Paul Omokuvie, Bauchi
The Chairman Sheikh Dahiru Usman Bauchi Foundation, Alhaji Ibrahim Sheikh Dahiru has called on the Federal Government to find genuine alternative before banning the Almajiri system of education in the country over insecurity.
Dahiru stated this on Saturday in Bauchi while reacting to the statement credited to the National Security Adviser, Babangida Mungono that the federal government was considering proscribing the Almajiri system to address the rising insecurity in the country.
Dahiru said: “The Almajiri system of education has been in existence in Nigeria for more than 1000 years and has never become a threat to security, they are the pupils learning recitation and memorizing the Holy Qur’an; they are not criminals they are the ones praying for peace and stability in the country.
“All the criminals arrested by security agencies, there was no Almajiri among them, no Almajiri among armed robbers, kidnappers, or insurgents or any other group of criminals how can they become threats to insecurity?”
“I remember in the early 70’s Sheikh sent us to Maiduguri to for Quranic memorization after we finished we came back home. Presently Sheikh established over 200 schools in different parts of the country where students are memorizing the Holy Qur’an without begging and such schools graduate students many have first degrees many have masters some are PHD holders including many professors all of them are products of Almajiri Schools”
Ibrahim Sheikh advised government to help genuine stakeholders of Almajiri education with soft loan on agriculture to enable them produce the food they will eat with their pupils.
He said, “If the federal government will be sincere and fair to Almajiri and allow real Tsangaya owners to facilitate the integration of Tsangaya and Islamic education into the modern educational system of Nigeria, it will go a long way in the eradication of proliferation of Almajiri system of street begging”.