Alhaji Zikrullah Kunle Hassan, the Chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, yesterday, 8th March 2023, graduated from the Hajj Institute of Nigeria.
He is among the pioneered students of the iHajj Institute. He thus becomes a certified Hajj administrator cum manager in Nigeria, and the same for other colleagues. In a ceremony marking the end of a 4-week Certificate program for the first set of would-be Hajj managers, the graduates were excited about their studies.
Alhaji Zikrullah Kunle Hassan, in a remark at the events, had this to say “My colleagues and I have emerged from this programme more educated and better prepared to steer the affairs of Hajj in Nigeria. He commended the Rector, Professor Mohammed Nasirudeen Maiturare, and Alhaji Ibrahim Abubakar Jalingo, Registrar, on the quality of the pieces of training received at the institute. He used the occasion to inform the public that NAHCON will soon announce airlines that will freight Nigerians to the forthcoming Hajj operations in Saudi Arabia.
“What I can assure Nigeria Muslim community is that we shall have enough aircraft to fly all guests of Allah to Saudi Arabia”.
The students were from the board members and senior staff, who are principal players and actors in the execution of Hajj operations in Nigeria. The academic session commenced on Tuesday, 7th February 2023, for pioneers with the theme “Strategic Management of Hajj and Umrah Operations.”
The class representative for the course was Sheikh Suleiman Imonikhe Momoh, the Commissioner; of Planning Research, Statistics, Information and Library Services (PRSILS).The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, established the Hajj Institute of Nigeria, HIN to train and certify stakeholders in the industry. Play a key role in exploring the economic potential in the sector for which teeming youths could explore. It is also a training and research platform on various aspects of Hajj and Umrah, including a study of technology methodologies to improve the operations and services NAHCON provides and enable the country to be at par with global industry standards.
It is the first of his kind in the world meant for English-speaking countries. The idea to establish the Hajj Institute is contained in NAHCON Establishment Act 2006 and on the front burner of successive boards of the Commission. However, it witnessed a more rapid pursuit in 2020, when the 4th Board of Alhaji Zikrullah Kunle Hassan as Chairman sought and obtained the Provisional Approval of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) to establish and run the institution.