Nigeria

By Abubakar Aminu Ibrahim

Qatar is a peninsular Arab country whose terrain comprises an arid desert, and a long Persian (Arab) submerse shoreline of tantalising sceneries. It is also an industrial country with ultramodern architecture, dawning from its ancient Islamic infrastructure.

Doha, Qatar’s capital city, is well known for its elfin skyscrapers and alluring shores. It is a world-class capital city, home to the limestone Museum of Islamic Art. Thanks to the World Cup tournament, the oil-producing country is ready to spread its dominance by hosting the global spectacle this year.

However, this write-up is not purposely to eulogise Qatar or its capital city, nor attempt to lay statistical predictions of the World Cup tournament. No! But if you are an intending immigrant, if you have started giving a deposit to an agent that will take you to Qatar as a worker, if your dream is to get to Qatar and share all the pictures on WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram, then fasten your seat belt. The ride is yours.

First of all, let me clarify one thing for you, my friend. Having a dream is not wrong at all; it is, in fact, something inherent in all of us. On the contrary, having the vision of migrating to any country is not wrong. So, chase your dream and work for it. However, you must be careful enough not to be fooled, enslaved and handcuffed by projections and assumptions. If you go anywhere, ensure you hold yourself tied to your honour and integrity. Make sure that your personality as a human is assured.

I write this piece to enlighten some of my people who intend to migrate, especially to Qatar. Qatar is a veiled bride if you are a third-class groom! This write-up shall unveil the bride.

This is an output of research that dip into the plight of migrants in Qatar. Perhaps, emigrants suffer in different places worldwide for specific reasons, but Qatar is uniquely infamous for its treatment of migrants.

 I watched a series of documentaries that taped agonising stories of how blacks and Asians are maltreated in Qatar. Usually, our people cooperate with agents and pay a lot of money to process their migration to countries like Qatar. Contracts are signed with promises, such as shelter, food and a monthly salary. Such deals are always mouth-watering to suffering Nigerians and others across developing countries. But they always come with unbearable prices.

 If you refer to how this write-up described Qatar in the opening lines, the least you should expect from such a country is having almost zero judicial systems that will handle civil charges in courts. But not until 2018 did the city of Doha get a labour court parlour with only six judges to address complaints of its migrant workers. It is even more baffling to hear that the labour court in Doha admitted that out of over two thousand complaints, only sixty-nine were processed (wow!).

These complaints are, in most cases, against host companies of these migrant workers whose salaries are withheld for months. Ibrahim (a Kenyan migrant in Qatar) laments in a France 24 documentary that he and his co-workers received no pay for over three months, and this practice is regular. He added that they were promised good living conditions, food and timely salaries in the contract they signed, but none of these was ever honoured. Worse still, their passports were seized, meaning they could not return home at will.

In another interview with some Philippinos working under a Qatari lady, they said that day was their first day off in their three years of work. Another one cried that he would not want his people to see his condition, and he sometimes goes out at night to snap some happy pictures, even though the police sometimes chase him!

It is disheartening that even in airports, Qatari security agents embarrass travellers and deny them basic provisions, especially if their visitor holds passports from an African country, especially a Nigerian one.

An undersecretary for the Minister of Labour admitted that despite having a tribunal now, some business leaders are opposed to them. Therefore some of the policies are purely and only theoretical. Some migrants taped in court waiting rooms appear visibly hopeless and helpless.

All these are only some of the realities in Qatar, only the victims of this ancient way of thinking can tell you how it feels to be denied your fundamental rights as a human just because of your skin colour or social status. The Doha News proclaimed how migrants build almost all the infrastructures in the country. Yet, when workers die at construction sites, the only tribute they get is having their pictures pasted on a wall. Thanks to the mobile stadium constructed for the World Cup, hundreds of people sacrificed their lives to win bread for their families.

In the final analysis, I aim to make you pause and pose a question for yourself: in what capacity are you migrating? Who are you going to work for? What type of job are you looking for? How are you planning to return home if things do not work out? But, on the other hand, what is your reward at the end if things are working?

Think twice. It is said in Hausa, “tsalle daya a ke a fada rijiya, amma sai an yi dubu ba a fito ba“, which means it takes a single jump into a well, but one will jump a thousand times without getting out.

