The daily life of an almajiri in Bauchi

It is a common thing to see a group of boys mostly between the ages of four and 10 roaming the streets begging for what to eat. Some go from house to house while others can be seen at various locations holding bowls with which they have their collections which are mostly leftover foods with or without soup. They don’t discriminate on what they are given because they have no choice, a development that has endangered their lives considering the risks involved in what they do on a daily basis. That is the routine of the almjiris who combine begging with the learning of the Qur’an.

Many of the almajiris have been used as ready tools for various vices due to the fact that they go ahead to carry out the instructions given to them by people who hide under the guise of religion to make life unbearable for others. The menace of the almajiri is so pronounced in the Northern part of the country even though many Islamic scholars have come out to preach against the practice, declaring that it is unIslamic and cannot be backed up in the Qur’an, though the search for Islamic knowledge is encouraged in the holy book.

Allaramma Musa Saidu, who is a Qur’anic teacher in Kafi village of Bauchi Local Government,  said that the issue of almajiri had remained a problem in the North due to the fact that some so-called scholars had misinterpreted what the Qur’an teaches as regards the search  for knowledge,  pointing out that it was true that every Muslim was encouraged to seek knowledge in order to enable him or her understand the religion better, the issue of allowing under aged children to roam the street begging was not part of it.

He added that he had been teaching the Qur’an for a very long time but he did not allow his students to go begging because according to him, “whenever any parent brings his ward to me for teaching I always tell him that he has to provide for all his needs so that such a boy will not go out on the street to beg. I am against begging on the street rather we go to the farm to produce what we will be eating throughout the year. We also take donations from individuals who have the spirit of giving and deem it necessary to come to our aid from time to time”.

While at Bayara, another Islamic scholar who did not want his name in print but agreed to speak on the issue, lamented that the issue of almajiri had become a terrible problem in the North because, according to him, many scholars were not getting it right due to their selfish tendencies, pointing out that the religion of Islam does not encourage begging while seeking Qur’anic knowledge, adding  that the children were exposed to various forms of hazards in the course of going about begging.

The Islamic teacher, who operates a Qur’anic school in the area, said that non of his students was allowed to go about begging even though they did go out to engage in jobs that would fetch them money, pointing out that he had a farm which was cultivated every year in order to produce the food that would sustain the students all the year through, while people around the neighborhood also complemented with donations and gifts from time to time.

Adamu Dan Iya is a parent in Gwallameji, whose children attend a Qur’anic school in the area. He said that he had never allowed his children to go begging for food because according to him, “why should I allow my children to go begging just because, they want to acquire Qur’anic knowledge? It is uncalled for considering the dangers involved, some of these almajiris have been knocked down by motorists in the course of running after food.”

He advised all parents who wanted to send their children to Qur’anic schools to provide for their upkeeps particularly if they were taking them far away from home, adding that the teachers should be told in clear terms not to allow the children brought to them  to go out for begging in order not to expose them to the inherent dangers associated with such wanderings.

Another parent, Mallam Tukur Adamu of Inkil village, said that the issue of the Almajiri has been misinterpreted and misconceived from what it was meant to be explaining that the system has been basterdised as some so-called Islamic teachers used it as a way of exploitation by sending the innocent children on the street for begging, adding that in some extremes, the children would not dare eat whatever they got from the begging until they brought it back home to the teachers who used it to feed their own immediate families, a development he said was contrary to the teachings of the Qur’an.