Evacuation of Almajiri pupils for national good ― Yoruba World Congress

The Yoruba World Congress (YWC), an umbrella body of all self-determination groups and socio-cultural organisations of Yoruba descent worldwide on Wednesday stated that the evacuation of Almajiri pupils in hundreds to their respective states of origin by Northern governors is for the common good of the states and Nigeria in general, adding that it is time to end totalitarianism and over-centralisation which is the bane of the Nigerian federal system.

YWC in a statement signed by its Communication Secretary, Akogun Tola Adeniyi, stated that it has taken a studied notice of the recent compulsory evacuation of thousands of Almajiris throughout the 19 Northern states by respective state governors in the region, adding that the governors took advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic to give vent to their age-long dissatisfaction with the Federal Government’s meddlesomeness in the running of their respective primary education system.

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According to YWC, the “Almajiri educational system is a federal dictated, financed and controlled educational system for usually abandoned and wandering children scattered all over the vast mass of land in the Northern part of Nigeria and in sacking the Almajiri pupils and evacuating them in hundreds to their respective states of origin, Northern governors ‘vowed not to allow the system to persist any longer because of the social challenges associated with it including the perpetuation of poverty, illiteracy, insecurity and social disorder.”

YWC reiterated that this step is for the common good of the states and Nigeria in general, explaining that the drastic and bold steps taken by the 19 governors “to rid their region of security risks and social and economic malfeasance brought about by the ill-digested centrally controlled educational policies is a  notice to the heavily loaded government at the centre that time was up for Federal Government arm-twisting control of educational, state and local government schedules in Nigeria.

“Kano state evacuated 524 Almajiris to Jigawa state, 435 to Katsina state and several others to the Niger Republic whose education was being financed with Nigeria’s taxpayers’ money. Gombe state evacuated 700 in the first batch and escorted them out under heavy security to their states of origin. Each state in the North now determines their destinies.

“It is also a clarion call on all other regions in the country to send non-indigenous people that constitute a nuisance and epitomise grinding poverty back to their regions of origin so that each region can properly plan for their indigenous populations and remove the crushing burden imposed on them by Nigeria’s Unitary Government.

“Totalitarianism and ruthless over-centralization have been the bane of the Nigerian federal system of government which is federal only in name. And its time is over,” YWC said.

According to the group, this is the time to jettison self-serving policies like Quota System, Unity Schools, Federal Character, Education Trust Fund, Universities Commission, Universal Primary Education Board, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board and “several similar self-serving, corruption laden agencies smuggled into our peculiar federal system of government so that each region can determine their education system, their housing needs, their energy requirements, their roads and transportation priorities and food security requirements and of course internal security.”

YWC concluded that the Covid-19 pandemic, in spite of its cruelty, has brought about stark and compelling realities that show that after its departure, Nigeria and indeed the world shall never be the same again.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE