Mwuese Shakyaa
Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, wants the National Assembly to outlaw the Almajiri system permanently.
Sule says the practice fuels Northern Nigeria’s exploding out-of-school population and worsening insecurity.
The Governor made the call in Abuja during a Summit on Enhancing Human Capital Development in Northern Nigeria.
Nigeria faces an immense education emergency, with an estimated 18.3 million out-of-school children. The Almajiri system in Northern Nigeria is the single largest structural contributor to this problem.
Recent data reveals that Almajiri children make up roughly 72% to 81% of Nigeria’s total out-of-school population, concentrated largely in the Northern parts of the country.
But addressing the problem requires a total collaboration of the Northern intelligentsia, the political class, and the traditional system.
Governor Abdullahi Sule, is warning that many minors recruited into banditry graduated from the Almajiri system.
His State, Nasarawa, accounts for about four hundred and thirty thousand (430,000) of that figure.
Governor Sule recalled the 2020 mass repatriation of Almajiri children by Nasarawa and Kaduna States and notes that enforcement requires alternative solutions.
His proposal is radical, and it is a total ban of the almajiri system, and a replacement with mandatory formal education and skills acquisition.
The Governor is now urging Northern leaders to turn summit discussions into actionable draft Bills.
He believes policy changes are the only way to defeat regional poverty.
(Editor: Ken Eseni)