Abubakar Aminu Ibrahim wrote from Katsina via matazu247@gmail.com.

By Muhammadu Sabiu and Auwal Umar

Nigeria has received 31 tonnes of humanitarian help from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), including food and other necessities of life.

According to the UAE’s news agency, the assistance has been delivered to help Nigerians, primarily women and children, who were harmed by the recent floods that ravaged 34 of the country’s 36 states.

Dr Fahad Obaid Al Taffaq, UAE’s ambassador to Nigeria, said, “This is part of the UAE’s solidarity with Nigeria and its people in facing the impact of the floods and the casualties and material damages they caused.

“It reflects the close relations between the two countries and the leading role of the UAE in extending a helping hand to countries affected by natural disasters and the effects of climate change worldwide, including throughout Africa.”

This year, Nigeria saw the worst floods in ten years, which have been attributed to excessive rain and the discharge of the Lagdo dam in neighbouring Cameroon.

Over 600 people were killed, and 1,546 were injured by floods that occurred last month.

By Abba Abdulwahab Danmaraya

Congratulations to all my colleagues and friends who have recently finished their National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme. I wish you success in your career, and may Allah bless the certificates you have acquired. Your number is too enormous for me to follow each of you and extend my wish but when you come across this piece, bear in mind that it’s for you.

As you achieve another record/milestone in your life journey, I want to advise you to embrace skills and apprenticeship and engage in any small business that comes your way. When you do that faithfully with God’s blessings, the big and lucrative ones you so desire may come to you.

You don’t need to be told about the hardship people experience in Nigeria. The saturated labour market and the job racketeering that’s going on in the country are under the watch of those who can make things right, but since it favours most of them and their loved ones, they allow it to continue the bad way.

You shouldn’t be carried away by the mentality of some graduates and refuse to work hard. Instead, get as much connection as possible, learn new things and improve the quality of your thought by thinking outside the box.

Today life has proven to us it is not only about how hard you work but also how brilliant you think/work. The certificates you possess don’t matter in getting you a job in most places in Nigeria if you have connections but also you can also be welcome to so many places if you can offer many things, create and work smarter.

Even on this social media, when used correctly and with caution, you will meet with many things, people, and items that will help shape and mould you to be a better version of yourselves. With your smartphones, you will learn a lot, and you can also generate more money and maximise your income when you manage your time and thought.

Abba Abdulwahab Danmaraya wrote via saniabdulwahabdanmaraya@gmail.com.

By Aishat M. Abisola

As everyone knows, maintaining a proper grasp of your mental health can be difficult, especially in stressful environments. Stressful situations make it hard for people to have good mental health, making the mind vulnerable to mental illnesses like depression or anxiety disorder.

As someone who has dealt with anxiety, I can say with complete honesty that it is a terrible thing to deal with and the feeling of it lingers for a while until you feel better.

The best way to describe the anxiety, or how it made me feel, is that it made me feel cold and numb. It was hard for me to breathe as if I was drowning and many hands were pulling me down.

I didn’t know anyone around me who felt the same way I did, so it was a struggle for me. Luckily, I found a way around it, which was through exercise.

I’ll be honest and say that I don’t exercise as much as I used to, but when I did, I felt as if I had no worries. So I understand if you might be confused about why and how I started feeling better with exercise.

What you should know about exercise is that it keeps people in peak physical form and improves their overall well-being by creating changes in the brain.

Let me clarify that any form of exercise is better than none: yoga, walking, swimming, martial arts, stretching, and housework (despite what some may think, things like sweeping and mopping can put your muscles to work).

People who often exercise generally sleep better, feel more energetic during the day, have better memories, and feel more positive about themselves.

This is not conjecture, but facts, as studies have shown that exercise can treat mild or moderate depression the same way antidepressant medication can – minus the side effects. For example, walking 15 minutes a day or walking for an hour reduces the risk of depression by 26%.

Inactivity damages your mental health in the same way that exercise can bring many benefits to your mental health. As a natural anti-anxiety treatment, exercise relieves stress and improves physical and psychological energy. In addition, exercise releases what I refer to as the body’s “Happy” chemicals (Serotonin, Endorphins).

