How repatriation of almajiri kids over COVID-19 is fuelling discord among Nigerian governors
When the Kano State Government announced on Friday March 6, 2020, that it has repatriated over 1,500 Almajiri kids to their states and countries of origin, following a ban on street begging in the state, many Nigerians had suggested that it would not take long before the action snowballs into controversy.
In the past, debates about taking almajiri kids out of the streets have sparked controversy across the nation. Deposed Emir of Kano, Mohammed Sanusi II, who was an advocate against the almajiri system, was constantly criticised by some northerners for speaking against the system.
“Almajiri” is derived from the Arabic “Al muhajirun”, “an emigrant”. It refers to a person who migrates from his home to a popular teacher to seek Islamic knowledge. Before British colonisation, a system called Tsangaya, established as an organised and comprehensive system of education for learning Islamic principles and values, prevailed in the Kanem-Borno Empire.
The system was funded largely by the state, but funding was halted when the British took over and introduced western education. Following the abolition of state funding for the system, the pupils and their Mallams, having no financial support, resorted to begging for survival. The Mallams sent their students out to beg for alms in order to pay for the newly-introduced “kudin sati”, weekly fees. This marked the beginning of the loss of value of the Almajiri system as kids in their large numbers started roaming the streets in Northern states and other parts of the country to beg for alms and food.
The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) in 2010 had said there are 10.5 million out of school children in Nigeria with 9.5 million of the figure constituting the almajiri population across the nation. In 2015 the number of out of school children in Nigeria rose to 13.2 million.
This is why Northern governors moved to prohibit the almajiri system in the region and have been returning the kids to their parents within their states and sending others to their states of origin.
A month after repatriating the first batch of almajiri kids, the Kano State Government announced on Sunday April 19 that it has identified 178,472 almajiri to be repatriated to their respective states, shortly after, other northern states started taking similar action which has started fuelling dissonance among the governors.
Kaduna, Bauchi, Jigawa, Nasarawa, Taraba, Katsina and other northern states have received hundreds of almajiri kids and have also repatriated hundreds to their states of origin.
Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule while announcing the repatriation of 788 almajiris to their states on Sunday May 3, had said “The plan to repatriate the almajiris is of good intention and not in bad motive.”
He said the decision to repatriate the kids was reached when the northern governors met recently in Abuja, adding that the coronavirus pandemic fast-tracks the repatriation.
The repatriation process took a dramatic turn when the states started announcing that hundreds of kids, who were returned to their states of origin, have tested positive for COVID-19.
Bauchi and Kaduna states said some of the kids returned from Kano tested positive for coronavirus but Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State was quick to attack the governors and accused them of playing politics with the virus and the future of the kids.
Ganduje, at a media briefing on Sunday, accused some of the northern governors of embarking on political mischief and taking undue advantage of the repatriation.
“We agreed at the Northern Governors Forum that all almajiris should be moved to their states of origin…The way we are sending back almajiris to their states of origin, we are also receiving almajiris from other states who are Kano indigenes. But the fact that we are not making noise about it does not mean they are all healthy without COVID-19 infections, Ganduje said.
“But we are not making politics out of it. Because we all believe that what they need most now is not noise making or publicity. What they need at this critical point in time is care.”
Meanwhile, Jigawa State, which has received 607 almajiris from Kano, is one of the states yet to repatriate any to their states of origin. The state government said it feared transporting them across state boundaries at this time may increase the rate of infections in the country.
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers has also waded into the controversy surrounding the movement of almajiri kids to their states.
At a meeting with local council chairmen last Tuesday, Wike alleged that the federal government did not condemn the repatriation by some northern states, but that it made a declaration against inter-state movement when Rivers took similar action.
In 2013, the then Governor of Lagos Babatunde Fashola incurred the wrath of many Nigerians when he deported 14 beggars of Anambra state origin to Onitsha, he was quickly rebuffed by Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi.
In 2014 when Rochas Okorocha then Governor of Imo State deported 84 ‘northerners’ over suspicion of terrorism, it sparked controversy and condemnation from northerners who accused him of ethnic profiling.
Many have argued that it is illegal for state governors to deport citizens within their country to their states of origin. Femi Falana (SAN) in his condemnation of Fashola’s action in 2013 wrote: “In the Director, State Security Service v. Olisa Agbakoba (1999) 3 NWLR (PT 595) 314 at 356 the Supreme Court reiterated that, ‘It is not in dispute that the Constitution gives to the Nigerian citizen the right to move freely throughout Nigeria and to reside in any part thereof’”.
The human rights lawyer added that “In particular, deportation is an affront to the human rights of the beggars to dignity of their persons (Section 34), personal liberty (Section 35), freedom of movement (Section 41), and right of residence in any part of Nigeria (Section 43).”
