The Federal Government is set to ban the Almajiri system, as
part of long term plans to solve security challenges in the country.
Almajiri is a system of Islamic education practiced in northern
Nigeria and derived from an Arabic word, rendered “al-Muhajirun,” in
English transliteration, meaning ‘a person who leaves his home in search
of Islamic knowledge.’
The Almajiri ban is to ensure that no child is deprived of basic education in Nigeria.
Briefing State House Correspondents at the end of the inaugural
National Economic Council (NEC) meeting of 2019-2023, chaired by Vice
President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday, the
National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno (retd), said
groups like the Almajiri were becoming a problem to the society.
Monguno, who briefed in company with the governors of Anambra, Willy
Obiano, Ondo, Rotimi Akeredolu, Adamawa, Amadu Fintiri and the Inspector
General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, said he also pointed out to NEC that
drivers of insecurity in the country included unemployment,
under-employment, poverty and increasing population.
The NSA said: “I also briefed council on the drivers of insecurity
which are unemployment, under-employment, poverty, drugs abuse, rising
population.
“I also made suggestions regarding the way forward which include,
employment creation and reduction of poverty, and looking at stabilising
certain areas of the country, by giving rise to affordable education.
This is very important because, in most parts of the country, we have a
lot of children roaming around, without any formal education.
“We need to make education compulsory and free for every child in the
country because the problem we face today are rooted in the fact that a
lot of people who have been denied the opportunity basically the
opportunity to get formal education end up, over the years, as
criminals, drug addicts, etc. And, they end up becoming tools to be used
by elements in the wider society who have very dangerous intentions.
“And, therefore, it is very important to proscribe certain groups
ultimately running around under the guise of maybe getting some kind of
education that is not really formal and then begin to cause a lot of
problems for society.”
Asked to mention the groups to be proscribed, Mungonu replied: “The
group I spoke about on illiteracy is the Almajiri. Ultimately,
government will have to proscribe this Almajiri phenomena because we
cannot continue to have street urchins, children roaming around, only
for them, in a couple of years, or decades, to become a problem to
society.
“We are not saying that they are going to be contained in a manner
that you might think we want to do something that is harmful to them,
no. What we want to do is to work with state governments to enforce the
policy of education for every child. It is every child’s right, his
entitlement, so long as he is a Nigerian.
“If you recall what happened in the Western region, I think in the
‘50s and the ‘60s, when the Premier made education free and compulsory
at both primary and secondary levels. This is what we are looking at…
“Imagine the child that was 10 years old on July 27, 2009. In 37
days time, it will be exactly one year when Boko Haram erupted, he will
be 20. We are not talking of one child, there are millions of them.
“So, when we look at population, as an element of National security,
don’t be surprised if out of every 100 Almajiri, you have two
neurologists, four architects, two lawyers, and so on and so forth. If
you don’t start thinking short and long term, to overcome this problem,
like I told you earlier on, to overcome this problem, you require
collective efforts. We must work in sync with the rest of the
international communities; how many countries that operate this kind of
system. Let be very, very sincere to ourselves, we have to look at this
issue that we have been sweeping under the carpet.
“So, when I briefed the NEC, I alerted them on the dangers of this
phenomenon and the President in inaugurating NEC also stressed that we
must make education free and compulsory. We are not trying to denigrate
any group of people.”
Monguno told newsmen he also briefed NEC on the North East,
particularly on Boko haram, in relations to the security issues in the
country.
He said: “I briefed Council on the situation in the North East,
particularly the activities of Boko Haram, which continue to remain very
fragile. It is still a problem that needs to be re-addressed; with
collective effort of intelligence and operations.
“In the meantime, troops of the Multinational Task Force have been
conducting offensive operations against these elements in the Lake Chad
area, especially the Islamic State West Africa Province, whose
activities have now stretched all the way down into Lake Chad.
“I also briefed NEC on the activities of herdsmen/farmers. Their
activities are limited to 16 states, so far, but Council is working on
the blueprint, it is on the verge of releasing this blueprint to solve
these problems…
“Finally, I also emphasised to Council, the need to conduct police
reforms. The police is the lead agency in dealing with any internal
security problems. Any domestic issues should actually be vested with
the Nigeria police force. Fortunately, the IG is doing a fantastic job,
especially looking at the issue of community policing.
“Basically the society in today’s contest the issue of insecurity are
not the traditional issues we know in the last century, those issues
that were cut and dried and we could easily deal with these issues.
Today, it is too complex to allow one organ of government to deal with
these issues.”