These chemicals are known for improving one’s mood, and exercise releases a particular amount depending on the type of exercise.

Exercise also improves physical in more ways than one:

• Improves cardiovascular health by lowering blood pressure, improving cholesterol levels, and reducing the risk of strokes, heart attacks, and heart disease.

• Helps with diabetes by improving blood glucose control, reducing cardiovascular risk factors, helping with weight loss, and delaying/preventing the development of type 2 diabetes.

• Reduces the risk of cancers: stomach cancer, breast cancer, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, uterine (endometrial) cancer, etc.

• Improves bone health by strengthening the muscles and bones because ageing causes bone density loss and prevents osteoporosis.

• Increase the chances of living longer.

• Helps you to maintain an appropriate weight level.

• Improves brain functions and reduces the risk of dementia.

When it comes down to exercise, at most, you should perform 2.5 – 5 hours of exercise a week.

It isn’t recommended that you do your exercise all at once. Instead, reducing it into time intervals would be best to make it easier. If you don’t have much spare time, here are ways that you can exercise without it taking up too much time:

• You can try walking or cycling if you have a bicycle.

• Incorporate exercise into your daily lifestyle by maybe taking the stairs when you would probably take the elevator or parking your car (if you have one) far from your destination.

• You can practice yoga by searching on YouTube and following the videos through the motions.

• You can exercise in the morning before you prepare for work.

• Dancing is a fun method of exercising without putting much effort. Just play music and move your body.

If you have a chronic condition like arthritis, a disability, weight issues, or an injury that prevents you from moving too much, talk to your doctor about ways for you to exercise safely. You can worsen your condition by exercising without consulting a doctor on the proper steps.

Another thing to note is that if you are feeling pain while exercising, stop and rest. Drink some water and lie down. If the pain continues, don’t ignore it. Go and see a doctor for help.

If you’ve heard the saying “Health is Wealth” before, then you know that you should prioritize your body. Harming yourself to improve your mental health will only make it worse.

Exercise may be helpful to the body and mind, but make sure to listen when your body clearly says, “NO!”.

Aishat M. Abisola is a member of the Society for Health Communication, Wuye District, Abuja. She sent this article via aishatmohd02@gmail.com.

By Hassan Idris 

As students of sociology and criminal justice, we can’t debunk the fact that social control is a compelling discussion subject in the criminal justice system.  There has not been any society that exists without a social control mechanism to oversee the behaviours of its members. The Nigerian police, my discussion subject, is regarded as the ‘gatekeeper’ of the criminal justice system because it’s the nearest social control mechanism to the people. However, social control is unarguably the most preponderant static aspect of every human society. It’s the prerequisite for maintaining decorum, orderliness, and stability, which becomes a vital thing for every human society to develop a social control mechanism, be it formal or informal, to oversee the behaviour of the members of the society and bring about development and stability.

Marshall, in 1996 defined Social control as “the process of keeping individuals in check, moderating their behaviours, and maintaining social order”. Social controls tend to encompass the strategies and mechanisms put in place to oversee the behaviours of the members of human society. Social control is the birth of human social relationships which may be informal (comprising written norms, values, or customs) or formal (typically practised by the personnel of constitutionally acknowledged agencies. But we cannot discredit that formal and informal social control mechanisms are derived from the habituation and rationalization that arises from repeated interaction. 

Okoye, in 2011 posited that the word” Police” comes from the Latin word politic, which means” civil administration”.  However, the first Professor of Criminology in Nigeria from the Prestigious Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria-Nigeria, Professor Odekunle, in 2010,  defined the police as “the government officials most proximate to crime, temporally and procedurally, and the leading figures in crime prevention, control and law enforcement processes”. The fundamental objectives of policing in society are to provide security, or at least a social and psychological feeling of security, for a majority of citizens, in a majority of places, and for most of the time. The police, the “gatekeeper” of the criminal justice system in all contemporary societies, is the most apparent agent of formal social control. This is why Bittner, in 1990, asserted that “social control and reactions to deviance are intimately bound up with the functions of the police because they all address the central problem posed by events or behaviour which ought not to be happening”. 

