The National HAJJ Commission of Nigeria is attending the fourth International HAJJ Conference in Indonesia. The Chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, Alhaji Zikrullah Kunle Hassan is in attendance.
Alhaji Zikrullah participated as a discussant among a panel of four speakers who deliberated on the theme of the event; Digitalisation and Inclusivity of the Hajj Ecosystem. The one-day conference was organised as part of activities marking the Indonesian Sharia Economic Festival sponsored by Bank Indonesia and BPKH (the Hajj fund management body of Indonesia).
The Chairman of the Executive Board of BPKH), Dr. Anggito Abimanyu expressed confidence that digitalisation has and will promote accountability in the management of Hajj funds whilst improving Hajj services. He called on participants to brainstorm on the potentials of digitisation of Hajj finance that are yet to be explored as well as sharing experiences on challenges. He urged every Hajj mission across the world to establish digital systems that would be a link to their operations to enable access to services and finance. This, he said will promote connectivity through which the people will be the main beneficiaries. Mr. Abimanyu revealed that the digitisation of Hajj Fund management in Indonesia is providing equal access to people who might have been otherwise excluded.
The discussions during the 4th International Hajj Conference were held under two sessions. The first session was where the NAHCON Chairman centered on digitisation and inclusivity at the government level.
The afternoon session dwelt on Hajj and Umrah Digitalisation and practicality for Tour Operators, Hajj Missions, and Financial Institution
Responding to a question by the moderator, Alhaji Zikrullah Hassan agreed that Covid-19 has taught the world a new way of doing things through digitisation. NAHCON having accepted this reality led to its program of digital transformation which is still being upgraded. He agreed that with digitalisation, Hajj management can be better. On the Hajj management fund system, Alhaji Zikrullah Kunle Hassan said under the Covid-19 lockdown, NAHCON rolled out the Hajj Savings Scheme and despite the challenges, the scheme was able to raise about N12m as an investment in just two years. Therefore, if that amount could be gathered under Covid-19, there are prospects that more can be done under a vibrant economy. He commended the Indonesian Hajj fund management system, BPKH for stabilizing Hajj fare for five years consecutively and despite the covid-19 cash crunch, BPKH subsidized Hajj fare for its pilgrims up to 59%.
Alhaji Zkrullah identified key areas that Hajj management should improve on such as more collaboration among Hajj participating countries, especially among those with numerical strength. He called for more cooperation among them to interface with Saudi Arabia on matters of negotiation and in contributing to the Hajj management system by way of exchanging ideas, getting timely information that would enable countries to plan for Hajj five years in advance, etc.
Dominica Nwabufo
