This article, which dwells on the urgent need to bring the alamjiris to the formal classroom system, is partly inspired by my concern to ensure that these children are integrated into the formal school system where they will receive sound education as their counterparts in the north and other parts of Nigeria. It is borne out of the fact that the almajiri system of education cannot offer any hope and meaningful future for any Nigerian child in the 21st Century world where everything, including education and living, are technologically-driven.
A world of science and technology has no ample room for the products of almajiri system of education. The competitive world of work, trade and politics can only be mastered and dominated by those who have acquired western education. And the only way one can attain this height is through formal education. For any Nigerian child to succeed in life, he needs at least nine years of basic education, six years for primary and three years for junior secondary school, which can only be provided in a formal school system. He can also aspire to go beyond this level if he has capacity to do so.
Apart from the efforts by the government to contain the rampaging COVID-19 pandemic, the almajiri system of education is something the government should worry about in view of its potential to cause social disharmony and perpetuate underdevelopment. The government of the concerned states and other stakeholders must work in concert to end the evil system, which cannot enhance the future of any child.
This article is also inspired by the concerns of the Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai and other northern governors to completely phase out the decadent almajiri system in the north. Those conversant with life in the northern part of the country can readily testify to the fact the almajiri system of education cannot guarantee any useful means of livelihood to those involved. They are aware that almajiri system breeds unruly and violent children who can easily be deployed to act as thugs or be used in occasions of political and religious crises which are common in the region.
They partake in these crises and at times carry them on their heads when in reality they know little or nothing about them. Most times, these children who can be regarded as street urchins or area boys act on instruction or on impulse to any cause determined by those who use them. They live a wretched life. Although Frantz Fanon may not have them in mind when he wrote his seminal work, The Wretched of the Earth, the almajiris can be described as the wretched of the earth.
They live a beggarly life and can easily take to drugs and sex. They can also be recruited for crimes. Without doubt whatsoever, the almajiri system portends present danger to the northern region and by extension to the entire country if nothing is quickly done to abolish and dismantle it forever. Those encouraging the system don’t actually mean well for the region and the country.
They are indirectly toying with the future of these children and consigning them to perpetual enslavement and worthlessness. No responsible parent will encourage his child to mortgage his future with the almajiri system of education in today’s world. Apart from being out of date, the almajiri system is meant to perpetuate the underclass people and permanently consign them to the margins of the society.
It is based on the foregoing that the recent decision of the northern governors to end the almajiri system of education should be appraised. The governors, especially Governor Nasir El-Rufai, must be commended for coming up with the decision to do away with this disruptive system which has not even helped the region and the country.
In his recent television appearance on Wednesday, on the issue, El-Rufai was so passionate about dismantling the system and integrating the children with their families and the formal school system. He was keen about receiving the almajiris of Kaduna state origin from other states. His state is expanding existing schools to accommodate them.
He must have other plans to ensure that these children are fully integrated into the society so that they won’t constitute any nuisance any more. There is no doubt that El-Rufai and other northern governors must have good plans to have these children back to the classroom. They should pursue that goal without let or hindrance. History will be kind to them as being in the forefront of the fight against the inhuman almajiri system.
It is good that the COVID-19 pandemic provided the governors the opportunity to make moves to dismantle the almajiri system. The governors must make elaborate plans to ensure that the children are reintegrated with their families as well as the formal school system as soon as possible. Each of the 19 northern states should come up with a legislation banning the almajiri system and making it compulsory for any child to attain basic education in the region.
Besides dismantling the almajiri system, there is need for public enlightenment on responsible parenting. This is hinged on the fact the parents should have the number of children they can cater. They should bring to the world the number of children they can train and make useful members of the society. The fact that over 13.2 million Nigerian children are outside the formal school system underscores the need for responsible parenthood.
The governors should enlighten their citizens on the special need to abolish the almajiri system in order to get their cooperation. They should also get the support of the parents of the children concerned so that together they can achieve the goal of stamping out the moribund system. Therefore, bringing the almajiris to the formal classroom, as the northern governors envisaged, will make them useful members of the society. It will also make them realise their individual goals in life. Bringing them to the classroom will largely reduce the growing number of the nation’s children reported to be out the formal school system. It will in no small measure reduce the illiteracy level in the country.
Bringing them back to the classroom will require adequate funding of the education sector. It requires prioritization of education by the governors. This means that the federal and state governments must stop the current lip service paid to the education sector. The federal and state governments must do everything humanly possible to revamp the education sector. Abolishing the almajiri system without adequate budgetary provision for their accommodation in the formal school system will be counter-productive. Therefore, let the governors work together to abolish the almajiri system once and for all.