ALMAJIRI: WE MUST STOP HOLDING NIGERIA TO RANSOM, GOV SULE TELLS NORTHERN LEADERS

The governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, has called on the Northern leaders to seek an end to using Almajiri system to further hold Nigeria to ransom.

Sule, who is the Chairman of the North Central Governors’ Forum, said since the system is common to the North and constitutes a “huge problem,” the region’s leaders must collectively seek an end to it.

‘’Why should Northern Nigeria continue to hold the entire nation to ransom when we know that it (Almajiri) is our problem? We have to go out there and find a way to solve it,” he said.

The governor spoke while flagging off the regional conference on population dynamics, security, climate change, out-of-school children/Almajiri, and vulnerable children in Nigeria.

The event was organised by the National Population Commission (NPC) and hosted by the Nasarawa State Government in Lafia on Wednesday.

The National Commission of Almajiri and Out-of-School Children said an unverified report puts the number of Almajiri in the country at ’over 30 million out of the 251 million globally.

The governor described the Almajiri as a time bomb that, if left unchecked, could have dire consequences not only for the region but for the entire country.

He wondered why the Almajiri practice in the North is different from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, which are Islamic nations.

The governor warned that if the North fails to address the problems associated with the Almajiri system, the August 1 to 10 violent protests across the country would be child’s play.

His words: “The Almajiri problem is indeed a huge problem for us. I think, just as I told my colleagues in Kaduna during our last meeting of the Northern governors, I said we should stop complaining. It is time for us to take the bull by the horns and see how we can resolve the problem by ourselves.

“We should no longer expect anybody to come and solve the problem of the Almajiri system. We must be the ones to solve this problem if we are serious about solving the problem of the Almajiri system.

‘’Why should Northern Nigeria continue to hold the entire nation ransom when we know that it is our own problem and we have to go out there and find a way to solve it?”

The governor pointed out that previous efforts to address the Almajiri problems failed because their root causes were not addressed.

He emphasised the need to make parents take responsibility for the upbringing of their children rather than ‘’sending them out to beg on the streets’’ in the name of acquiring Islamic education.

Sule also said that people must be made to understand that it is a sin to have children they cannot take care of, just as it is a sin to marry wives without the ability to cater for them.

The governor said, “We have to find a way to teach people that it is a sin in Islam to continue to produce children you could not take care of.

‘’Until we take care of that, we cannot solve the problem. Just like it is a sin to continue to marry wives you cannot take care of, it is also a sin to continue producing children that you cannot take care of.’’

Sule insisted that as long as parents continue to send their children and wards to traditional Almajiri schools, the problems of Almajiri would persist.

He added, “These are the challenges we have at hand. We must be able to take it seriously and teach our people directly into their senses to know that they must understand that this is the challenge that we have in Nigeria today.

“What kind of human being goes and drops his four or five-year-old kid somewhere without being interested in what he eats, sleeps, and wears? And they say it is in line with Islam.

There is no way this is Islam. Suratul Bakhara is very clear on this.

“Why is it that it is only here? I just got back from Saudi Arabia. I didn’t see too many Almajiri in Makkah, Madina, Jedda or anywhere. They are an Islamic nation.

‘’In Pakistan, they have out-of-school children but their situation is even completely different.’’

The governor commended the NPC for initiating the process of taking the Almajiri off the streets through a system that would see them attend universities in Madina, Niger, and Malaysia.

He, however, pointed out that such would not be sufficient to fully tackle the menace.

Sule recalled how in 2020 he attempted to stem the problem by sending Almajiris who were not Nasarawa indigenes to their states.

He said the four times he tried yielded no positive results as those ‘’transported out’’ returned to Nasarawa.

He announced plans by his administration to set up three special schools in Lafia, Akwanga, and Keffi to rehabilitate the Almajiri but called on his colleagues in the North to ensure that they stopped producing more Almajiri.

Earlier, the Executive Secretary, National Commission of Almajiri and Out-of-School Children, Mohammed   Idris, said that available data showed that there are 251 million out-of-school children globally.

Idris said that out of the figure, Nigeria has ‘’over 30 million Almajiri that are today roaming the streets.’’

He said, “Out of this number (251 million), 163 million are from Africa.” Nigeria has the largest number. Even though the data before us is not cogent and verifiable, it is suggesting that we have over 30 million Almajiri that are today roaming the streets of this country.”

He blamed the situation on the wrong interpretation of verses of the Quran.

The Executive Secretary announced that the commission was about to inaugurate a programme in Kaduna State where 350 Almajiri would be absorbed and exposed to the understanding of Arabic and English.

“That way we are sure they will develop linguistic immunity against any ideology that is not in tandem with the correct teaching of the Quran,” he said.

NPC Chairman Nasir Kwarra described the conference as a critical step towards one of the commission’s key responsibilities—research and dissemination of evidence-based data for policy formulation and development.

“The overall objective of the conference is to provide a forum for articulating, discussing, and proffering actionable solutions to the multidimensional socioeconomic and environmental challenges of the region,” he said.