ALMAJIRIS ISSUSES!!!

[abdulgee]

2:12 PM 3/26/03
Can'll do something about the issue of Almajiris in our streets?
I don't have anything against the fact that almajiri in my own correct understanding
should be modify into a western education and skills which can be admitted in the
 school whether by individual or govt.
Because it's shameful and very sad to see these children involve in all such of activities
hiding under the roof of learning. i know that it's part of our tradition and religion to
pursuit Islamic knowledge in all ways or means. My argument is that these children are
been expose to dangers and bad conditions. Pls, let us save our northern name and do
something about the almajiri phenomenon. your respone is highlly needed, thanks
Mohammed aj
write in from lagos
abdulgee@kanoonline.com

[Ibro2g]

Ofcause somn can bi done. The almajiranci are classified into two. those who r out to read, and the others who r out 4 food.
Those out for food, could be made homes elsewhere wid jobs offered to them, like they way its being done in Abuja *first lady. that is a preety solution if it`ll be effective in every state.
And those out to read (almajiran zaure) Every state government should build homes for them and build skools, and funds will be given to those skool board members. The malamai will be employed and limited, and ensure education for them. This I think is the best we can do.

[Nas]

Thanks for starting up this thread. Yes the issues of beggers are of two class, if you say almajiri that basically go for all of us. duk muma almajiraine, but I would other wise put it as beggers. Honestly I dont think the govt, society as a whole are helping these people. Most of them are orphans with no mother and father to cater for them so they end up begging from others. The rich people hardly give charity to these people, but they will do so, if their names and an amount donated will be shouted off on the microphone. This is something that I dont think it will change. And another thing is they themselves that call theirselves almajirai, I dont really see where they went wrong, when rich ppl indirectly support them to lazy around and not indulge in anything that will bring them tangibilyi to a managable livingstandard. No you wont see that say mai masu kudi su ta basu kudi so sometimes they feel whats the point of working or studying when I can make up to 100 box from others, They become free loaders kawai. Am not against rich ppl not helping the poor, but even in such situaitons poor beggers are classified into groups, eg you will see a healthy looking strong guy who look healthier than I do but he calls himself almajiri when he work!!!!!! To Allah dai ya kara gyaramu gaba daya

[Anonymous]

Yes the issues of Almajirai is becoming inbecoming. How can we reduce the number of almajirai. Is there anyway we could assist them apart from letting them drowl around with no future ambition?

[mustafa]

A friend from Borno a city of Almajiris.

The issue of Almajiris should please be set aside.  Thise controlling the almajiri's doesnt think the way we think and assume that it is a complete deviation.

[Abdalla]

Salaam to all

There are really two issues here often lumped as one: al-muhajirun, and begger.

As someone said, we are all al-muhajirun -- students, pupils or knowledge seekers. Those of us who went to US, UK, Europe, Asia or other African countries for further studies are also almajirai. Many of us had to work our way through college: sweeping halls of residence, working in the library, at the local MacDonalds, as a tutor for undergraduate students, a research assistant, etc. It is not begging, but it is nevertheless a form of Almajirici.

The Almajiri issue is one continues to pick on the conscience of well-heeled elites who feel guilty about the wretched, hungry, dirty vacuous children who throng their air-conditioned cars begging for alms at traffic stops in major Northern Nigerian cities. And that brings me to the next issue -- begging has nothing to do with Almajiranci. It is a symptom of an unbalanced economic system. Area boys in Lagos are also beggers and thugs -- can you also call them Almajirai?

Thus in any discourse on Almajirai, we should be clear on exactly what we are talking about. Are faulting the Almajiri educational system, and claiming that the BABBAKU, FARFARU, HADDATU systems are responsible for almajiranci, or are we frowning at the fact that after school the kids go off to beg in the streets? If we are faulting their begging practices, then we should not call it Almajiri system -- even if someone would argue that it is the process of learning that led to the begging. The fact is not all the almajirai beg. Thousands of them get absorbed in service sectors as a means of survival. These service sectors include: yankan farce; shushina; tallace-tallace, such as tallan rake, karas, mangwaro; kondusta; acaba; aikatau (wanke-wanke, wanki da guga); dako and others. Those Almajiri begging are, in most cases, pre-teens aged from about 7 to 12 or so who do not have the strength, or maturity to be trusted in, more strenous jobs. The moment they get mature enough, they are also absored into the informal service sectors.

What the Almajiri phenomenon should be discussing is the begging portion and devicing ways to empower them to acquire a sense of self-respect, actualization and skills that could easily be used in the service sectors I  mentioned. But it has always been an article of faith of Southern Nigerian media that Almajirai are a menace, a source of religious "fanaticism", and tinderboxes of ethnicity and conflict. These traits are also always linked to their studying system -- as if seeking justification for further disparagement of Islam and portraying Islam as a violent creed. It has been pointed out that Almajiranci does not exist on the same scale as in Northern Nigerian in other Muslim communities, both in Nigeria and other parts of the world. So it is an exclusive Northern Nigerian phenomenon, and therefore linked to the political economy of the region

Islam has nothing to do with Almajiranci as portrayed in the Southern Nigerian media, and as understood by some posters in this thread. Almajiranci, as I argue, is a reflection of unbalanced socio-economic system that favors few at the expense of many; a system that encourages dependency and glorifies keeping a vast majority of people in ignorance.

