Almajiranci, Begging and the Future of the North, By Adnan Mukhtar
Oftentimes, I don’t want to keep mute in contributing to issues responsible for the backwardness of the North. It is the region that I came from so my great grandfathers.
The Almajiri system of education has been a problem in this region for decades. A child would be sent from far away distance to a village or town in search of Islamic education, the Qur’an in particular.
His feeding, clothing and other responsibilities that are shouldered on his parents would cease; he is to do that for himself through begging.
This child will beg to feed and clothe himself all in the name of searching for Qur’anic education. The Almajiri cannot read the Qur’an better than those who are under the care of their parents; they would go to Qur’anic school and come back home to sleep, and their parents have taken full responsibility for them.
People like I who studied the Quran did not do it through almajiranci. I can recite and have memorized chapters of the Noble Book more than a thousand almajiriss.
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Some parents are sending their children to Almajiranci for the fear of poverty. We are all aware that some villages where thealmajiris came from don’t have access to good water, food and other basic amenities. Many of the academics and researchers that went to these villages to carry out research can testify to my assertion, that some parents from these villages have no option but to send their children to the urban area for sustenance and to hand over their care to a Mallam.
This is someone who has biological children to take care of but he is left with the care of a thousand students. I don’t know how he can give them good training.
The abject poverty our people are is terrible, and inhumane, some leaders will not make it to heaven looking when you look at the condition of people in rural areas.
A friend of mine in Jigawa for a research project had lamented such a condition to me. She told me how the people of a community she was carrying research would walk a long distance in search of water to drink and cook.
When I asked her about the type of food these people eat, she frowned and said “forget about eating rice and stew, they survive with kwadon gari, man gyada and kuli kuli”. That is what they will eat in the morning, afternoon and evening. She told me this with her eyes full of tears.
This is why some parents sent their children to Almajiranci while to some parents, it is nothing other than greediness and irresponsibility of parenthood.
Begging and not taking the full responsibility of a child is not Islamic. Every one of us will be questioned on how he trained his children if you do good or bad to your child. God will certainly reward you accordingly.
Adnan is a Public Relations Consultant and University Lecturer
