El-Rufai says northern governors are determined to end Almajiri system
- Governor El-Rufai said northern governors have taken a collective decision to end the infamous almajiri system
- The Kaduna governor said the first step towards ending the system is the repatriation of the children to their states of origin
- El-Rufai said the children will thereafter be returned to their parents while the state governments will ensure they are enrolled in school
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The almajiris are the out-of-school children in the northern part of Nigeria who usually engage in street begging. They constitute a significant portion of Nigeria’s 13.2 million out of school children.
Getting them out of the street and giving them proper education has always been an issue on the front-burner in the north.
The coronavirus pandemic has taken the almajiri discourse to the centre stage again as the children are being deported to their various states over the fear of COVID-19 spread.
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In his latest comment on the development, Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state said the almajiri system has ended in his state.
The Kaduna state governor told Channels TV that over 30,000 of them had been repatriated to other states.
Legit.ng gathers that Governor El-Rufai said efforts are already ongoing to ensure the system remains a thing of the past in the north. He said parents of almajiris were being educated to take up their responsibilities and send their children to school instead of allowing them to wander on the streets.
El-Rufai said the Northern Governors Forum, an association of state governors in the north, has collectively and unanimously decided to put an end to the almajiri system.
According to the Kaduna governor, the first step towards ending the system is the repatriation of the children to their states of origin.
After the repatriation, the children will be returned to their parents and ensure they are enrolled in school, Governor El-Rufai added.
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“We have done that in Kaduna; we have repatriated over 30,000 almajiris from other states back to their states and we are happy to receive any almajiri from any state of the federation that are indigenous to Kaduna," El-Rufai said.
He added that his administration is expanding the schools in the state to accommodate more children.
According to him, 169 almajiris who were of Kaduna origin have been repatriated from Kano state.
He noted that though 65 of them tested positive for coronavirus but expressed happiness to receive them.
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Earlier, Legit.ng reported that about 150 travellers including almajiri children were recently intercepted by security operatives along the Abuja- Kaduna road.
The travellers were attempting to move into Kaduna state from the Federal Capital Territory, (Abuja) and Nyanya in Nasarawa state.
This was disclosed by the commissioner for human resources and social development in the state, Hafsat Baba.
The commissioner added that other almajiris were also intercepted in Soba and Giwa local government areas of the state.
Out of the 150, 90 are from Kano state, while the others are from Nasarawa and Birinin Gwari local government in Kaduna.
In another report, Governor El-Rufai has narrated the ordeal he endured in isolation while undergoing treatment for COVID-19 and how he contracted the virus.
The Kaduna state governor disclosed on Tuesday, April 28, that he suffered serious headaches and fever within the first week of his isolation.
Speaking in a Hausa live media chat with selected radio stations in Kaduna, the governor said though he was not certain as to when or where exactly he contracted the virus, he suspected that he picked it up from Abuja where he attended several meetings.
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