Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Remi Tinubu has said that addressing the issues of Almajiri and Out-of-School Children is huge and challenging but not undefeatable.
Senator Tinubu stated this when she received the Executive Secretary and other members of the executives of the National Commission for Almajiri and Out of School Children in her office.
The First Lady, in a statement by her media aide, Busola Kukoyi on Friday, noted that there is no harm in the children seeking the knowledge of God so early, saying this is expected to shape their outlook and conduct in life. She added that the entire process must be properly regularised and monitored to avoid abuse.
“Yes, there is nothing wrong with seeking knowledge about God.
“To address the issue of Almajiri and these out of school children, is it huge, yes. It is challenging. And yes, it is not unsurmountable”.
The First Lady was of the opinion the all Imams and Ulamas involved in the Almajiri system must be properly registered and documented by the appropriate authorities, with a proviso that if they are not, they would not be allowed to practice.
She said this is one way of checking abuse on their part.
“People do not have the fear of God in them. They have exploited these vulnerable ones for too long”.
“The schools you are proposing for them should be boarding schools where they cannot only get educated about the Quran but also the formal education with skills acquisition. I advise that we take one day at a time. Take this one school and see that it works, then we move on from there”.
The First Lady also used opportunity of the visit to intimate her guests with the upcoming programme of the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) which is tagged: “Flow-With-Confidence Initiative” aimed at keeping girls in school even during their monthly cycles.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Almajiri and Out of School Children Education, Dr Muhammad Idris informed the first lady that a yet-to-be-verified statistics of Almajiri and Out of School Children in Nigeria were 30 million and 18.5 million respectively which he described as very disheartening.
He also noted that a pilot scheme school will be established in Kaduna State shortly, where these children can learn the Quran, Arabic, English and skills, using a curriculum put together by the Federal Ministry of Education.
Dr Idris explained that the Commission intends to mop up 8 million Out-of-School Children within the next 2 years and get them back to school.
He further commended President Bola Tinubu and the First Lady for their commitment and dedication to the cause of the ordinary Nigerian.
