The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, has condemned the present state of the Almajiri system in the northern part of the country, describing it as embarrassing and needing total condemnation.
The Sultan stated this on Thursday during the graduation ceremony of 1,897 Almajiri and 1,087 out-of-school adolescent girls at Sultan Maccido Institute of Quranic and General Studies, Sokoto.
The program, organised by the Sokoto State Arabic and Islamic Education Board with support from UNICEF and the Eleva Foundation, aimed to empower the Almajiri and out-of-school adolescent girls in the state.
Represented by the Ciroma of Sokoto, Alhaji Aliyu Abubakar, the Sultan said it is the right time for traditional rulers to take a stand against street begging in the name of Almajiri.
He said, “I believe we have a greater task; it is not a small thing, and we should tackle it collectively.
“I cannot define why someone should come from one local government to move to another place to learn Arabic. Don’t we have schools, mallams in that local government?”
He further said, “We traditional rulers also went to schools. It is distressing to see children being sent to Sokoto from some villages without food. When I visited the Arabic school, I was shocked at their level of malnutrition.
“I advise parents to start sending their children to a nearby school or centre where they can take care of their wards, as opposed to the present practice.
“We should remember that on the day of judgement, we will all be asked to account for how we took care of the children given to us.
“We traditional rulers are ready to support UNICEF and other partners to find solutions to these menaces affecting our community.”
Also speaking, the District Head of Gagi community in Sokoto State, Alhaji Sani Umar Jabi, condemned the street-begging form of Almajiri, which he said is un-Islamic.
He said Almajiri in the Hausa language can be referred to as students of the Arabic language, which he said has nothing to do with street begging.
He called on parents and guardians to stop sending their wards to Islamic teachers with the aim of fending for themselves.
“Our religion does not support giving birth to children we cannot take care of. We should stop using the name of our noble religion for street begging.
“Street begging is not part of our religion, and we should stop making use of such practices; it should be discarded with immediate effect.
“Let me also advise us: the religion does not compel us to marry wives we cannot take care of.”
Also speaking, the State Commissioner for Education, Tukur Alkali, said the state government is working on vocational and entrepreneurship training for more Almajiri and out-of-school adolescent girls.
The commissioner, represented by the Executive Secretary of the Sokoto State Arabic and Islamic Education Board, Alhaji Ahmad Baba Altini, said the state government has set up a team to monitor the implementation of the program in the state.
The highlights of the program were the presentation of certificates to the graduating students and the display of some of their handiwork.
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