Negligence is the reason for the deteriorating Almajirci system in Northern Nigeria

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First of  all, I am not in support of the Almajirci system at this critical moment of the Northern value decadence. But, I would wish to share my view in regards to negligence as the reason for Almajirci system's deterioration that made people see it as evil and thereby blame the Hausa people who by all justification deserve so, but quite unfair when directed to the children who are mere victims of negligence.

Almajirci is not a bad culture as people project it, it is only a neglected culture that couldn't be incorporated into our modernity which has made it fail that even the government and the masses shamelessly blame the victims whose villages to date are suffering substandard boko educational system, lack of agricultural input, absence of drinkable water, except if the rain falls; infrastructure and absence of social amenities that are no longer a political bait because they (villagers) were made to think they are only possible in the city.

By genetic pedigree of the al'majirci system which began with the Hausa-Arab coherent cultural civilization, the acceptance of Islam from the Arabs and the desire to know their  new religion made the Hausa people sought to acquire knowledge and began to travel to distant villages since most of the few learned Islamic clerics used to live there and were as scarce as the knowledge itself. This traveling met with another form of culture called "ci-rani" which is a seasonal moving away from one’s village to the city. By juxtaposition, there were two people traveling with different aims. One category to the city for small-scale businesses and the other to the villages for learning purpose. The latter since then were called "almajirai" while the former called "ƴan ci-rani." Therefore, it was a normalized and proud endeavor and for parents, it was an honour to have your children travel in order to both acquire knowledge and  self-sustainace as the case might be. The cultural systems was then working magically and perfectly.

Later, parents began to send their children at even tender age to stay with their Malams (because the children has nothing to do more important than that) and help them in all their activities, including farming, the predominant occupation. The children and their Malams were also fed by the villagers because they deemed that as a charitable act and they did that gladly and respectfully. This created the psychological  inbuilt mentality to the people in general. This with time brought the Qur'anic school called “the tsangaya.” One thing people never knew was how beautifully organized was the teaching process where all the students “almajiris” were classified into classes, beginning with the ƙolo, titiɓiri, gardi etc. It was something that very much resembled mentioning primary one, three etc.

Subsequently, things began to change again, especially with the advent of the Europeans. Teachers migrating to the cities which also made most of the villagers to send their children to the cities. This practice survived for a very long time and continued to date. Economic transformation has contributed hugely and negatively to the deterioration of the system where poverty added insult to the wound. I learnt an interesting quote that says; “the most difficult thing to humans is to unlearn what they believe or experienced” and by nature, Hausa people are fond of finding it difficult to throw away what has been part of them; very conservative.

Government has immensely and mindlessly given little attention and the most recent was when Goodluck Jonathan came up with a program to build Qur'anic schools at Northern states and I think, for now, the one in Sakkwato is the existing one to show where nobody is asking for the rest of them because of the negligence. People began to desist from helping such Almajiris while indignantly blaming their parents for their toil. The Malams are not equally ready to strip themselves off the gown of respect for which they enjoy as teachers and could not inform the childrens' parents of the social and economic change bedeviling the system. Governments at all level have little program to organize and sensitize them of the new modernity. The whole North went torn apart by personal, political and economic desire to acquire power.

Moreover, Corona virus, as a necessity which is a mother of invention is turning out to be a savior who is fully giving the governments room to restructure the system from its grassroots. Government need not build another set of schools  at the various villages, they can incorporate them into the western schools where classes are to be held in the evening as most Islamiyya schools do. All the government will do is building additional classes and through their various Islamic organization, for instance, Hizba in Kano state to provide and document the teachers who are to teach in those various schools and make the children pay the usual school fee called “kuɗin Laraba.” With this we may save the system.
But, one fact is, no matter how the government will be competing in  repatriating the Almajiris back to their home, thinking seemingly that it is the viable solution, which is not, and will be much like mocking  the Katsina people by telling them to return to their homes when their villages are not been secured by a single presence of a police officer that is well equipped. That's what will happen to the Almajiris who shall end up being lured by the empty dusty streets of the city, the meagre food they were rarely given and above all, the shillings they receive after begging hard and beneath an electric bulb to sit and count and pray may they continue to increase so as to start selling mongo by the streets. This is for the good ones! The bad ones will end up repossessed by the weeds they smoke and the brothel they go to wash plates while the ugly ones continue processing their terroristic recruitment form.

Conclusively, before taking these children back home, let's think of what they are lacking because no matter how you force a cub to stay in its den without a chunk of meat, it shall sooner or later grow into lion and  and play a prison break games. Remember, a hungry man is a wild angry animal. So, stop insulting and blaming the Almajiris, they are only victims of our negligence and poor leadership.


By; Anas Ɗansalma on 14/5/2020.

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