The Hausa Almajirai (always the target) are probably the most educated group of people of their age group in Nigeria -- inherting a scholastic literary system that goes back to 11th century. The evolution of the Islamic system of education in Northern Emirates of Nigeria, which the Almajirai have been following provided all Muslims with a SCRIPTURAL power to use the Arabic script to express their thoughts. The early stages of education (BABBAKU, FARFARU) provide the learner with letter recognition and power to form words and expressions. The Muslim Hausa, Fulani and Kanuri quickly converted this power into using the Arabic script to write HAUSA, FULFULDE AND KANURI languages in a process called AJAMI. Studies show that most Muslim Almajirai can read and write fluently in AJAMI script.

Yet no Nigerian government (state or federal) is bold enough to accept the Ajami as a legitimate literary form of expression. The are all scared of it and see it as a form of "Islamization"  -- just as Prof. Wole Soyinka ranted on about the appearance of ajami letters on the Nigerian currency (but he was silent on the "Christianization" of Nigeria with the appearance of Roman lettering on the same currency). Yet many countries in the world use Ajami to educate their Muslim people. These include Iran (Farsi) and Indo-Pakistan (Urdu).

When Abdallah Yusuf Ali translated the Holy Qur'an into English, it provided millions of 'yan boko who could not speak Arabic, with an instant access to the meaning of the Glorious Qur'an. Similarly, when Professor Halliru Binji wrote IBADA DA HUKUNCI in Hausa, it provided millions of school boys (and adults) with access to Arabic religious books such as Alhari, Ashmawi, Iziyya -- which Prof. Halliru all translated into Hausa in Ibada da Hukunci. Again when late Sheikh Abubakar Gumi and Sheikh Nasiru Kabara translated the Holy Qur'an into Hausa language, it also provided millions with instant access to the Holy Book.

The argument is this: if boko script (roman) can work wonders in englightening millions of people about their religion and society, why should we not use AJAMI to translate the Holy Qur'an, Hadith, Iziyya, and later "secular" concepts such as History of Nigeria, Tribes of Nigeria, IN AJAMI? This will provide millions of "almajirai" (and "non-literate", as the Southern Nigerian press is fond of calling Northerners, adults) with access to INFORMATION since they already HAVE THE SCRIPTRUAL BASES for reading and writing? Why spend years trying to teach them roman alphabet all over again?

The answer is simple. No one wants this class of people to be educated, even in religous affairs. They would rather continue to keep them in economic bondage so that they can exploit their votes and pertuate themselves in power.

As for strategies that some of the correspondents mention, there are states that  have attempted what is called INTEGRATION of Quranic and Islamiyya Schools. The week of Monday 17th March 2003 saw a four day summit and workshop at Arewa House, Kaduna, Nigeria, aimed at exploring the various ways of Integrating Qur'anic and Islamiyya schools with "modern" (whatever that means) system of education (details from Director, Arewa House, arewahouse@inet-global.com). Kano State had already developed 12 curricula guidelines for use in Integrated Islamiyya Schools, while preparations have reached an advanced stage to produce Integrated Quranic School curricula (Islamiyya and Qura'nic schools ARE NOT the same; the Qur'anic schools we are referring to are the MAKARANTUN ALLO) by the Universal Education Program (UBE), which will be impleted individually by States wishing to do so. The days for the instruction of the Almajirai would be Thursdays and Friday (two hours each day) when they are free from regular Makarantar Allo studies. The Integrated Quranic School curriclum is expected to last for 3 years, and would be implemented with the full co-operation of the Quranic school proprietors. My only grouse was that instruction would be in Hausar boko, not Ajami, as it would take ages for the students to acquire enough vocabulary to understand what is going on through Hausa boko; whereas it would be instantly assimilable to them through Ajami.

I am campaigning seriously for the adoption of Ajami at least on an experimental basis in some of the Integrated Makarantun Allo. I have also founded an NGO called AJAMIZATION OF KNOWLEDGE which is geared towards providing Ajami text material in all subjects for Almajirai. A small step, perhaps, but hopefully a giant step towards empowering the Almajirai and giving them creative control of their lives. Allah Ya ba mu sa'a, Amin.

[abdulgee]

Assalamu Alaikum

In your responses 2 this Almajiri issuses, i want you 2 believed
that i don't have anything against beggars or the art of begging.
I'm only concern about the children involves in this matter, for the
regard of the religious believes. To try to differentiate this,is quit
difficult for me but then we should not only makes comment on this issues.
we should try our best to help these children be a responible fellows in our
Societies. I hope this issue inspires other readers as it has me.
Thank U 4 ur responses..
abdulgee  

[Blaqueen]

the best solution so far...all the Shariah States MUST provide the boys with a DORMITARY that is fully furnished and WELL MAINTAINED!