Meanwhile, Monguno has denied knowledge of the whereabouts of the
$1billion approved by NEC, for tackling security challenges in the
country.
The money was approved in December 2017, following rise in the Boko
Haram insurgency, herdsmen menace, kidnappings, banditry and armed
robbery.
In response to a question on what has been done with the $1 billion,
the NSA, who coordinates Nigeria’s security architecture, said the money
was meant for the military alone, but not aware if it had been
released.
“The $1billion I believe that you are talking about was actually
earmarked for the military, not for security agencies, like the
intelligence community and the paramilitary agencies.
“It was earmarked for the military. As much as I know, whether it was given to them, I really don’t know.”
Regardless, Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, who is also
chairman of the Nigeria Governors, had, when he briefed newsmen earlier
this month said the $1 billion, which raised dust among state
governors, had been expended.
Popular News
-
Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer affecting the membrane lining of the lungs and abdomen. Malignant mesothelioma is the most serious o...
-
The United States has announced that starting March 1, 2023, it will increase visitor visa validity from 24 months to 60 months for Niger...
-
A witness has said neither Atiku Abubakar nor President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) should be declared as presiden...
-
Drivers of ride-hailing apps in the country, Uber, Bolt, LagRide and Indriver, have embarked on a nationwide strike on Wednesday, June 7. ...
-
Veteran actress, Kate Henshaw has taken to Instagram to share adorable photos with her daughter. The thespian shared photos of them rock...
-
The daughter of Pele, Kely Nascimento, who is apparently distraught at his passing, has confirmed her father's death at the age of 82...
-
The Monkeypox disease has been declared as a global health emergency by the World Health Organisation, on Saturday. The global health bod...
-
A broadcast journalist with DAAR Communications Plc, Ms Ijeoma Osamor, testified on Friday at the Presidential Election Petition Court (P...
-
Cristiano Ronaldo allegedly gave his agent Jorge Mendes an ultimatum to seal a move to either Bayern Munich or Chelsea last summer or be...
-
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a new announcement to Nigerians. The NCDC said that the COVID-19 Omicron...
-
Italy have been crowned champions of the 2020 European Championship after defeating England 3-2 in penalties on Sunday night, July 11. ...
-
“Every improvement contributing to your outstanding experience is our daily motivation.” - Remitano Every product and feature on the Rem...
-
For the quarter, added 537,000 residential and small enterprise business internet customers versus 380,000 within the prior year quarter....
-
SMS marketing is a marketing channel which allows businesses to message customers with marketing messages through SMS, or more commonly kn...
-
Breaking news about iceland country incredible but true if you are interested read the full story iceland team was able to achieve an ...
-
Happy New Month Nigeria! Welcome to the month of June. As the world searches for a respite from all its troubles since 2020 began, one can ...
-
An Israeli professor has claimed that coronavirus will disappear after 70 days with or without intervention. The unproven claims were ma...
-
The Remitano founding team has always maintained the belief and vision that blockchain and cryptocurrencies are a big step forward for s...
-
Would you believe it if someone tells you that cayenne pepper has the power to stop a heart attack within a minute? Believe it or not, thi...
-
Apparently, ginger, a well-known spice we frequently add to different dishes to enhance the flavor, has the power to prevent cancer. But, i...
- bitcoin
- bitcoin mining
- Coronavirus
- dr anu nigeria
- coronavirus china
- Benefit Of Ginger Water
- Bobrisky
- Buhari
- coronavirus cure
- benefits of drinking milk
- Biafran War
- coronavirus death rate
- coronavirus outbreak
- dede one day mansion
- coronavirus update
- History of Biafra
- How To Make Ginger Water
- eri
- How to save your phone battery
- is 5g dangerous
- Kobe Bryant
- Jennifer Aniston
- kobe bryant family
- latest nigeria news paper
- kobe bryant wife
- latest on nigeria news
- naija news
- Malignant mesothelioma
- nigeria news
- Mesothelioma survival rates
- newspaper online in nigeria
- nigeria news breaking
- nigeria news headline today
- nigeria news of the day
- nigeria news paper online
- nigeria newspaper
- nigeria news paper today
- nigeria news today & breaking
- nigeria newspaper online
- nigerianewspaper
- nigeria newspapers
- Regina Daniels
- online dating scams
- Side Effects Of Eating Corn
- t mobile data usage
- online nigeria news
- what is tiger nut
- tiger nuts
- Tyson Fury
0 comments:
Post a Comment