It was 9.30pm in the ancient city of Kano when the weak but loud voices of some urchins pierced through the silence that had enveloped the Rijiyar Saki community: ‘Sadaqa! Al-Majiri,’ which means, ‘Please, give charity to the itinerant/migrant pupil.’
Al-majiris are well known to everyone who has lived or visited the Northern parts of Nigeria. They are male children who are entrusted to the care of Malams (traditional Islamic teachers) for tutelage. They are largely from different states or localities and live with malams. They learn the Qur’an and other basic Islamic teachings often through slates. What often feature them are dirty and tattered clothes, unkempt hair and walking without shoes. The food charity being solicited was for their dinner that late in the evening! This is a commonplace wherever Al-Majiris are found.
I had been forced, out of pity, to buy slippers for some on some occasions but this seems to translate to nothing in consideration of the million similar ones who suffer undeservedly. I often pity them when I see the light and torn clothes on some of them during cold seasons. I doubt if where most of them sleep is healthy even for animals. This is inhumane! This is an eyesore. Why are we silent about this potential danger?! These children can turn into cheap recruits for banditry and terrorism.
My first encounter with them was at Mokwa in Niger State when I was traveling for the National Youth Service Corps about two decades ago. We had alighted to rest and take some meal when an army of these helpless kids were noticed steering as we gulped each bite of our meals at a restaurant. They are famished and unappealing. I wanted to leave my leftover to get some water but quickly told I would not find my food when I returned as the kids would scramble for anything left in it. It is pathetic. Often foods that some people will never give to their children are served to these pitiable boys. It is the same in all Northern states I have been to. And I have visited almost all. Where is Islam that preaches and teaches mercy and protection of the offspring?! Where is Islam that frowns at begging?!
I had interviewed a few of them sometimes and discovered they came from different states. They came with nothing; their Malams often have to take from the charity food collected by these hapless children. Why did their parents abandon them to face a tough life at this tender age? Why would they be sent out for education without any financial commitment?! What could have informed the decision of these parents? Why are the leaders silent? Where is humanity?
Yes, the Al-majiri educational system started in the Al-Kanem Empire in Bornu/Kanuri land long before the advent of the British colonialists. The scheme was to preserve the knowledge of the Qur’an, Islamic sciences and promote literacy especially in Arabic. Every province had a center. Malams were paid salaries and allowances; accommodation and feeding of the boarding pupils were taken care of by the emirate through Zakat funds. The British eventually defeated the people militarily and politically.
In their attempt to consolidate their hegemony through intellectual defeat, the colonialists destabilized the educational system by cutting off the financial support the Al-Majiris and Malams had enjoyed erstwhile. Some malams, out of the love for Islam and sincerity, took it upon themselves to continue to manage the situation as a form of Jihad. May Allah bless them. The system deteriorated until it led to what we see now.
Most of the malams are no longer much qualified and the Al-majiri educational system cannot keep with the demand of the contemporary time. Currently, no amount of years spent in the system can make one educated or skilled; Al-majiris are largely unemployable except for menial or dirty jobs. Paradoxically, they learn Islam, which condemns persistent and professional begging, yet, they are inadvertently trained practically to become beggars as they roam streets – house to house begging for alms from their formative years. Perhaps, this is why we see more Muslim professional beggars in Nigeria.
The Northern Nigeria or the entire nation is sitting on a large ton of gunpowder if we allow this phenomenon to continue. Drug abuse is currently a major social challenge in many Northern cities. Cities known for faith, serenity and decency are now turning into the dens of drug addicts, hooliganism and criminality. I have noticed the Al-Majiris are already hobnobbing with the drug addicts and the area boys. The future of Nigeria is bleak unless something is hurriedly done.
Drug abuse must be seriously fought and eradicated; Al-Majiri system must be reformed or eradicated: parents must take responsibility for taking care of the physical, emotional and educational needs of their children; free and compulsory education must be implemented by the governments; child abuse must be severally penalized; no child must hawk or roam the street at school hours. Whoever cannot further their education after the secondary school should be admitted in skill acquisition and entrepreneurial centers. Empty hands are the workshop of the devils.
Any responsible government at the local, state or national level must take the matters of children and youth seriously. They are the future of the society. Their misfortune and failure today may become our collective misfortune and failure tomorrow.
If we do not show kindness to these helpless kids, nature will not treat us well. It is wickedness to leave these urchins to the mercy of the streets. The Good Lord will not prosper a nation that is cruel to the voiceless and defenseless.
Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said, ‘I and the one who looks after an orphan shall be in Paradise like these two’- and he raised his index finger and the middle finger…’ He also said, ‘Whoever sets a slave free from his bondage, Allah will set him free from Hellfire.’ The situation of the Al-majiri is often worse than that of an orphan and a slave. Reforming the Al-Majiri system is a veritable safeguard against the hell of this world and Hellfire in the Hereafter. The children we refuse to educate and care for today will definitely turn into a curse for everyone tomorrow. We already see the gunpowder exploding.
‘Whoever is not kind to others, Allah will not be kind to him’ the Prophet said. A society that is not kind to children and the less-privileged will not find kindness and mercy from God or from each other. Our selfishness and wickedness are haunting us all and we keep complaining and praying. True happiness and fulfillment lie in caring for others and being kind to others. Allah helps those who help others as He curses those who harm others.
Imam (Dr.) Ridwan Jamiu is the Chief Imam of Lekki Central Mosque, Lagos. Email: ridone1424@gmail.com
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