Dinning Hall, Living Room, TV, Video Games, Sports, Education, Islamic Lessons, and everything ELSE that will KEEP the boys OFF the street and PREVENT them from engaging in the ills of society...

having a Shariah Gov't, the govt are RESPONSIBLE! They BETTER start acting FAST!

sha, i would LOVE to open a spot like that.  

[Ibro2g]

well thats what I thought

[ummita]

the best solution so far...all the Shariah States MUST provide the boys with a DORMITARY that is fully furnished and WELL MAINTAINED!

Secluding these Almajirais aint d best in Nija, but d worst. (Tell u wat) I once saw a man runnin helther shelter, lookin terrified, scared & tremblin. I kinda intervened outta curiosity wantin 2 find wat d zilch is about? Y were 3 HUGE men runnin after him? Well (so I heard) d govt have opened up some sort of big campus 4 disabled ppl that dwelled theirselves in2 street beggin......sum1 also added then came sum one sayin..(sun cika mana gari,.......these crippled & beggers & we r fed off with some of these almajiraiz). I asked (why wud they b deprived of freedom of movement)? ..........so these campus I heard of, quite alrite u eat but mayb once a day anfd of course one square meal instead of three, quite alrigth u get a place 2 sleep but I bet d beggers wud far off sleepin unda d tree in preference rather than 2 sleep on iron bed with no matrasses......& mayb fair enuff 4 them 2 sit down duin nefink xcept handwork they get paid 4 (say once a month) wen they'd b bettter off makin alot of money by begging.....& mayb its the brutality they encounter in these campuses in d hands of security guards, not to mention wat d govt use them 4, labour work kawai : but they claim they r givin them better life treatment...........now puttin all almajirai in sumthing lyk that...truss me Dyme, It aint gonna work in Nija!!!!

Besides, d way I c it...........Nija govt r juss bringing a new style with regards 2 Hitlers way of gettin rid of d jews..........(so putting these disabled victims, almajiris & ppl of such situation...against their own free will in 2 sum sort of secluded big quarters aint that another Hilter'z technique?).

Besides how do we think of bringin out them Almajirais 2 a better lyf.........wen they've been deprived of this ryt from tym....take orphans 4 instance..........charities goes straight 2 d mallams pocket, & d child has been entrusted in d hands of a mallam 2 chater 4 him, d child grow up with no future carer....., we dont even accept them, once we c almajirai.oh...its lyk nah they aint part of us..cuz they r poor & dirty. Of course they feel vulnearable & victimised & that affects them givin them low self esteem. Not even havin d guts 2 apply 4 jobs or further aducation, or even start skool : Ask me y? I hav cum accross a gurl who took 2 street beggin afta passin her high skool xzam....y? cuz she is poor she felt she had no money & cud not depend on no one. Theres nothing like state benefits or child benefits, not in Nija, theres nefink like income support, disability financial benefits. So ho do you expect the lifes of almajirais to be better? Not to mention ppl givin them a chance........ba a basu freedom of movement ba, belllenta findin a happy lyf! I totally dont blame these vulnearble ppl in wat they du. I  neva c a blame 2 cast them upon almajiraiz. I vehemently balme no one, none but only d govt, rich ppl & d citizens of Nija who will not give them a fair chance to equal opprtunity to a better survival life style.

[Blaqueen]

lol.. the way u see it is like a concentration camp!.. but it aint..
its juss like any secondary school any student attends...
they can go out.. but they need a curfew...
street life aint good for them, begging, and being exposed to other dangers...
they need to register at a dormitary or sumthing, with their parents knowing where they are.. cuz they ARE students..! other students are doing fine..

hullo? if they have PS2.. they'd be happy to stay indoors lol  

[lionger]

the best solution so far...all the Shariah States MUST provide the boys with a DORMITARY that is fully furnished and WELL MAINTAINED!

Dinning Hall, Living Room, TV, Video Games, Sports, Education, Islamic Lessons, and everything ELSE that will KEEP the boys OFF the street and PREVENT them from engaging in the ills of society...

having a Shariah Gov't, the govt are RESPONSIBLE! They BETTER start acting FAST!

sha, i would LOVE to open a spot like that. ?

exactly, queen.

[al_hamza]

dormitaries,? da me da me?
hmmmmm
our people have nothing to eat at times,
economic hardship is a common element of our society,
and you expect the government to handle this situation like that?
how about educating the parents to stop sending thier chidren out on the streets to beg?

the Prophet Mohammad said ;-

"The coal of Hell is for those that beg in My Name and Allah's(S.W.T) and hell fire is for those that reuse to give alms to those that beg in My Name and Allah's(S.W.T) .

thier parents are sinning very badly by putting thier children and us in that position.
i knew an Al-majiri and believe me his father rode a Mercedes Benz and was a land-lord from..... oh i forgot the name of that village. whats the name of that village that connects kano highway with sokoto highway on the way to jos?