Linus Oota, Lafia
Nasarawa state appears to be gradually sliding into the menace of the beggars, popularly called ‘almajiris ’ as they seem to have taken over major streets of Nasarawa State amid growing concern over rising insecurity in the state, ranging from kidnapping, armed robbery to other banditry activities.
In fact, the spates of kidnapping and armed robbery across the state have become a source of concern for hapless citizens, the government, and indeed the international community as they are fast making headlines in the news media.
The former beggars seemed to have dropped their bowls, or, in other words, exchanged them with bullets and guns and thereby making Nasarawa State the most dangerous place to live from the standpoint of kidnapping and other armed banditry.
A survey conducted by our correspondent in public places such as places of worship, filling stations, restaurants, supermarkets, traffic junctions shows that most of them within the age bracket of 10-13 and sometimes above wake up every morning as early as 6am to move from house-to-house, begging in the name of Allah and would do that till late at night, as late as 10pm and even beyond, are beginning to pose something of a security threat to most citizens of the state.
Origin of almajiri system
The issue of almajiri, a Hausa word meaning an immigrant child in search of Qu’ranic education has always proved to be an intractable problem. Under the Almajiri scheme, children are sent out early in life to seek Islamic knowledge outside their environment in the course of which they are placed under Islamic teachers known simply as Mallams under whose care and supervision they are supposed to learn the rudiments of the religion.
But in most cases, and due to the high level of poverty and the large number of children they have to cater for, the Mallams are often unable to take adequate care of them. As a way out of the dilemma, they are sent out to search for their livelihood. Looking malnourished, poor, dirty, haggard, ragged, destitute, deserted, hungry and tired owing to long distance trekking, they are eager to eat anything their hands can find, from leftovers to junks and even garbage. As a result of this, they are vulnerable to sicknesses, diseases, kidnapping, child abuse and other social vices.
They are referred to as ‘street urchins or children’ due to the way they wander along the streets begging for food, clothes and other necessities of life. Their vulnerability stems from the lack of care and weak foundation given to them. In the ordinary sense, they are innocent children who have become unfortunate victims due societal neglect. But in such a languid state, they are often hypnotized, hoodwinked, coerced or simply hijacked to play active roles in many of the banditry activities going on in the state.
Deprived of a normal and decent upbringing, almajiri children who are usually little boys may have been direct products of polygamous or broken homes or simply economic challenges in the family. The child or children is/are sent out to the streets under the guise of almajiris, as soon as the family’s resources are overstretched. As they grow up on the street without the love, care and guidance of parents; their struggle for survival exposes them to abuse. They are used as slaves, brainwashed and recruited for anti-social activities and used for destructive, violence and other banditry activities, therefore threatening the peace of the citizens.
Residents express fear over influx of almajiri
Many residents who spoke to our correspondent fear the danger they pose to the society especially at this inauspicious time. Speaking to our correspondent, a retired police officer in the state, Thomas Audu, agreed that their daily influx into Nasarawa State is a contributory factor to the high crime rate in the state because from begging most of them who engage themselves in household chores to get leftovers to feed themselves could easily get lured into crime. “The sad thing now is that they are vulnerable to criminal activities,” he pointed out. “If you investigate very well, most of the kidnapping and other banditry activities going on along Nasarawa/Toto Karu, Akwanga, Lafia, Obi, Doma and Keana Local Government Areas can be traced to the almajiris.
He laments that, “the government of the day, especially at the federal level, has shown total neglect to the issue of almajiris and the result is that they are growing in geometrical progression and it is a threat to our internal security because people hide under them or use most of them to perpetrate most crime.”
He argued that the government of former President, Goodluck Jonathan, introduced good measures of taking almajiri off the street by building almajiri schools but regrets that the present government could not continue with that laudable project. “It is high time that the state government, federal government and traditional rulers came together to re-strategise and reinvigorate the system, or find a way in making it a formal and conventional one, or else the Almajiri system will continue to breed recruits for the banditries,” he warned.
Warning further on the danger the influx of almajiris into Nasarawa state poses as a potential security threat, he insists that the high number of out-of-school children in the northern part of the country poses a big threat to security of life and property in the state. He blamed government for shirking its primary duty of provision of functional and compulsory education for every child.
“While the present government is working effortlessly to scale up the fight against the Boko Haram sect and other emerging security challenges, the continued neglect of almajiris roaming the streets in the name of search for knowledge could raise the stake of threat to internal security,” he said. “A careful investigation would show that most states like Nasarawa are sitting on a time bomb, it is a clear signal of danger waiting to happen.”
Mr. Joseph Dauda, a lawyer agrees while noting that the increasing rate of criminality in Nasarawa State by the almajiris and other youths in the society is an evidence of the breakdown in family values and social norms, adding that the family is the first agency of orientation that influences and inculcates positive values into its young members.
“When government at all levels does not have policies that support families, society will pay a heavy price, because family orientation affects what happens on our streets,” he said. Mohammed Hamza, a businessman blames the increasing rate of unemployment in the society as among the factors responsible for the high rate of crime.
“The number of jobless youths is alarming, yet the cost of living is skyrocketing and many people cannot meet their basic needs, these have created a sense of hopelessness,” he noted.
Governor Sule and CP’s game-plans
When our correspondent spoke with the new governor, Engineer Abdullahi Sule, on the rising cases of kidnapping and banditry in the state, he said that he is working with security agencies to look into the issue, adding that he intends to build industries in the state which will provide massive employment that can take the youths off the street and make farming an attractive profession. He specified the goal of the state to include peace, employment opportunities including empowerment of youths and women, economic development, massive infrastructural development and industrialization, noting that nothing meaningful strides can be achieved in the absence of peace.
Approached on the matter, the State Commissioner of Police, Bola Longe told our correspondent that the command have developed five different security templates which he believes would substantially help the command to combat the menace of kidnapping, armed robbery, cultism and banditry in different parts of the state.
“These templates, no doubt have prepared a good ground for successful execution of “Operation Puff Adder” which is more compact and audacious security initiative, targeted at dislodging the heinous game plans and evil machination of men of the underworld and also to pursue and fish them out from their hideouts,” he added.