The Foistering Of Almajiris By Northern Nigerian On Southern Nigeria, A Case Of The Later Wanting To Eat Her Cake And Have It

By  Malcolm Omirhobo

LAGOS MAY 23^RD  (NEWSRANGERS)-With utmost dismay , exasperation and disbelieve  I  have watched  and seen  several video clips,  and pictures on the social media and I have read several newspaper  publications and listen to   several   radio and television Broadcast  of how trailers loaded with hundreds  of ALMAJIRIS enter into the  Southern part of Nigeria to settle there as their new homes with the aid , facilitation  and encouragement of the Northern Traditional Rulers and Political Elites   .

This migration of innocent destitute and abused  children is very disturbing because it is  done    under the  most  inhuman and excruciating conditions  at the  heat of the Coronavirus pandemic during  the ban and restriction on  interstate movement to help combat the spread of  Coronavirus pandemic without any plan  for the  future or provisions for the well-being of the abused destitute children  and without considering the health , safety  and purse of their  host communities .

This  move by the North without mincing words  is inconsiderate,   criminal,  wicked , selfish , self centered  irresponsible , hypocritical and crab like mentality  with the  intention to impoverish and destabilise  other States of Nigeria in the South  South , South East and South West  Zones of Nigeria .

That I am a Pan Africanist and a   proponent of one Nigeria is  not in doubt  but then  I   dare say without ,  sentiments or emotions that  this , lazy , shameless and evil action of the Northern Traditional Rulers and Political Elites  should not be condoned  , tolerated or accepted  by the States were those poor  abused and vulnerable  children are dumped and abandoned  to fend for themselves  and thereby constitute nuisance   to the society because it is inimical to the positive growth of Nigeria.

To understand almajiri in contemporary Nigeria it is  imperative and instructive for us to have a background  knowledge of  what  Almajiri means and what it is all about .

Almajiri, formally called Tsangaya, is a precolonial   migratory system of Islamic education in Northern Nigeria where someone especially a child  leaves the comfort of his  his home in search of Islamic knowledge under the care and guidance  of a teacher for up to six years just   like  it is done in Egypt,  Pakistan  and so many other Moslem countries .These schools in the precolonial era were majorly  sponsored by the Emirates system, with the help of the 

community and parents  via alms giving  

With advent of  colonalisation  the British  colonial masters  refused to  recognise  the almajiri

system  of education   and stopped  official funding of it and replaced

it with a new system of Western Education called Boko.  

The British disruption of the almajiri system of education  notwithstanding ,  interest in it  remained the same in Northern Nigeria  even after the independence of Nigeria till today . In recent times however  because of the high population of children attending almajirischools,extreme poverty of parents to send their children to inclusive schools , no contributions from the community  and no funding from  Government  the students  are compelled by their teachers  to go  begging in the streets  to keep the system alive . The  introduction of begging has however  helped to  defeat the original purpose of the system as  students  spend more time looking for alms  and food  instead of learning.

As at   the end of the month of March  2020 before the exodus of almajiri to the South  there are over  18 million  almajiris  who  makes up the majority of   Nigerian Children presently out of school roaming the streets of Northern Nigeria

The system is not  rounded as it  fails to teach young children vocational skills to prepare them for the labour market . The system thus  promote youth poverty and delinquency as the children become a menace in the societies in which they live, as they have no formal education, very little means of survival and they are idle most of the time. 

Facing extreme child and sexual abuse, children under the current Almajiri education system are feeling abandoned ,  hungry , dejected and  annoyed at society and with this mind set and frame of mind they  become easily brainwashed by Terrorist , Bandits, unscrupulous politicians  and other criminal elements and organisations. A good example is the case of Abubakar Shekauho the leader of the Boko Haram , terrorist group who is a product of the Almajiri educational system 

The Northern political elites and traditional rulers being very much aware of the problem confronting the almajiri educational system did  nothing  to modernize or fund it  because of their Inordinate goal to maintain the feudal , olighacy and aristocracy of the North which they enjoy and preside over 

The Northern elites blind fold  their people with religion and improverise them by denying them access to Western education and better   economic opportunities  to afford to send their children to inclusive schools.

