ABSTRACT

Abstract

Hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina and other Holy places in Saudi Arabia for spiritual rejuvenation, has been an enduring tradition in Nigeria. In spite of the injunction that Muslim faithful are to perform the Hajj at least once in a lifetime, most Africans and indeed Nigerians choose to perform the Hajj as many times as they can. Nigerian Government is actively involved in Hajj administration and management both at the national and the state levels. Various bodies; pilgrims welfare boards, have been created in 1958, 1975, and 1989 and finally in 2006 to ensure the smooth operations of Hajj. Using library, archival search and structured interviews, this paper examines the institutionalization of Hajj and its management tradition in Nigeria up to the establishment of the National Hajj Commission in 2006 taking off in 2007. The paper describes the evolution of Hajj management tradition, identifies some of the factors that had hindered Hajj operations and efforts to address them, impacts of operational challenges in Nigeria’s international image and finally attempts to illuminate the challenges to be faced by the ‘New’ Commission to meet expectations for operational improvement.