However, the fact remains that the police assist other social control agencies through many of their actions. The paramount role the police play in ensuring societal laws, norms and values are kept and regulated made it one of the cogent institutions of the criminal justice system. Most Nigerians would not refute that the police institution is the nearest institution with regular contact with the people, making it distinctive amongst other criminal justice institutions. The uniqueness of the police clenches the evidence that its decision and action on the street or in society is vital to the existence of the criminal justice system. The police are the “gatekeeper” of the criminal justice system, and it decides who moves into the system and who comes out. Therefore, every action or activity carried out by the police have myriad and huge implications for the criminal justice system and other institutions.

Furthermore, to understand the contemporary Nigerian police and the anti-people administration they portend, it’s paramount to trace back to the history of policing and the colonial policies that influenced the current bureaucratic policing we have today. The history of policing predates the modification of the police as a permanent occupational group within bureaucratic institutions providing the primary state response to crime and disorder.  In the past, before the emergence of the contemporary police we have today, it was traditionally the duty of all adults in the community, especially male adults, to prevent, control, and guide people from internal and external inversion and aversion. However, the emergence of the state with its wide bureaucracies brought about centralization, hierarchical authority, power structure and professionalism and the traditional strategies of policing were transformed from everyone’s business to the state business.

The historical emergence of the conventional police over the globe occurred independently; nevertheless, the historical emergence of policing in Nigeria is categorized into three. The first category is the pre-colonial category which policing then includes the use of cults, messengers, secret societies and palace guards. Crime surveillance and curtailing then in Nigeria were executed by indigenous institutions which are regionally based.  The Northern and Southern Districts of the country’s system of policing were established on centralization and formalization. In the Northern parts of Nigeria, monopolized by the Hausa-speaking ethnic group, the Dogarai was employed as the bodyguards of the Sark( Emir or King). They refine full-time policing in the community. Under the leadership of the Dogarai, the Sarkin Dogarai was charged with capturing and disciplining offenders and protecting the town from internal and external invasions. Similarly, in the Yoruba-speaking ethnic group of Western Nigeria, the Ilari, Emese, or even the Aguven was responsible for apprehending or arresting criminals.

In the secondary category, which is the colonial period, the system and principles of policing changed and became anti-people. The vitality of establishing the formal police by the colonial masters was essentially to serve and protect their commercial interests and not the people. It’s a reason we have brutal and anti-people policing in Nigeria today. I’ll justify that in the next paragraph when I’m discussing the post-colonial category of policing. The third category, which is the post-colonial category, the leftover system in the pre-colonial category, which is anti-people policing, was still carried to this period, even when the colonial masters left, and this is evidence of why the style of law enforcement used by the Nigerian police today is not for the masses. 

The Nigerian police, without a doubt, have lost confidence in the hearts of the people, and there have been accused of unnecessary arrest and even breach of law. But we can’t deny that the Nigerian police from inception was built upon the wrong foundation because the British established a predatory police administration for Nigeria for the fundamental purpose and strategy of sustaining, promoting, and ensuring the socio-economic and political orientations and occupations of the colonial masters. 

In conclusion, the current pervasive feelings of insecurity and the near-total breakdown of law and order as a result of the upsurge in different criminal activities, like terrorism, kidnapping, armed robbery, political assassinations, and ritual killings, in Nigeria is an indictment of the failure of the Nigeria police force as the most visible agent of formal social control and the gatekeeper of the criminal justice system in the country. However, despite these shortcomings, the Nigerian police force remains a vital pillar through which conformity and maintenance of order are installed.

Hassan Idris is a sociologist and poet and sent this article via idrishassan035@gmail.com.

By Abdulhalim Ishaq Ringim

Yes, there’s about N2.73 trillion outside bank vaults. This figure represents 85% of the N3.23 trillion in circulation. However, it only represents 6.5% of more than N49 trillion that is in circulation.

Now, let’s consider Nigeria’s unbanked population which stands at 64 million according to World Bank’s “The Global Findex Database 2021: Financial Inclusion, Digital Payments, and Resilience in the Age of COVID-19” report.

What financial intelligence, as a matter of specificity, does the CBN have regarding the magnitude of the money circulating within this highly populous unbanked system. If we were to assume all the N2.73 trillion is in the hands of these unbanked population, then the amount of money on a per capita basis would be about N42,000. Is that too much?

