The appointment of Jalal Ahmed Arabi who combined technocrat and bureaucrat ideas to navigate the public service as Chairman, National Hajj Commission of Nigeria NAHCON was not only timely , but a right step in the right direction, and to also right the wrongs bedeviling the religious agency.
Soon after his appointment was the preparation of 2024 Hajj operations and the granting of 80B subsidy by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to mitigate the performance of this years pilgrimage by Nigeria contingents.
Coming from a well groomed public service laced with asymmetrical experience, Jalal jettisoned the business as usual prevalent at the commission to carry out a thorough assignment of repositioning the agency.
Also not in tandem with the business as usual, but the welfare of the pilgrims, he asserted his position and carried out a lot of administrative decisions that will not only promote the welfare of pilgrims, but detonate the singular impression that NAHCON was a conduit pipe to siphoning public funds.
He embarked on prudent management of resources and welfare of pilgrims while at the holy land and resisted sharp practices on the part of staffers who always take advantage of pilgrimage to amass needless wealth.
With a grounded experience, he read a riot act to staff on the provision of public service rules, and the desire not to be in contradiction with the privilege available to all and sundry.
He restated his commitment to reposition the agency having had enormous experiences and sane expectations from the public service by applying transparency, accountability, diligence and hard work on the part of staff of the commission.
Matching words with action , he asserted that it is not going to be business as usual, particularly in the area of remuneration, but reward system will be sustained for hard work and dedication to duty.
He was blunt on the issue of payment of emolument, entitlements and allowances while on the assignment, stating the obvious that government was constrained by continuing to pay by reducing the allowances and the need to imbibe prudence in the management of public resources.
In the history of Nigeria, Arabi announced the cutting down of cost on public funds and cancellation of some allowances in line with the operation of public funds, and did not mince his words through his actions and announcement to the general public.
While carrying out his reforms and executing the laudable programs in NAHCON, he provided options for workers of all categories engaged in the 2024 pilgrims operations to carry out their activities according to official schedules and timing provided by the commission by spending both the maximum day or the minimum period expected of staff at the holy land.
The announcement and decisions even though does not go down well with the staff, was part of his decision to reform and introduce a new code of conduct , away from the impression of coming to feast on the subsidy provided for pilgrims at the holy land by the government.
Even though, with some teething problems with the 2024 operations, the activities of fifth columnist, the new wave of administration applied by the new commission under Jalal Ahmed Arabi had paid off through timely operations of lifting the pilgrims to and fro the holy land.
The hue and cry of some stakeholders was not intended to distract the new agency , but a plot to raise needless alarm away for the illegal status quo put in place by the previous managers.
The success story of the 2024 Hajj operations under the leadership of Jalal Ahmed Arabi who assumed duty few months to the year’s operations was a testament of his versed knowledge, exposure, and grounded experience in public service , away from other instigations and public distractions , as he ensured the welfare of both contingents and staff of the commission were protected and avoided sharp practices.
For Jalal Ahmed Arabi, the 2042 Hajj operations will be a template needed subsequently to reduce to the barest minimum the incidence of avoidable administrative lapses, that was prevalent in its operations in the previous years.
This is in line with the code of conduct, prudent management of government resources and delivering on the mandate of the commission.
ABUBAKAR YUSUF writes on [email protected]
