Ganduje’s Almajiri theory

KANO State governor, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, stoked controversy recently when he averred that most of the Almajirai roaming the streets in the northern part of the country were not Nigerians. Declaring open a three-day retreat organised by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) with the theme Enhancing Basic Education in Nigeria towards a Robust Institutional Strengthening and Effective Stakeholder Engagement in Kano, Ganduje said: “A lot of them are foreigners from Niger Republic, Chad and Cameroon. From the survey we have conducted, most of the Almajiri roaming our streets are from Niger, Chad and the northern part of Cameroon. Once you improve the quality of the Almajiri education system, you are inviting other Almajiri from other places to come to your state. That is another problem. The northern governors are putting more pressure (sic) toward having a universal legislation that will limit migration from one state to another.”

As we noted in previous editorials, the Almajiri phenomenon ostensibly started as a win-win for all concerned. A parent willfully handed over their child or ward to an Islamic scholar with the understanding that the scholar, typically a local Imam or suchlike authority that was well-versed in the Quran and the Hadith, would be responsible for the religious and moral instruction of the pupil. The spiritual authority gained a supervisee, someone who, in theory, acquired enough knowledge to train the next generation; the parent, at least tentatively, was relieved of care for the child, while the society gained a properly groomed and morally grounded citizen. But there was a snag: the economics of the arrangement tended to be unspecified, since the local spiritual trainer could always count on the charity of the community for his upkeep. However, as we noted, the fact that this is not the way things have panned out across northern Nigeria, where the tradition has taken root over the past several decades, goes without saying. As the social prestige of the Islamic scholars in question diminished, so did the generosity of their immediate communities. The pupils were then forced onto the streets where they inevitably harassed ordinary citizens for food and money.

Against this backdrop, given what Nigerians know about the Almajiri as a phenomenon that constitutes social, political and economic disadvantage to the country, it would be quite necessary for the Kano State governor to provide further elaborations on his perspective. What study was he referring to and on what basis was the salient conclusion that the Almajiri problem is essentially a product of lax enforcement of immigration laws reached? With empirical observation, Ganduje’s theory can easily come to grief, but then it is still profitable to flip the question around and ask him what steps he has taken to tame the menace that he identified. If the majority of Almajirai roaming the streets of the North without any hope for the future are actually foreigners, why is Ganduje only just coming to grips with this fact? Assuming that the study that Ganduje referenced is in fact reliable, what steps has he taken to address the menace? Has he for instance brought his colleague governors up to speed on the ‘new discovery’ so that they can collectively work with the Federal Government to fashion out holistic solutions to the problem?

Has Ganduje reported his findings to the appropriate authorities, including the Nigeria Police, Department of State Security and, of course, the Nigeria Immigration Service? How did the horde of foreign Almajirai invade the country without any challenge as it were? It is salutary that Dr. Ganduje is implementing free and compulsory primary and secondary school education to tame the Almajiri phenomenon, but there can be no shying away from the immigration question. If children from Niger Republic, Chad and Cameroon are roaming the streets of Nigeria and constituting a nuisance, this is an open indictment on the country’s law enforcement agencies. Till date, Boko Haram continues to recruit young and impressionable minds into its fold, wreaking untold havoc.

To be sure, the Almajiri menace is essentially a product of the hypocrisy and irresponsibility of the political elite. During elections, for instance, the Almajiri are allowed to vote despite being underage, apparently with a view to giving undue advantage to unscrupulous politicians. Time and again, politicians in the North have boasted of their power and influence over the Almajiri. They have jeopardised the future of helpless  children for their own political advantage without any retribution. Unless and until politicians recognise and weigh the threat posed to the country by the Almajiri system above their personal political designs, the current pernicious situation is bound to persist.

We have not been persuaded to change our view that the Almajiri problem is one that northern states cannot hope to deport their way out of. It is a multifaceted problem with various religious, cultural, pastoral and other dimensions. Taking the Almajirai off the streets and giving them primary and secondary education should be an utmost priority, but so should criminalizing the parental and state irresponsibility that birthed the system in the first place.

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