But we all know this assumption is far from reality because the banked population also hold cash for transactionary and precautionary purposes(as in the case of emergencies). So let’s extend our assumption by adding 50% of the banked population to the unbanked population and let the final figure be the number of people who hold cash either because they are unbanked or because of other purposes as transactions and precautions. The per capita cash amount would reduce to N28,000. Is that also too much?

For the hoarding claims, economically speaking, what is the incentive of hoarding cash in Naira considering the continuous devaluation and inflationary trend that has been wiping the value of the Naira against the dollar when there are various hedging options available? Does the CBN have any tentative intelligence that suggest massive hoarding or is this just another trial and error policy?

But let’s also assume there’s indeed hoarding and some people are holding suspicious money. Have the CBN thought of the possibility that the hoarders might now be forced to consider hedging options by flooding the market with money in exchange for hedging-compatible commodities? Have they considered the inflationary tendencies of such an eventuality? Check Dr. Adamu Tilde’s most recent post to appreciate the happening in real world markets. Is the recent sharp rise of the dollar value also a consequence of such tendencies?

The risk of counterfeiting has always been present. The CBN confiscated N64.7 million and N56.8 million in 2019 and 2022 respectively. Compared to the money in circulation, are these figures significant enough to evoke the need for a currency redesign?

If it is for the purpose of managing inflation and ensuring the CBN contractionary monetary policies become more effective, then let’s assume they succeed in mopping up most of the cash outside banking vaults. Is it increased money circulation that actually causes inflation or increased money supply? Isn’t the CBN culpable in the expansion of money supply through their unhealthy tendencies of printing money for government spending via ways and means? What are they doing about the money supply? What is the government also doing about deficit spending and the projected budgetary deficit for the coming year?

Is our inflation strictly a consequence of the Demand-pull Effect(caused by an increase in money supply or credit with commensurate increase in demand for goods and services and resultant price increases) or is it a consequence of a combination with the Cost-push Effect as a result of increase in Oil prices and other commodities(mostly as a result of global events plus local events e.g insecurity, oil theft, floods etc) that is gradually rippling and causing increase in the prices of production process inputs? Does the CBN also not think that the hike in the prices of commodities as a result of the consequence of hedging(possibility of which has been painted by Adamu Tilde in his recent post) would also contribute in aggravating the Cost-push as a result of hikes in production process inputs?

What is the CBN tackling exactly?

Abdulhaleem Ishaq Ringim writes from Zaria.

By Muhammadu Sabiu

The Federal Government announced on Monday that the restoration of train service between Abuja and Kaduna is scheduled for this month, November.

The Transportation Minister, Mu’azu Sambo, said this in Abuja while presenting his ministry’s scorecard.

He claimed that sufficient security had been put in place to guarantee the well-being of the travellers. 

However, the Minister did not provide a precise start date.

The incident in March, which claimed the lives of several passengers and resulted in the suspension of rail operations on the Abuja-Kaduna route, according to Sambo, taught the ministry enough lessons.

By Aminu Mohammed

This article may ruffle feathers and annoy some people, but it is done with good intentions. I have observed youths’ excitement and political campaigns for presidential candidates on different social media platforms. In some cases, friends and associates have turned to foes for having opposing views on their candidates. Some even terminate a business relationship because of politics.

Indeed, I am aware of the difficulties faced by the people, especially the increasing cost of living worsened by inflation. Nigerians are suffering because of the bad economic policies of the present government and the ongoing depreciation of the Naira, which has plunged millions of people into poverty. In other words, people’s living standards are getting worse, as life was better a decade ago than now.

First, I want to clarify that I’m not too fond of politics and have no interest in any presidential candidate for the 2023 elections. However, as a Nigerian, I am a bit worried about how our people campaign for their candidates on social media platforms. Some clerics have gone to the extent of warning people not to vote for candidates outside their region. Unfortunately, the northern youth have not learnt any lesson in the last seven years.

The fact of the matter is that the current structure and governance system only benefits the elite and their cronies, as well as a coterie of aides, while most people are pauperized. The northern youths who are dissipating energy on these presidential candidates should note that the elite do not care about them but their aggrandizement. The northern political elites are hiding under the name “Arewa” to deceive the masses while using proceeds of corruption to buy properties in London, Dubai, New York, Kuala Lumpur and Paris.

