Governor El-Rufai Berates Almajiri System, Says It Has To End

The Governor of Kaduna state, Nasir El-Rufai,  has said that the Almajiri system has been a cause of concern to the North and to the nation as a whole.

“We’ve been looking at ways and means of ending this(almajiri) system because it has not worked for the children, it has not worked for northern Nigerian and  Nigeria; it has to end and this is the time,” the Governor said on a Channels Television programme, “Politics Today.”

According to him, allowing children to roam the streets, engage in street begging and waste away is  not the right way to go.

He said that  every Nigerian child needed sound education to become assets to society. 

“There is nowhere in the world where children go through this kind of system(almajiri) which does not give them life skills or prepare them for any modern education and create future problems for generations,” he said.

He also said that the abolishing of the system had the backing of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, adding that over 30,000 Almajiris had been repatriated to their states of origin, so far.

El-Rufai maintained that his decision to send Almajiris back to their states was for the good of the nation and that he was ready to face any criticism.

He also added that all Almajiris from Kaduna could return but that they must be brought in by the government of their respective states.

“We are ready for any backlash but we do not think we should mortgage the future of our children and put the region as well as Nigeria at risk.

“We are happy to receive any almajiris that are indigenous to Kaduna state, the only thing we ask is that they should be brought in on a bilateral basis, government to government,” he said.