the restructured National Hajj Council (NHC) quoted $2,999 as the Hajj fare while the Interim Hajj Management Committee (IHMC) constituted by the National Chief Imam fixed it at $3,100.
The IHMC says it has already entered into contracts with accommodation and transportation owners in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and that it had signed a contract with Egypt Air to lift the prospective pilgrims. Likewise, the NHC indicates that it has also arranged accommodation and transportation in Saudi Arabia, and that it is in agreement with Antrak Air to convey the would-be pilgrims.
In the heat of the differences, the Northern and Brong Ahafo Regional Committees of the NHC have since expressed their opposition to the formation of the IHMC, and asked the National Chief Imam to disassociate itself from the committee. The Northern Regional NHC has specifically threatened to organise the Hajj in that part of the country if the IHMC insists on organising the Hajj.
The Ghana Hajj Agents Association, on the other hand, has expressed its support for the formation of the IHMC, and indicated that its support “is rooted in the assurance by the IHMC to airlift the 728 paid passengers who were unable to embark on the trip last year”.
The National Chief Imam through his administrative secretary, was reported to have said that the only recognised body to organise this year’s Hajj is the IHMC.
He, therefore, called on the restructured National Hajj Council (NHC) to join the IHMC to manage the operations of this year’s pilgrimage, since his sole concern was to ensure sanity in the organisation of the Hajj to achieve the best for the Muslim community.
Reports indicate that two meetings convened by the Chief of Staff and Minister of Presidential Affairs, Mr Kwadwo Mpiani, to iron out the differences between members of the NHC and IHMC ended without any agreement.
It is incumbent on members of the two groups in the spirit of Islamic brotherhood and unity, the image of Islam and the plight of pilgrims to shun all egoistic tendencies and be guided by the fear of Allah and the feeling for the ‘poor’ prospective pilgrims who want to fulfil one of the five pillars of Islam.
The proposed combined team should enter into binding contracts with known airline operators and work towards improving the accommodation, transportation, health care and welfare of prospective pilgrims. The agreement signed by the IHMC with Egypt Air could be sustained since Egypt Air is a reliable airline when it comes to transporting pilgrims to and from Saudi Arabia.
The long-term measures to end the perennial disappointments in the organisation of Hajj in Ghana involves the restructuring of the NHC by bringing on board experienced personalities from relevant Muslim organisations. An advisory body could be constituted to regulate the operations of the proposed restructured NHC.
The Hajj should be pre-financed to avoid the reliance on the Hajj fares paid by prospective pilgrims which are not paid early enough.
Several Hajj boards constituted by the government in the past to organise the Hajj failed to live up to expectation. The Hajj board constituted to run the 2004/5 Hajj performed poorly, which led to the detention of Ghanaian pilgrims at the Jeddah Airport for about five days due to the non-payment of airport tax.
This failure prompted the Muslim community to impress on the government to give them full ownership of the organisation of the Hajj. The government agreed to this request, which led to the formation of the National Hajj Council (NHC) in 2005. The NHC which has representatives from four stakeholder organisations, namely the Office of the National Chief Imam (ONCI), the Ahlussunna Wal-Jama’a (ASWAJ), the Coalition of Muslim Organisations, Ghana (COMOG) and the Federation of Women Association in Ghana (FOMWAG), is supposed to be a permanent body to run the Hajj.
The NHC organised an improved Hajj in 2005, barely three months after its formation. The NHC, however, slacked in the 2006 Hajj, resulting in the inability of 499 prospective pilgrims to be airlifted to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj.
The inability of the NHC to airlift the 499 somewhat incurred the wrath of the Muslim community, and resulted in the formation of the Ghana Pilgrimage Organisation (GPO).
The entrenched stands by the two bodies generated tension in the Muslim community, which made the National Chief Imam to ask the NHC and the GPO to stay out of the organisation of the Hajj and constituted an Interim Hajj Management Committee.
The committee signed a contract with an unfamiliar airline (Al-Alama), which arrived in the country very late and that compelled prospective pilgrims to sleep in the open at the Aviation Social Centre for about 11 days.
The government had to intervene and request the Ministry of Hajj Affairs in Mecca to extend the closing date of the Jeddah Airport.
About 229 prospective pilgrims were left behind and this figure plus the 499 disappointed pilgrims in 2006 brings the number of disappointed pilgrims for the two previous Hajj to 728.
There are several lingering questions that need answers, with regard to the poor organisation of Hajj in Ghana and the ‘rush’ by many individuals to organise the Hajj.
Are the people fighting over the mandate to organise the Hajj doing so for the interest of Islam and the nation or for their own personal gains, since reports indicate that the Hajj operation is a ‘gold mine’, where organisers cash in on poor pilgrims?
There are also reports of formidable forces with strong connections who impose their will on the Muslim community during the selection of people to organise the Hajj.
Are such people helping the course of Islam or rather advancing their own selfish interests and flexing their muscles because of their perceived stature in society and so-called connection?
Some of the lapses affecting the smooth organisation of Hajj in the country are the lack of consensus among Muslims in decision-taking, the lack of well-defined structures for the Muslim leadership to take all-binding decisions on behalf of the Muslim community, the imposition of the will of the privileged few on the larger Muslim society, competing personal interests among Muslim organisations and impatience in the correction of mistakes.
It is barely three months to the observance of this year’s Hajj, and that puts the organisation of the Hajj in a state of quagmire since prospective pilgrims are still not certain about which of the two bodies has the mandate to organise the Hajj. Ghanaians are now sick and tired of the ritual Hajj Palava.
The short-term solution to the current impasse is for the two bodies, the NHC and the IHMC to iron out their differences and come together to organise the Hajj.
It is about time the stakeholder organisations in the Muslim community, namely sat down to resolve this ‘shameful’ spectacle of poor Hajj organisation in the country once and for all.
And if indeed there are strong forces who thwart efforts at bringing sanity into the organisation of Hajj, they should be warned that Allah will judge them accordingly.
Enough is enough for the suffering pilgrims. It is now time for Ghanaian pilgrims to enjoy some peace in the performance of their religious duty.