Have they pondered to ask why public universities were closed for eight months, and the elite did not see the urgency to address the plight of the striking lecturers? Has the life of an ordinary northerner improved in the last seven years, although President Muhammad Buhari is in power? Was there any economic transformation in the North in the previous seven years? In my 12 years of experience as a journalist in Nigeria and my interaction with politicians and government officials, I have concluded that politics will not rescue the North, but only an attitudinal change towards entrepreneurship and commerce will change the narrative.

Attitudinal change towards entrepreneurship/commerce

I have never seen a society transformed based on political patronage. I have never seen a prosperous community due to its people being fixated on political power. So let me clarify that our fixation on political power will not save the North. It will not take millions of children out of the streets or rescue our economy.

Our focus should be on improving our economy, empowering women through education, and creating businesses and initiatives that will improve the general well-being of our people. I have seen many cases of global transformation based on entrepreneurship and commerce. For example, we have all witnessed China’s transformation based on the manufacturing and development of small and medium-scale enterprises. This is also the case with countries in South East Asia such as South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore. Thus, emphasis should be placed on the youths’ personal development and self-reliance. The idea of depending on politicians for handouts instead of pursuing self-reliance in the North should be de-emphasized. No society has prospered based on such practices of handing out peanuts to hangers for survival.

 Acquisition of vocational/ digital skills

Our focus and pursuit of political power have never helped us in the past, and they will not help us going into the future. It only helped to enrich the northern political elite and establishment at the expense of the majority. What will save us is a society with an amalgamation of empowered youths equipped with the requisite education and modern skills relevant to the global economy.

I want to reiterate that our youth should learn vocational skills to support themselves and stop wasting their time blaming their relatives for not helping them or sitting in “Majalisa”. Academically inclined people should learn digital skills offline or online to get remote jobs or fend for themselves. They can also learn digital skills for free on platforms like Coursera, Simplilearn, Udemy, and Udacity, among others. I am appealing to northern youths not to waste their time antagonizing friends and associates over these charlatans masquerading as leaders.

Aminu Mohammed is at the Kiel School of Sustainability, Chrtistan Albrechts Universität zu Kiel, Schleswig Holstein, Germany. He can be reached via gravity23n@gmail.com. 

By Sulaiman Maijama’a

Almajiri System, over the last few years, has come under intense pressure, greeted with mixed reactions by stakeholders, especially in northern Nigeria. Many people have written many pieces on the negative consequences of the system, ascribing it to be one of the underlying causes of poverty, hunger, and insecurity, among other social vices in northern Nigeria. For this reason, it has been a topic of debate. Some call for repositioning the system, and some agitate for its total abolishment. In contrast, others argue that it should remain as it is today.

Undoubtedly, the present-day Almajiri system is, to a greater extent, different from what was obtainable in the pre-colonial era, hence the need for a review. Before British colonisation, the system, aside from the authorities’  high recognition and promotion, had enjoyed the support of other major stakeholders, such as the community, the parents and the pupils. So also, the whole financial burden of the system was being taken by the authorities with public funds. These indicate that the Almajiri system in those days was somewhat formal and, therefore, more organised.

However, the magnitude of the attack the system has now come under has given it a distorted image. It has developed a stereotype in some people, so much so that on the mention of the word “Almajiri”, the first connotation that comes to mind is negativity – illiteracy, poverty, hunger, dishonesty, insecurity and all sorts of social vices.

The word “Almajiri” is a derivative of an Arabic word, “Al muhajirun”, which could be traced right from the migration of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) from Makka to Madina. Those who migrated with the prophet to Madina were called ‘Al-Muhajirrun’, meaning migrants. In Nigeria, the word “Almajiri” refers to those, usually teenagers, who are sent by their parents from respective villages and settlements to urban centres in the quest for Qur’an knowledge.

2014 UNICEF report estimated the number of Almajiri conservatively to be 9.5 million in Nigeria, predominantly in the northern part. If all of them were a nuisance, as widely believed by some people, the situation of our region would be worse than we could imagine. 

