By Deji Abdulwahab
National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) says the Hajj Savings Scheme (HSS), if well implemented, will address Hajj operational challenges and make the exercise more successful.
The Chairman/CEO of NAHCON, Prof. Abdullahi Usman, said this while signing Memorandum a Understanding (MoU) on HSS with four banks in Abuja on Monday.
Usman said that the HSS would also ease early registration and payment of pilgrims for the country to meet up with the closure of the social data of Saudi Authorities.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Jaiz Bank, Taj Bank, Alternative Bank, and Lotus Bank were approved to implement the new Hajj Savings Scheme (HSS)
The NAHCON boss described the scheme as a long-term plan to help intending pilgrims save systematically for their Hajj pilgrimage.
According to him, the partnership aims to make the pilgrimage more affordable, transparent and accessible, by providing a secure digital platform for saving and managing funds.
In his remarks, Prof. Abubakar Yagawal, NAHCON Commissioner; Planning, Research, Statistics, Information and Library Services (PRSILS), said the implementation of the HSS would solve Hajj problems and aid successful operations.
Yagawal said, “Sometimes pilgrims lose their money because they may find themselves in a hand that will cheat them.
“But if this Hajj saving scheme is well utilised, whatever we see in Malaysia, Indonesia, and other countries that have gone far in organising their pilgrims, in fact, we can do even better than that.
“The only way out of making our Hajj very successful is to see HSS well implemented.”
The commissioner also underscored the need to create awareness on HSS via Ulamas, traditional rulers, Islamic gatherings and social media.
“Bankers have a lot of avenues of conveying the message to our masses.
In fact, ulama is the best avenue of conveying the message.
“In their sermon on the days of Jumaah, in their gathering for preaching, in their circles, in fact, you will find them a very good tool in bringing the message to the masses.
“Another avenue is social media. They have an important role to play in conveying the message to the masses,” he said.
He said that traditional rulers would not be left behind, adding that they have an important role to play in this area.
“Like Sultan, for example, if you are to reach him, he will play a very important role in convenng the meaning of HSS.
“If this programme is well executed, within one, two, three years, Nigeria will catch Malaysia,
Speaking on behalf of the banks’ chief executives, Dr Haruna Musa, the Managing Director of Jaiz Bank, said that Nigeria had potential to beat the savings scheme of Malaysia.
Musa said, “Looking at our population in Nigeria, we have the potential to beat the savings scheme of Malaysia.
“Looking at our number, looking at the experience and the fact that today we are dealing with people who have the experience of managing the Hajj, and we also have capable banks.
“The issue that we need to tackle first and foremost, we need to create awareness.
“You can design a very good product, but when people don’t get to know how to use that product, at the end of the day, you will not achieve your mission. So, we. Will continue creating the awareness.
“We will continue to use social media to create the awareness. We will continue using the traditional media.
“We will deploy the latest technology, including artificial intelligence, to improve on the experience of the Hajj savers.” (NAN)
Edited by Kadiri Abdulrahman
