Nigeria’s federal government has just allocated N90bn ($43.5m) to subsidise the 2024 hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. Were I in President Tinubu’s shoes, here is what I would do instead

Ayo Akinfe

[1] Do you know that 80,000 Nigerians go on pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina every year? Rather than subsidise the hajj, I would tax it heavily and turn it into a revenue source for the government

[2] Do you know that 30,000 Nigerians go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem and Rome every year? They too will equally be taxed at the same rate as their Muslim counterparts

[3] Anually, a total of 110,000 Nigerians go on pilgrimages, boosting the treasuries of other countries. Our government subsidises these trips and the total cost adds up to about $280m a year. This is about 1% of our annual budget

[4] I once remember speaking to Malasysia's minister of primary commodities Dr Lim Yiak about the palm oil and rubber industries in and asking him whether his government will be susbsidising them to compete with the European Union. His response to me was: "Malaysia does not subsidise its farmers, it taxes its farmers."

[5] We all want our economy to grow like that of Malaysia but alas, are we ready to take the same medicine they did? None of this growth they enjoyed was automatic. Malaysia's people had to pay a price for it, so if Nigeria wants economic growth, we must be ready to swallow the harsh medicine the doctor prescribed too

[6] If we levy a Pilgrimage Tax of $200 on every Nigerian pilgrim, it will generate about $22m in revenue for the government. Now, add that to the $280m we are spending on pilgrimage subsidies and we have over $300m in the kitty

[7] I am sure every genuine Nigerian Muslim wants to see the almajiri problem resolved. Paying $200 towards solving the problem is a very small price to pay and I doubt if any man or woman of goodwill will oppose it

[8] Nigerian Christians pride themselves on the fact that it was missionary societies who established many of the early primary and secondary schools in Nigeria. Well, it is their time now. I am sure every Nigerian Christian would be proud of the fact that they contributed towards eliminating the almajiri problem in the country by funding the building of schools for them, just as the pioneer missionaries did

[9] With Nigeria's total education budget pegged at about $1.72bn, we simply lack the resources to fund the almajiri problem. I would like to believe that 95% of Nigerians would support the introduction of a pilgrimage tax for the greater good

[10] Even if the government offered the subsidy, I would have expected the

Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affiars and the Christian Association of Nigeria to reject the payment in the wider national interest.