There is no doubt that there are bad eggs among them, which applies to every category of people. But, as much as bad eggs, there are equally good ones among the Almajiris who have passed through the system and become successful in different facets of life.

Almajiris excelled

Adamu Garba, a former Nigerian presidential aspirant, in an interview with the Punch Newspaper, says the Almajiri system in northern Nigeria produced some of the wealthiest men, including Africa’s pride, Aliko Dangote and the founder of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, amongst others. Garba said he was once an Almajiri before he acquired Western education.

When asked whether the Almajiri system promotes terrorism, Garba said Boko Haram has no connection with the Almajiri system because of the dichotomy between Islamic denominations in northern Nigeria. “So, it is very unlikely that you have an Almajiri man becoming a Boko Haram,” he told The Punch.

Garba also mentioned that many business giants are products of the Almajiri system. “Again, if you go to [the] Kano market, most of the rich people in the market are Almajiri. They came through Almajiri, they were able to get [the] necessary training in the Almajiri institutions, and they were able to get to where they are.”

Similarly, several renowned Islamic scholars were once Almajiris. A typical example is Sheik Muhammad Bin-Uthman.

Testimonies from people

Some people interviewed narrated how their encounters with some Almajiri lefts them with a memorable impression.

Abdullahi Muhammad, a resident of Kobi, an Almajiri-dominated area in Bauchi, narrated how an Almajiri once returned his valuable lost items.

“I once forgot my valuable properties around my house. I gave up finding them, but to my surprise, an Almajiri found and returned them to a nearby mosque. It was announced after a couple of days. I claimed ownership and recovered my items intact. I was surprised [at] how honest the boy was.”

In an interview, Aisha Abubakar, a housewife in the Kobi area in Bauchi, revealed that she had two little Almajis coming to help her with housework.

“Two little Almajis come daily to help me with some housework — they fetch me water, wash clothes, and sometimes I send them on an errand. I give them food and sew them clothing when they go home during holidays. For the past two years, they have been coming. They are honest”, she said.

Maryam Abdullahi, another housewife in the Gwallaga area, Bauchi, said she retained an Almajiri who, apart from helping her with housework, teaches her little children Arabic alphabets.

“I have an Almajiri that comes on Thursdays and Fridays to give Qur’an lessons to my children. I’m happy now that my children are good in the Arabic alphabet and Qur’an recitation, courtesy of the lesson they receive from this boy ( the Almajiri). I cannot thank him enough.”

When asked how honest and disciplined she finds the Almajiri, she said, “I send him uncountable times with money to buy foodstuff and other items, and I always find him unblemished.”

Murtala Aminu (Ɗankasuwa), a trader in an Almajiri-dominated area, when asked how he finds the Almajiris around him, he asserted that their stay in the area is a blessing.

“They recite the Qur’an every blessed day and night. This gives us tranquillity and peace of mind. In addition, we cite them as an example for our children to emulate their hard work searching for knowledge. Many of them memorised the Qur’an by heart. What could be more delightful?”.

We take good care of Almajiris under our watch — Almajiri teachers

When interviewed, some Almajiri teachers revealed to us how they strictly manage the Almajiris under their tutelage to be well brought up and face the realities of life early.

Mallam Muhammad Shafi’u Inuwa, an Almajiri teacher in Sabon Gida Tsangaya school, said, “under our school, we have about a  hundred Almajiris. We raise them early in the morning to take classes between 5:00 am and 10:00 pm. In the afternoon, we allow them to work to earn a living. At night, between 8:00 pm and 10:00 pm, is also time for classes. We ensure that all the Almajiris return to their apartments when it is time for sleeping.”

On his part, Mallam Khamisu Ali (Gwani), another Almajiri teacher, said, “we try in this Tsangaya (Almajiri school) to imbue in them (the Almajiris) the spirit of hard work. Moreover, we encourage them to be self-reliant because to work and earn a living is better than to beg; that is why we allow them on school-free days (Thursdays and Fridays) to acquire skills.”

When asked whether the parents of the Almajiris come to check on their wards, Mallam Gwani said, “we are in contact with their parents. We face some challenges regarding this, but plans are underway to make it necessary for every parent to come in person and check on their wards at certain intervals.”