 The northern political elite are hypocritical hiding under the guise of  Shariah law  not only to  exploit the poor, but also manipulate them at will to achieve their selfish objectives.

 The  Northern political elites have  deliberately failed refused and or neglected to utilize  the  167  Almajiri Integrated Model Schools built  across the entire northern States of Nigeria  by the Federal government of Nigeria to integrate  and modernise the Almajaris system allowing the structures become wasted and  dilapidated due to lack of use .

Knowledge they say is power and if there is one thing  that the Northern  political elites and traditional rulers  does not  like at all  is to allow their people to  acquire  knowledge through western education .

These very few group of people deliberately ensure that the children of the poor in the North who are by far the majority  do not get the  basic education  that they are entitled to  knowing very well that these innocent children can become  neurologists,  architects,  political scientist ,  lawyers, doctors and so on and so forth  tomorrow to challenge them  so they fail to  tackle the poor state of education in the north. The attitudes and poor disposition of northern elite to enforcing formal education and 

 refusing to act is because they are afraid that their authority and control over the majority of the people who are poor, unemployed , ignorant and illiterate will be challenge.

They  encourage their adults to be  irresponsible fathers who leave their children on the streets without parental guidance .

They encourage the family values where fathers are not expected to be responsible for their children’s upkeep 

Imagine in  1999 12 States in 

 Northern   Nigeria declared themselves as Sharia States and   adopted the Sharia laws emhasizing  on   reforms  on. Muslim Criminal law like cutting off the hands  or legs of a thief and stoning to death  adulterous women  without thinking of reforming and modernizing the Almajari educational system for selfish reasons leaving the children on the streets as drug addicts, political thugs and tools for violent extremists.

They failed to Modernize the Almajari educational system to  involve acquisition of various skills to enable them participate more positively in the development of their immediate environment and the nation at large. 

They failed to integrate the almajiri pupils into government schools 

Today Almajrii is the bedrock of thuggery , political violence and electoral vices  , banditry 

, drug addiction, political Violence and Radicalization in North Nigeria .

Small wonder why today the North does not see Boko haram  as a terrorist issue but one of a social problem .  Small wonder  why Boko haram  members are being referred to as our people who can kill others but must not be killed . Small wonder why Boko haram must be equated and likened to the Militants of the Niger Delta and must be recruited into the Nigerian Army or fully  integrated into the society at all cost with the tax payers money and our common wealth. Small wonder why Boko haram members  must  be flown in Nigerian Jet plane and must be sent abroad to study . Same goes for the Bandits who are allowed to kill others but must not be touched . If we must be honest with ourselves 90 out of every 100 Boko haram member  and bandits   are  products of  the almajiri system of education .

Having help build and nurture  the Almajiri monster  to maturity , the Northern political elites and traditional rulers wants to transport it to foreign land to reck havoc on others who have been disciplined and prudent  with their lives for them to suffer for the indiscipline and imprudence  of the North.

For all intents and purposes.

this cynical  imposition by the North of their children  on the South must be resisted  by the South through  legal and lawful  means with love and affection  and without violence or rancor . If the South takes in this batch of children they  will be  setting a dangerious precedence  and irreverseable benchmark  and will not be able to stop future reoccurrence ? 

 I submit therefore that as long as we  have no right to  teach the North  birth control  or stop them from marrying many wives and procreating  indiscriminately without means to cater for their children  and as long as we cannot stop their value system that encourage  and  allows men to abandon and neglect their children then  we must not start what we cannot finish. 

 In the interim , I commend  the Nigerian public for speaking out and  all the Southern States of Nigeria  that have objected to this  wanton child abuse of Nigerian children by the Northern political elites and traditional rulers and state with all seriousness that  for once the North   must not be indulged by South . They must not as always be allowed to eat their cake and have it back and  they must this time be made to.lie on their beds the way they lay them.

Long live Northern Nigeria 

Long live  Southern  Nigeria 

Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria 

Long live Africa

By Chief Malcolm Emokiniovo Omrhobo .

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