CHILDREN’S DAY REFLECTION: THE ALMAJIRI, ABANDONED SCOURGE, AND THE DESOLATION OF NORTHERN CHILDREN

 CHILDREN’S DAY REFLECTION: THE ALMAJIRI, ABANDONED SCOURGE, AND THE DESOLATION OF NORTHERN CHILDREN.

As we join the world today, May 27th, in celebrating Children’s Day, it is essential to reflect on the plight of some of the most vulnerable and forgotten children in Nigeriaㅡthe Almajiri children of Northern Nigeria and abandoned children as the result of the insurgency. While many children are in school, surrounded by love and learning, millions of others roam our Northern streets, barefoot and hungry, their childhoods stolen by a system that has long lost its essence.

The Almighty Allah has blessed me with two exceptional children who mean the whole world to me. I can lay down my life for them instantly because the hope of tomorrow lies in them. What I want for my children is what I desire for all Nigerian children, especially Northern Nigeria children, to be safe and protected. This is why it breaks my heart as a parent and as a human rights advocate whenever I see our children littered across the streets in tattered clothes, begging, scavenging, and doing all sorts of hard labor to earn a living. It knocks on my conscience and keeps me up at night.

THE TRAGEDY OF THE ALMAJIRI SYSTEM

The Almajiri system, which was once an acceptable way to acquire Islamic knowledge and spiritual development in the past, has regrettably become a matter of sad concern for the North and the Nigerian nation. Many of these children are sent hundreds of kilometers away from their parents, left in the care of overburdened or negligent mallams, and forced to fend for themselves. These children are exposed daily to abuse, hunger, disease, and exploitation. They sleep under bridges, in market stalls, begging without parental orientation, or on the bare earth. They are denied formal education and the love, security, and protection every child deserves.

The Almajiri and abandoned children have remained the most abused personae in Nigeria’s North and beyond. They are the most visible tragedy on the streets of all northern Nigerian cities and beyond.

They often end up as street urchins (area boys), male prostitutes, begging, petty and brutal criminals, garage boys, and most recently, Boko Haram, Iswap, and Bandits, as well as dangerous tools for desperate politicians to get at one another’s throats.

UNISLAMIC AND UNLAWFUL: A DOUBLE BETRAYAL

It is deeply troubling that many Northern parents continue to marry multiple wives and bear numerous children whom they cannot adequately care for. Proper parental upbringing, orientation, and guidance are so important in a child's life that it is the most significant difference between a child who turns out to be a valuable member of society and one who turns out to be a terror to society. 

Allah (S W A) has given children rights over their parents just as the parents have rights over their children.

Ibn ‘Umar said: “Allah has called them Abrar (righteous) because they honored (barru) their fathers and children. Just as your father has rights over you, so too your child has rights over you.” (Al-Adab al-Mufrad, 94)

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, according to a hadith (prophetic narration) narrated by ‘Abd-Allah ibn ‘Umar, “… and your child has rights over you.” (Muslim, 1159).

Instead of being nurtured at home by their parents, these children are thrown into a life of hardship as Almajiris. This is both a violation of the Child Rights Act and an affront to Islamic teachings. The Quran makes it abundantly clear that parents have a divine obligation to care for their children. This is why, in developed Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, etc., you don't find children roaming the streets as Almajiris.

A CALL TO CONSCIENCE: OUR CHILDREN, OUR FUTURE

From our traditional/political/religious leaders to the elites within government, corporate businesses, and academia, we are all guilty of not speaking up.

I therefore make this passionate appeal to Northern leaders, religious scholars, and parents: Let us not destroy the future of our region and our country by neglecting our children. The Almajiri system and abandoned children, in its current form, are breeding grounds for child trafficking, radicalization, criminality, and national insecurity. 

We are not naïve but afraid to speak the truth. We pretend to identify with the sufferings of the Almajiri and abandoned children. In reality, we enjoy seeing him continue to suffer so that he becomes different from our children. We align the system to religion dogmatically while ignoring the fault lines. We have been lying to ourselves consciously. It is time to tell the truth.

It is essential to state that I have nothing personal against the Almajiri system or abandoned children. So, the purpose of my message is not to condemn Islamic education or restrict parents from giving their beloved children Islamic education. It should be combined with Western education, bringing them closer to parental orientation: discipline and development.

After learning morality, values, and the way of the Shariah in Islamic school, they should also learn physics, chemistry, biology, law, etc., so they can grow to become complete members of society who will be not only paragons of moral excellence but also social, economic and intellectual contributors to society.

WHAT MUST BE DONE:

1. Enforce the Child Rights Act across all Northern states.

2. Ban children's street begging in all its forms and prosecute those who exploit children.

3. Reform the Almajiri system, integrating it into formal education with proper feeding, accommodation, and monitoring.

4. Promote responsible parenting through religious institutions, emphasizing family planning and the duty of care.

5. Government and community collaboration is needed to rehabilitate current Almajiri children and provide vocational or formal education.

CONCLUSION: A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY

Every child in Northern Nigeria deserves to be celebrated, protected, and empowered. On this Children’s Day, let us commit not just to fleeting ceremonies but to bold actions that will restore the dignity of the Northern child.

The future of Nigeria depends on how we treat our children today. If we abandon them, we forfeit our tomorrow. Although we might not be able to prepare the future for our children, we can at least prepare our children for the future.

Hamza Nuhu Dantani, Esq. 

Constitutional Lawyer and Human Rights Advocate

27 May 2025.

CHILDREN’S DAY REFLECTION: THE ALMAJIRI, ABANDONED SCOURGE, AND THE DESOLATION OF NORTHERN CHILDREN