Press Releases

Fashola Calls For Decentralization Of Hajj Operations

Jan 26, 2009 - Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), Tuesday called for the decentralization of Hajj operations in the country to enable states organize the passage of their pilgrims during the Muslim pilgrimages to Saudi Arabia.

Governor Fashola, who spoke at the Lagos House, Alausa, while receiving the reports of the State’s 2008 Ad hoc Committee on Hajj, said such decentralization would stem the embarrassing tide of pilgrims having to be forced to stay longer than necessary in the Holy land due to faulty flight arrangements.

According the Governor, centralization of the operations, especially centralization of airlines and aircraft creates scarcity which in turn gives room for abuse”, adding that since the states have to pay the travelling fees on behalf of their pilgrims, they should be given the freedom to choose the airlines that would convey their pilgrims.

Lamenting the shoddy arrangement in the 2008 operations, Governor Fashola declared, “We are too blessed with those who can plan and those who can organize in this country to have such a problem Why should people who have completed their Hajj not come home?” Governor Fashola queried.

Commending members of the committee for a job well done, Governor Fashola expressed satisfaction that, in spite of the minor hitches caused by the faulty flight arrangements, the pilgrimage went well adding that the State Government would continue to give opportunities for service to the people in order to remain focused at all times.

“This is how it should be. We must continue to give opportunity to everybody to take responsibility because if opportunity is not presented, we may never know who can surpass himself. There is nothing called experience until we have the opportunity. I have always been an advocate of the saying that no body is indispensible. Many indispensible people are now in the graveyards, Only Allah is indispensible”, Governor Fashola said.

According to him, “we must continue to test, re-run, sample, and try new ideas to strive towards improving on our capacity to serve. I want to say that, in spite of the hitches that we had a successful operation. I followed the operations from before the airlift started right through to the conclusions up to the last day when the last batch was supposed to leave”.

The Governor promised that the State Executive Council would look into the reports and adopt necessary recommendations of the committee for onward transmission to the Federal Government assuring that the Federal Government would readily adopt any recommendations that could improve the yearly operations.

“At this time when the report of the committee is being presented, is the most opportune time because some of you must have noticed that even the Federal Government is concerned about these operations. I stayed up to watch the review of the operations on the NTA about two days ago and some of the suggestions that the Hon. Commissioner has put to me are already in the public domain for discussion and consideration

According to the Governor, “I will, with my exco, study this report in more details and whatever recommendations we adopt, we will convey to the National Commission particularly to Mr. President who has expressed publicly the desire to have these operations hitch free”.

Earlier, in his introductory remarks, Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee, Alhaji Mubashiru Ajanakutold told the Governor that because of the total absence of flight schedule in Saudi Arabia, Nigerian pilgrims were stranded and had to stay in the Holy land for a total of 32 days.

According to him, “Flight schedule was absent. That was why there was a long stay. All Nigerian pilgrims spent 32 days in Saudi Arabia. It was not so with other nationals”.

He thanked Governor Fashola for giving the members the opportunity to serve the State in that capacity and expressed their readiness to contribute their quota at anytime in the service of the State.

Also present at the occasion were the Commissioner for Home Affairs and Culture, Mr. Babatunde Balogun, other members of the Ad-hoc Committee as well as some top government functionaries.