Wasting away

The army of young and teenage boys roaming the streets of the northern states seems to increase in bounds. They are known as Almajiris or Al Muhajirun, which, according to Wikipedia, can be translated to mean persons who leave their homes in search of Islamic knowledge. Western educational system has not been able to supplant this age-old itinerant system of education in the north.

It is reported that approximately seven million almajiris are on the streets of the north of Nigeria, especially in the urban areas. This organised system of Islamic learning is said to have collapsed after the British introduced Western system of education, as funding for it was abolished. Today, these young people, usually boys, are made to roam the streets, begging for alms to fend for themselves and their teachers.

Often, most of them stray and never return to the ‘school’. They scavenge for sustenance and would do anything and the bidding of just anyone to stay alive. There was a photograph published in a national newspaper recently of almajiri kids in Gombe feeding directly off the ground. A food vendor had spilled her porridge on the road and they had been photographed mopping the spill.

Efforts to address this scourge have been on-going for quite some time, though they may not have gained the required momentum. Most notable was the spirited attempt by the President Goodluck Jonathan administration to integrate the almajiris into structured learning systems which sought to fuse both the western and Islamic systems.

Launched in April, 2012 at Gagi, Sokoto State, the Almajiri Education Programme was designed to modernise the Almajiri education system and make school more attractive to the children. It was also to address the high rate of illiteracy in the north through the building of integrated model schools.

The schools were to be equipped with modern facilities, conducive classrooms, language laboratories, recitation hall, dormitories, modern toilets, clinic, vocational workshop, dining hall and quarters for teachers, among other facilities and equipment. About 139 of these schools were reportedly built by 2015, out of a proposed 400, at the cost of N15 billion.

Unfortunately, most of these schools are said to lay waste today. They are said to be abandoned and overgrown by weeds in most cases. Though many state governments in the north claim otherwise and indeed point to their efforts at sustaining the peculiar educational needs of the street boys.

Kano State reports that it runs about 12 almajiri schools spread across 10 local government areas. It also claims it has 21,000 Local Qur’anic Schools with over 10 million students.

The Sokoto State government is reported to have developed about 11 Almajiri Integrated Model Schools (AIMS). The government also created the Department of Almajiri Integrated Schools which formulates policies and drives the vision.

Bauchi reportedly boasts of the highest number of interventions with about 35,000 Qur’anic centres and 500 almajiri schools in the state. According to officials, pupils in these schools no longer learn recitation and memorise Qur’an alone; they also no longer move from house to house begging for food and money for food and for their teachers. Today, the pupils are fed and their teachers receive monthly stipends.

From the foregoing, it would appear that most states of the north have brought some vision, ingenuity and will to bear on the almajiri conundrum which may be rightly said to have become a scourge on the society. We dare suggest that there is need for concerted efforts of the elite and governments of the region to tackle the problem.

A common legislation may be in order. A common road map and funding strategies would also help. The Federal Government, individuals, international and multilateral agencies would be on hand to render support. But there must be a will on the part of the governments and critical northern stakeholders to wring the necessary change first, in the interest of all.