So much has been said but with little meaningful development has been made by our political leaders in addressing the challenge of almajirinci.
For the benefit of a non-Muslim faithful who may not comprehend the much-touted word of almajiri or almajirinci. It is a concept of emigrating to seek knowledge. It has it root in Islamic missionary where an individual travel to acquire knowledge with a renown Muslim scholar. In contemporary context mostly practice in sub-Sahara Africa, a child of less than 15 years is taken by his parent or guardian to go and live with an Islamic teacher to learn the rudiment of Islamic knowledge and practice. Basically teaching the Holy Qur’an, teaching and practice of the Prophet Muhammad(PBUH). The ward is sent far away from his abode to a town or country where he/she is completely a stranger to himself by his parent or guardian.
On this occasion of emigration, the parent does not accompany the child with any food nor money but little personal clothing that is most time insufficient to withstand all year around seasonal weather of rain or harmattan. The children from the various families, towns, tribes, states and countries are left in the custody of the Islamic teacher (Mallam) to feed, clothe and shelter them without any meaningful contribution from either the parent, the communities nor the government. This teacher commits nothing rather than choosing to impact religious knowledge on kids at a scheduled time daily excluding Thursdays and Fridays. The Mallam or teacher as you choose to address them, like every private individual in any society has his personal family of wives and children to cater for daily. No one care if the teacher(Mallam) has needs, dreams or desires all we care is that the teacher(Mallam) has surrendered his destiny to God and shall have his reward in Heaven (Allah -Rhama) and if he dares to complain aloud about his economic predicament or seek a change to these anomalies is viewed with disdain, callous and materialistic and scolded as unprepared for his calling.
It is expected that the parent or guardian of this ward come to pick them up during the Islamic holidays like the entire month of Muslim fasting (Ramadan), Eid Kabir and Eid Adha but most at times they do not show up to pick their kid back home. Leaving these children on their volition and the benevolence of the community. The parent could excuse themselves on the strength of economic hardship. The silence of a respondence is a message, passing on the burden of care and responsibility to the teacher(Mallam).
This act does not amount to lack of care but stared from economic hardship and poverty on the parent or guardian back home. If it has become mandatory, the teacher(Mallam) is expected to source for money or means to convey the child to his parent or be responsible for whatever has become of the child. this is largely the routine until the child learns how to recite the Qur’an, commit wholly to memorize or part thereof and basic Islamic etiquette until he grows to adulthood. By this time the parent may pick back the child. The child may go for further Islamic or western/Islamic education, learn a trade or any artisan of his means and whatever becomes of the individual destiny.
This is the system that produces most Northern Muslim elite toda be it political or traditional elite. Before the coming of the western system of education. This was the system in practice, before the coming of European and the partition of Africa to form the present-day Nigeria. Almajiri system was the system in pre-colonial Nigeria. It is pertinent to note that in the pre-colonial and colonial era, almajiri system was able to produce the likes of Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, IBB and the like. what has so much gone wrong over the short period that the system that produced most Northern elite is being vilified, mocked and malign by its benefactor?
The answer lies in accountability, visionary and responsible leadership. In the Pre-colonial Nigeria, the Northern traditional rulers and elite operating the feudal system had a firm grip of their society, were able to see the future and mobilize their community and guide them toward adjusting to the new development that has come to impact their way of life. Sending children to acquiring the novel western education aside from the Islamic education. During this era the leadership lias and catered for the welfare of the Islamic teacher which trickle down to their student and there were direct synergy and corporation between the traditional ruling elites and the Mallams, keeping them abreast with any policy direction.
With the colonization of Nigeria and the subsequent struggle and gaining of independence, the traditional ruling elite lost its constitutional authority and sovereignty to the western style political elite which was to bring to the feudal system in the North. Ironically, the new bourgeois that emerges out of the colonial structure viewed most traditional institution with suspicion and disparage traditional rulers. Which underpinned why most traditional rulers choose to stay quiet on most issues that concern their constituency or follow the tide or be booted by the new sheriff in town. However, what has the new political elite, in other words, our politicians done with power and resources now in their control?
Is the President Muhammadu Buhari, Northern Governors, Aliko Dangote, Abdulsamad Dantata, Muslims of means and will and the over 100 million Muslim citizens of Nigeria lacking the resources, wisdom, policy, tenacity to deal with almajirinci or sheer lack of will, timidity or hypocrisy. This is the moral question for the Muslim faithful in this Holy Month of Ramadan. The state of affairs as obtain in Muslim dominated state of Nigeria is unislamic and has more with Hausa-Fulani oligarchy than benefit any ordinary Northerner.
While the world had moved past the era of solving problem through crude and absolute means, our political elite is displaying high level of crudeness, ineptitude and disdainful method to a potentially dangerous challenge that will stair us in the face in the near future. Engaging in meaningless recrimination has never been a solution to challenges that demand display of wisdom, sacrifice and statesmanship.
The use of words such as almajirinci, almajiri, Allahrhama by Northern Governors and the popularization of such words in this context does amount to lack of knowledge or better word or adjective but a deliberate attempt to cover their failure, ineptitude and lack of wisdom. This explains why Northern Nigeria, despite ceaseless political, economic and human capital continue to lag behind in terms of human and socio-economic development. These socioeconomic inequalities in Northern Nigeria in terms of access to standard minimum level of living is what needs to be addressed, this is the remote cause of insecurity in the North. Instead, the politicians are more concern with their personal and political security than the welfare and security of their constituents and the country at large.
It is reprehensible to treat an infant the way these children are being treated. It is an abuse in this modern time and era by those who claim to had acquired the modern, western civilization to direct and superintend over the maltreatment of these children against all social norms. The world is silent, the few who dare to speak like the Northern traditional rulers are ignored. Where are the child right advocate, where is the human right activist, where is humanity? Is it because they are Muslims and kids the capture transfers and inhumane movement of this children are a violation of their constitutional right most especially chapter IV that guarantees a citizen fundamental rights, child right Act and every civilize norms and custom.
A responsible government cannot and should not be talking about ending the almajiri system without a commiserate solution in terms of needs and value. What policy and structure did our government in Federal and State level have in place before taking the children from their known location to a new location without proper arrangement for their immediate, short and long-term need in terms of feeding, clothing, shelter and education. The government is engaging in this activity without considering the child’s safety and welfare and sending them to their parent without prior notice or consent.
I think the government are running away from their own shadow as they are not willing to commit the resources needed to address this problem thereby just window dressing and making rhetoric statement which is not necessary at this moment considering the bitter lesson from the emergence of Boko Haram, banditry and the high level of economic and security challenge overwhelming the North at the moment. A child that grows under his kind of condition of hunger and poverty tend to be overwhelmed with innate anger and prone to violence and the situation match a perfect breeding ground for mischief-makers.
Better late than never, a stitch in time saves nine, Nigeria political elite by extension Northern Governors should come up with practical policy that will address the large population living in poverty and misery and direct policy towards remedying the lack of skilled, semi-skilled population that can take meaningful advantage of its population of the world and grow its economy on labour, export a better equip and inform labour to the world.
The federal government acclaimed almajiri school initiated by President Goodluck Jonathan should be expanded and reinvigorated to accommodate these children and their teachers to teach both western and Islamic education simultaneously under a boarding school programme and the state should assimilate the teachers into the state civil service.
Policy should be made in synergy with traditional and Muslim leaders and scholars to curtail the abuse of marriage and marriage institutions as applied in other Muslim majority countries and create a firm policy to protect family and marriage institutions.
Abubakar Usman Yahaya
Political Science B.Sc, ABU
[email protected]
