The President Bola Tinubu-led federal government has suffered severe criticism from Nigerians over the payment of a N90 billion subsidy for intending Hajj pilgrims.
Chronicle NG reports that the federal government has released a sum of N90 billion to subsidize the 2024 pilgrimage to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
A source who spoke on the condition of anonymity noted that without this intervention, each of the intending pilgrims would have been requested to add at least N3.5 million to the initial fare, which was pegged at N4.9 million.
Reacting to the news, Omotayo on X noted, “This is a lame move, though. Even God stated that you should only go to Hajj if you can afford to do so.
“Subsidising Hajj when the masses are struggling to eat and survive is so unnecessary; I’m sure those who want to go for Hajj already have more than enough money in their bank account.”
Kasalimo, in his reaction, lamented that the subsidy could have been used to mitigate the current economic hardship in the country.
“So with all the economic hardship, insecurity, poverty, and a large number of out-of-school children, the government’s priority is to sponsor Hajj and Christians going to Jerusalem later in the year.
“Most of the people who got mg for pilgrimage pay a lot of money that is enough to foot their bills. What’s this subsidy about? Nigeria doesn’t have a revenue problem; they have a spending problem,” Kasalimo stated.
Berating the Federal Government over alleged “reckless spending,” Gabriel Bolatit said, “Haji should be a personal issue, just like visiting any part of the world. For the religious folks, it’s a personal issue to visit the ‘Holy Land’ either Saudi Arabia or Israel.”
Anas Mohammed Kamfani slammed the Federal Government when he said the Hajj subsidy should be deployed to solve pressing needs in the country.
“Misplaced priority. Nigeria won’t work until religious activities become private, not government responsibilities,” Kamfani said.
“I hope this subsidy will also be granted to other believes, like Christians and traditionalists because they’re all Nigerians too. Why not use the N90 billion for something reasonable?
“Religion has been used as a tool to scam Nigerians; that’s why sheiks are threatening the government about the 2027 elections,” he added.
Yusuf Adebanjo, in his reaction, said, “At a time when the country is going through excruciating economic strife, 90 billion naira to subsidize hajj is, for me, a colossal waste of resources. Hajj should be a personal commitment; those resources could have been better deployed into other critical sectors.”
Yinkasola also urged the federal government to use the funds to address “critical sectors” of the economy.
“Same amount will be used to subsidise Jerusalem fares. One of the reasons Nigeria isn’t developing is that funds aren’t going to the critical sectors. Imagine what that amount will do to our hospitals, roads, schools, and security sectors.”
Calling the Hajj subsidy “total madness,” Engineer Okechukwu noted that “we’re not serious in this country. N90b for Hajj, where 85% don’t have access to clean water, no steady electricity, and no railways. But let’s approve N90b for Hajj. This is total madness.”
Others berated the federal government for subsidizing Hajj fares despite suspending the student loan scheme.
“Irrelevant government doing irrelevant things; student loans we couldn’t access, but they’re paying for Hajj; of what use is this Hajj in this economic instability?” Paul Ikegbunam states.
For an X user simply identified as Royalty, he said, “N90B for a useless personal religious journey, but then the student loan of N5 billion was suspended.
“This is the reason Nigeria will never move on. Cancel all religious activities and infact, remove religion from anything that concerns politics and governance, and we’d start getting it right.”
