Nigeria’s season of suicidesPage REVISITING THE ALMAJIRI ISSUE
This is supposed to be a report of a Stakeholder Policy Forum convened in Kano last week by a certain NEEM Foundation (led by one of ours, Dr. Fatima Akilu, who was until recently at Leadership) to discuss the Almajiri System. But it seems, as I grow older, I am becoming grumpier and angrier, and so I always want to rant and lament and nag and complain before the narration - as I did last week on the relatively simple matter of ‘reading culture’.
Perhaps if we, Northern Nigerian Muslims, were to sit down and list all our myriad social problems in order of repulsiveness, the so-called Almajiri System would most definitely come top. Of all problems, the most discussed and lamented has been the Almajiri - from the time I was in primary school, it was discussed. When I was in secondary school, it was discussed. When I was in university, it was still being discussed. And now in my middle age, it is still being discussed. Haba!
When did a sophisticated system, well intentioned to ensure children memorise the Holy Qur’an and learn to live frugal lives as collateral, divert so dismally? This is not Islam for, if it were, it would be seen to be practiced in Mecca and Medina, Tehran and Jakarta, Cairo and Kuala Lumpur. No, this practice is unique only to Muslim West Africa and, where it grinds most, Northern Nigeria and Niger Republic. This lost legion, this unguided corps of 10 million boys as young as 4 to 17, are roaming the streets of Kano and Potiskum, Sokoto and Kontagora, Zinder and Zaria.
In her opening remarks, Dr. Akilu said, among other things, that statistics from UNICEF estimate that over ten million children are out of school in Nigeria, making Nigeria the country with the world’s highest number of out-of-school children. Of this number, 60% are from Northern Nigeria. With regards to education in Northern Nigeria, the deterioration of the Almajiri System is a vital issue that does not receive the attention it requires. Historically, this practice was largely welcome due to its rigorous approach to teaching religious knowledge and values. Parents and guardians would send their wards to various parts of Northern Nigeria in search of Islamic knowledge.
However, she continued, in its current incarnation, the Almajiri System has created room for the exploitation of children. The unstructured management of children has left the majority of the Almajiri vulnerable to abuses such as child labour, sexual exploitation, physical, emotional and psychological abuse, as well as increasing their vulnerability to radicalisation. In light of this emerging trend, immediate measures need to be taken to ensure the protection of all Almajiri from exploitation.
NEEM Foundation, she added, is a nonprofit, non-governmental organisation established as a direct response to the problem of insecurity in Nigeria, with a special focus on Preventing Violent Extremism through providing rehabilitation, reintegration, and psychosocial support services to victims of insurgency. And solving the Almajiri issue is directly related to all these.
The keynote speaker was our colleague, BUK political scientist Dr. Sa’id Dukawa (reprented by Mass Communication colleague Umar Gwandu). He quoted a recent statement by Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje (as reported by the Daily Post and the Sun of August 5, 2016) that “Kano State has become a center for convergence of Almajiris in Northern Nigeria, because there is no legislation outlawing such treatment of children, in the name of Qur’anic education. At the moment, Kano has the highest number of Almajiri and, from the statistics we got, their number is equal to, if not more than, those attending formal schools.”
Now, if a Governor would lament, allow me, this writer, to lament the more. The simple takeaway here is that there is absolutely no political will to tackle the matter by especially the Northern Governors - this is the clear picture from Ganduje’s lament; that one cannot solve a pan-Northern problem in a single state. It has been attempted in the past during the Shekarau Administration’s Model Almajiri Schools, and also recently during the Jonathan Administration - both touched the tip of the iceberg, and lack of continuity would kill anything.
At this Forum, all the expected stakeholders turned up - Kano State Government, Kano State House of Assembly, Ulama, the Kano State Hisbah Board, NAPTIP, Academicians, NGOs and CBOs (especially the leading Kanobased Almajiri-focused NGO led by senior citizen Alhaji Yusuf Hassan), legal and media practitioners and the concerned general public. And the discussion was quite robust, and the suggested solutions familiar and workable - if only there would be political will.
The lead speaker continued to posit that, flowing from what Prophet Muhammad, upon whom be peace, had said, that “Every one of you is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock...”, studies have found that children left without influence of human parents may have negative impacts in their future lives. Sociologists have confirmed that the most important aspect of the process of socialisation takes place during infancy, within the family. Yet children of this society are abandoned line camels in the desert, or as ships in the sea at the mercy of winds and tide; it is foolhardy to expect these children to socialise and mature as humans.
He further lamented, as expected, that the right of the child to a healthy start in life; the right of the child to a family; the right of the child to health care and proper nutrition; the right of the child to education and the acquisition of skills; the right of the child to lead a dignified and secure life have all been abandoned. And then we complain if such a product becomes otherwise?
And I add: these boys are sent off mostly from the rural areas by their ignorant parents, to the cities towns, without provision or proper clothing, ostensibly to study the Holy Qur’an, under harsh and despicable conditions. They are left to cater for themselves their immediate needs of food, clothing and shelter, toiling in squalor, not to mention zero medical care, zero safety and, most importantly, zero parental love. When did learning the Qur’an become a city affair? It used to be from the cities to the villages, but today the reverse is the case.
Stakeholders were unanimous in apportioning faults - the major blame is on government, all levels. It is followed by Traditional Rulers. Equally culpable are the elite of the society and especially our selfappointed regional ‘elders’ and ‘wise men’, whom we only hear of when it comes to power play. Another blameworthy group is our Ulama.
One thing was clear in the matter of lack of political will - most politicians are jittery on such topics due to the sensitivity of our ill-informed society, lest they strike a nerve and people go: “They want to outlaw Qur’anic studies! Another Western Agenda!”
Luckily, NEEM Foundation says this is the first of a series of Stakeholder Policy Forums on the Almajiri System, and many will follow. And so we hope that solutions may one be found.
As for me, as I have argued on this page several times, the only solution is: Send All Almajiris Back Home! Let every father take to his responsibility towards his family. Let the kids live under the care, provision and security of their parents. And then the Buhari Social Protection Plan should be deployed to fill in the gaps.
Of course it is naive to believe it will be a smooth swallow; there may be revolt, there will be resistance. The system had been in our veins for too long. Yet terminating it is inevitable. It must be done, and it is doable.