…..It is unIslamic for Almajiri to roam the streets and beg – Sultan of Sokoto.
….. “We were a product of the system. We were not encouraged to beg in any guise but to strictly seek knowledge.” – Sultan.
…. We will work on remodeling the almajiri education system and not abolish it – Tambuwal.
…. Everyone agreed to adopt The Pondok system, a form of Muslim education practiced in Indonesia.
The Trade Union Congress,TUC, Women commission has said that over ten million Almajiris- child beggars, roam the streets of Nigeria daily.
Sultan of sokoto
Chairperson of the TUC’s Women Commission wing, Kebbi State chapter, Comrade Hafsat Abdulhamid Jamoh, stated this during their one-day programme on ‘Child-abuse and Almajiri Syndrome, Community Responsibilities to Build a Morally Sound Society. ”
Speaking further she declared: “In both Islam and Christianity, the child needs not to beg for food and other essential needs. His food, security and other basic needs were granted by law. The parents, relatives and the state are obligated to meet the child’s demands, including feeding, clothing, shelter and education.
She said this just as the Sultan of Sokoto Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar also urged stakeholders to put politics aside and support Islamic and western education integration model initiative to bring to an end to the prevalence of street roaming Almajiris in the north.
Speaking on weekend at the closing ceremony of a 2-day validation workshop for the modernization of the Almajiri- Nizamiyya Education system in Sokoto state, Abubakar said the sultanate council and key stakeholders must come together for the success of the initiative aimed at ending street begging in the state and northern Nigeria.
The revered monarch recalled that he and many others were products of the traditional Almajiri system but declared nothing links their quest for Arabic and Islamic knowledge with begging.
According to him: “Parents must be sensitized against allowing their children to resort in begging a practice that Islam abhors in totality.
“We were not encouraged to beg in any guise but to strictly seek knowledge.”
Abubakar further reiterated that all hands must be on deck to deepen awareness and sustained call against the fast-emerging trend which is unpalatable.
He explained that traditional and religious leaders and relevant organs were also supportive of the GBV crusade and other life-saving programmes.
” We are efficiently driving the objectives to curtail or mitigate the negative trend and consequences associated with the socio-moral ills on the society as protection for the future of young ones.
” It is our duty to close ranks and salvage as well protect lives for the continued meaningful existence and survival of humanity by providing the necessary instruments of development educationally,” he pointed out.
The Trade Union Congress (TUC) Women’s Commission at the workshop added that the over ten million Almajiri, orphans and vulnerable children are roaming the streets in Nigeria while criminals are keeping weapons and drugs with them.
“Let me use this privileged opportunity to intimate you with the information that over ten million Almajiri, orphans and vulnerable children, according to estimation, are roaming the streets in Nigeria, most particularly in the Northern region and Southern region respectively, begging for food. This indeed, is a disgrace to our regions and nation among the globe.”
She added that relegating children to Almajiri system is tantamount to child abuse and violation of their fundamental rights as granted by Nigeria’s constitution.
The National Chairperson of the Trade Union Congress Women’s Commission, Hajia Hafsat Shuaib, who commended the Kebbi State chapter for organizing the programme, appealed to all Nigerians not to perceive the problem of Almajiri as Northerners’ problem but an issue that must be solved by all citizens.
She disclosed that apart from sexual abuse, child abuse and other evil treatments they are subjected to on the streets, criminals are keeping their weapons and drugs with them during the day, which they could not resist because of their peculiar situation.
She therefore called on, parents, traditional rulers, religious leaders to see these children as theirs, stressing that: “In Africa, a child is a child to all of us because we have the culture to nurture the children irrespective of whom their parents are “.
Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal said the state will work on remodeling the almajiri education system and not abolish it.
During the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, northern governors took a hard stance against the almajiri system, with many children relocated to their home states.
Speaking on the adaptation of the Indonesian Pondok system into the Almajiri-Islamiyya educational system in the state, Tambuwal said his administration will ensure that the initiative is implemented.
“We are not aiming to ban the almajiri qur’anic education system as some people have urged the Sokoto state government to emulate other states.”
“We are striving to provide reasonable solutions to the challenges and with the present initiative, the time has come.”
The governor added that the review of the almajiri education system will also contribute to reducing the number of out-of-school children in the country.
On her part, Maryam Uwais, special adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on National Social Investment Programmes, commended the initiative.
“The huge numbers of marginalized youths and children who have no education, school dropouts who have no skills, have contributed to the dismal outcomes of security challenges,” she said.
“The challenges also include females who face incidents of gender-based violence, along with cases of early marriages arising from lack of education, which leads to diminished opportunities.”
She said the Pondok system focuses on character development and addressing socioeconomic challenges faced by children, as well as contributing to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Pondok system is a form of Muslim education practiced in Indonesia.
While declaring the programme open, Kebbi State governor, Atiku Bagudu, represented by the Permanent Secretary in charge of Establishment, Training and Pension, Dr. Isa Muhammed, condemned child-abuse and relegation of children to the Almajiri system; adding that the present administration has done a lot for women and child development through the Ministry of Women Affairs.
Source:Patmosmedia online
