In Northern Nigeria, A Young Man Provides Skills And Opportunity To Almajiri Children
Local Qur'anic schools in Northern Nigeria are called "Tsangaya". They educate children aged 5 to 17 , who are often sent by their parents to seek Islamic knowledge. However, over the years, funding and planning gaps have increased negative consequences for the already vulnerable Almajiri children.
Tsangaya schools are controlled by the Alarammas (senior scholars of Almajiri schools); They are uncensored preachers who offer religious interpretations that tend to be assertive and fundamental over others. This brings the feeling of superiority, purity and dominance at whatever cost, by whatever means to justify faith, according to Abdussamad Ahmad Yusuf, a young man from Kano and a peace builder who attended an Almajiri school in Kofar Waika, and made friends with Almajirai.
Tuesday afternoon is a typical school hour for kids on their lunch break. But Ibrahim Abdul looked dishevelled, with dandruff-ridden hair revealing a lack of hygiene. Ibrahim, 12, roamed from door to door, begging for food, clutching his plastic plate with both hands.
Cross Section of Better Almajiri Students
He appeared shy and displayed no inclination to express his thoughts. We agreed to chat briefly after I introduced myself. He felt calm afterwards me but was hesitant to be photographed.
He was dressed in an oversized suit with maroon trousers, “I live in Kofar Waika, and the Makaranta Almajiri that I attend is within the community,” he said.
Yet, Ibrahim from Charanci in Katsina State, deprived of paternal support, lacks Western education. He has been in the city of Kano learning about Islam for two years, and during that time, he has completed all eight Hizb of the Quran. They solely attend Almajiri school in their household and Makarantar Boko (Western education) is forbidden. "But I'd love to attend someday," Ibrahim said.
Ibrahim is now benefitting from the Better Almajiri program, founded by Abdussamad; however, he wants the Tsangaya system to be reformed. He said “If I had the chance to reform it, the Almajiranci would no longer exist. I will make it an Islamiyah school that students can attend and go home every day.”
He is enrolled in a public primary school in Kofar Waika to receive education and prepare himself for the future. All the students involved in the Better Almajiri, among the sixty that undergo rigorous monitoring and evaluation, none has exuded the tendency of radicalization.
Abdussamad's fulfilment came from supporting at-risk children in northern Nigeria susceptible to radicalisation by violent extremist groups with his peacebuilding endeavour, Better Almajiri. Many disadvantaged boys in the region, known as Almajiri are left in the care of traditional Islamic schools and are forced to beg and lack every opportunity for formal education or vocational training.
Better Almajiri established two basic classes that teach literacy, numeracy, and logical reasoning to the students. At least 15 students, with their Mallams' approval, were enrolled in formal schools, improving the prospects of these children. Better Almajiri works at different levels to achieve a realistic impact. It involves persuading ward-level religious leaders and local Alarammas.
Abdussamad decided to prioritise Kano due to its experience with violent extremism , as well as its highest count of Almajiri and a large population of out-of-school children in Nigeria. Rimin Kebe, Tinshama and Kofar Dawanau are three suburbs within his project’s reach in the Kano metropolis.
In 2018, Better Almajiri empowered students with shoe maintenance skills and basic literacy classes - with the first two students enrolled in a formal primary school. The literacy, empowerment, and enrollment programs were successful in helping at least 30 Almajirai throughout the first six months, with a total of 60. It is mostly an intersection of all. Abdussamad affirmed that “All the students involved in the Better Almajiri, within the sixty that undergo rigorous monitoring and evaluation, none has exuded the tendency of radicalization. Now they have Western education, and are off the streets begging for alms.”
In March 2019, at a school in Tinshama, Kano, grown Almajirai were taught to collect shoes for shoe-shining services and bill the owners on a weekly or monthly basis. “All the Almajirai who were trained received fully kitted shoe-maintenance tools after the skill program at Tinshama,” Abdussamad said.
Tsangaya schools are attractive to many parents because they supposedly offer free Quranic lessons. However, when children arrive at school, often from remote locations, they are usually forced by their Mallams to beg on the streets to finance their education and therefore often missing .
Ibrahim Abdul
However, the District Head of Dan Dinshen Gabas community, Alhaji Abdullahi Muhammad, voiced his concern over the large number of missing Almajirai. He wants an age benchmark for Almajiri enrollment and parents should provide for their children during the Almajiranci.
"I will inform my subordinates, particularly the wealthy ones about Better Almajiri. They should support enrolling Almajirai in Western schools and improving Tsangaya education to meet modern challenges," said Alhaji Abdullahi.
Nigeria enacted the Child Rights Act of 2003 more than eighteen years ago, outlining beneficial provisions for children with lofty aspirations. The Child Rights Act aims to provide care and protection for Nigerian children, similar to the rights given to children in other parts of the world.
Northern state governments have neglected the Tsangaya system. Figures from the National Council for the Welfare of Destitute (NCWD) indicate that seven million children in northern Nigeria are in the Almajiri system.
Widespread acceptance remains the major obstacle for the Better Almajiri to achieve significant change.
Mansur Umar Kurugu from Equal Access International considers the Tsangaya system in Nigeria flawed and at risk due to inadequate infrastructure. He identified illiteracy, poverty, poor parenting and weak government policies as factors facilitating the continuity of this Almajiri menace.
“Over the long term, civil society organisations should collaborate with government to undertake sensitization and advocacy campaigns as well as empowering Almajirai with skills and vocational trainings so as to cushion the impact of economic hardships, which serve as triggers for this type of social disorder,” Mr. Kurugu said.
Reforming and implementing programs in the conservative Almajiri community is challenging for community-based organisations and NGOs. This restriction impacts all programs, including Better Almajiri, aiming to redefine the practice. "That's why it must begin outside my immediate community before they recognize and value the intervention," Abdussamad stated.