Regarding learning efficiency, Mallam Gwani stated that they had produced brilliant reciters, some of whom memorised the Qur’an by heart as teenagers.

Some Almajiris do not beg nor chant for food

In their efforts to face the realities of life and actualise self-reliance, some Almajiris interviewed claimed to have never begged nor gone to houses chanting for food

In this interview, a teen Almajiri, Zaharadden  Manu, explained how he sustains his life by harnessing and utilising the skill he learned back home before he was taken to Almajiranci.

“Every day after school hours, I go around nearby communities to do shoe shining, and it earns me a living. Then, on Thursdays and Fridays, I fetch water to housewives for food or money”, he said.

Musa Aliyu is an ambitious Almajiri who reconciles Qur’an learning and hand work. When asked where he sees himself in the decade, he said, “I see myself in the future as an educated person and a business owner with employees under me. I pursue this dream to the best of my ability.”

It was observed that on school-free days, markets and commercial centres get populated with Almajiris who do different works to earn some money to live on.

Give Almajiris the atmosphere to harness their full potential – Educationist

Comrade Abdullahi Yalwa, an educationist lecturer with the Department of Crimes Management and Control, Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic, Bauchi, opined, “I think that abolishing the system may not be realistic or so easily achieved. What should be done is to review and revise to align with realities. There is a correlation between nature and nurture, and the two must synchronise to give an effective and responsible person. If one is bound to succeed if given a better condition, he would be double or triple or would be in the book of record for the exceptional display of talent.”

Comrade Yalwa further said, “to maximise the benefits and reduce or eliminate the negative effects of the system. Parents need to be responsible by sponsoring their children when searching for knowledge. They should give them enough resources to manage themselves, visit them periodically, give them what they need in terms of their basic need and also appreciate the person taking care of them in order not for him to use them as slaves.”

On what the government and relevant authorities should do, Comrade Yalwa recommended that “the Almajiri teachers ought to be registered by the government, and a maximum number of students should be allotted to each, and they should have the basic necessities, especially accommodation facilities, where people have a responsible and decent life.”

Maijama’a is a student at the Faculty of Communication, Bayero University, Kano and wrote via  sulaimanmaija@gmail.com.

By Ibrahim Tukur

Persons with disability, otherwise known as differently-abled individuals, encounter immense challenges that leave them at the mercy of socioeconomic underdevelopment. Due to their disabilities, they often struggle to survive. Those with profound physical challenges, especially blindness, spinal cord, leprosy, and cerebral palsy, cannot but resort to financial dependency to survive.

Consequently, street begging, considered taboo in some societies, is rampant among persons with a disability thanks to the lack of governmental and societal support towards the welfare of persons with disability.

Apart from persons with hearing impairment, most persons with a disability depend on begging to survive as they are not physically fit to do some work. What is more worrisome, to say the least, is the fact that many persons with disability family men struggle to ensure end meets. Some would have to go to big cities where people are more charitable to do begging and return home as soon as they are financially well-off.

In some cities like Lagos and Abuja, where many persons with disability make substantial income, the ban on street begging has been imposed. Thus, the sources of livelihood of these people are adversely affected.

Although street begging is a condemnable offence, the imposition of such a ban without proffering any practical solution to the problem is seriously unfair, and almost cruel. 

Even though this lingering problem can be resolved by establishing Social Security Disability Benefits, the needs of persons with disability can not be totally satisfied, thanks to Nigeria’s economic feeble.

All persons with disabilities need education and skills to become financially, economically and intellectually independent. Disability is no longer a barrier to education since the inception of special education in Nigeria in the middle of the nineteenth century.

The government of all levels should do everything possible to make education accessible for all persons with disability. Many special schools should be constructed and well-equipped with special instruments and materials.

Parents with children with disabilty should do the needful by sending them to school where they will acquire sound knowledge that will enable them to turn their disabilities into abilities.

Education is compulsory for all persons with disability. When all persons with disability are educated, life will become easy for them. They won’t have to roam on the street begging. Even if they are unemployed, they can start their own business and get as much money as they like.

Ibrahim Tukur is a 400-level deaf student at Bayero University, Kano. He is a disability rights advocate and proponent of deaf children’s education. He wrote via inventorngw@gmail.com.