The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria NAHCON, has launched its hajj training institue today Tuesday 7th February in Abuja.
In the opening remarks at the event in the Hajj House Abuja, Chairman of the Commission Alhaji Zikrullah Kunle Hassan disclosed that, “Over a decade ago, there was a general concern among the Nigerian Ummah that Hajj was an all-comers affair where anyone ventures into irrespective of his or her educational background.
“The leadership of NAHCON to initiated a process aimed at professionalizing the industry which I was part of. Little then did I know that I would be in the driver’s seat when that project finally takes off.
Alhaji Zikrullah after welcoming the guests also said that Hajj Institute of Nigeria (HIN), is Nigeria’s and probably Africa’s premier institution dedicated to the Hajj and Umrah industry. The Institute was established to among other things to;
“Improve the quality of manpower in the Hajj and Umrah Sector in Nigeria to be at par with global industry standards;
” Train and certify all employees in the Nigerian Hajj and Umrah sector;
“Develop, in liaison with relevant bodies, occupational standards for the Hajj and Umrah sector in Nigeria;
Provide an avenue for skills acquisition and entrepreneurship development of Nigerian Youth; and be reference point globally for Hajj and Umrah training.
The chairman also said that the institue will help in carrying out global trends since everything now is being carriedout by thebuse of technology:
“You will agree with me that the world is rapidly advancing in technology and it has become imperative that NAHCON keeps pace with these global trends.
“In view of this, it has become necessary for us to refocus our strategies and embrace the latest advancements in ICT.
“The Saudi Vision 2030, which all Hajj entities across the globe need to align to, has placed a high premium on excellent pilgrims’ services driven by ICT. It is for this reason that the HIN will provide a platform for training and research on various aspects of Hajj and Umrah, including the use of technology to improve our operations and services.
“Management of hajj in modern times has gone beyond the trial by error system we are used to. With the help of ICT, operational activities have been propelled to a more efficient levels with near-zero room for mistakes which needs the right skilled manpower to run.
“The birth of HIN and its commencement of academic activities will serve as added impetus to NAHCON’s quest for sustainable hajj management system in Nigeria.
Alhaji Hassan also pointed out the economic aspect which commission intend to leverage on for other significat opportunities:
“We recognize the economic potentials of Hajj and Umrah and it is time for us to leverage these opportunities and make them significant contributors to Nigeria’s economy. Allah SWT ordained Hajj and in doing so, made special mention of the permissibility of trade during Hajj, in view of this, the HIN will play a key role in exploring the economic potentials abound in the sector which our businesses and teeming youth can explore.
“I am confident that the HIN will play a critical role in ensuring that Nigeria reaches and remains at the forefront of excellence in the global Hajj and Umrah industry.
“The 4th Board of the Commission has chosen to be the pioneer students of this institute not only because of the confidence we have in the quality of our programmes but to also commence the process of taking Hajj and Umrah to the next level from the very top. It is my strong belief that me and my colleagues in the Board will emerge from this programme more educated and better prepared to steer the affairs of Hajj in Nigeria.
“Subsequently, more programmes will be rolled out for the different Hajj and Umrah stakeholders in the public and private sector until critical service touch-points like local pilgrims’ and customer care officers in the state pilgrims welfare Boards and Travel Agencies – that deal directly with pilgrims enroll in the Institute to be trained in the basic tenets customer service required in Hajj industry to reach and surpass the standards of the global hospitality travel and tourism industry.
