Aliko Dangote, the African business man, the richest man on the continent of Africa is from Kano and has remain a Kano man, and so he shall remain a Kano son till thy Kingdom come.
But what's happening in Kano, the current high number of recorded death, the number of out of school children, the way children in the name of almajirai are taken everywhere as if they are leper is a disgrace to the entire Nigeria. What is happening to his Almajiris brothers and sisters on the streets in his home state must be his headache as a father and the son of the soil.
Though, Dangote has his base in the South West of Nigeria but his root in the north, a region with almost 70% of the poorest in the country but, while Dangote should not be blamed entirely for the deposition of Emir Sanusi who represents the new north, many are of the opinion that he did too little.
For those not familiar with Kano and the number of out of school children, in Kano State, men will send their boys to Almajirci school (Madrassa); they are literally abandoning them because there is no effective supervision by parents. The Mallam (Islamic teacher) can’t cater for them; instead the boys will have to beg to feed themselves and feed the Mallam, as well,” says recently, Amina Hanga, Executive Secretary of the Kano-based Isa Wali Empowerment Initiative (IWEI), a nonprofit working with out of school children in northern Nigeria.
It is in this process that the boys therefore become vulnerable to social vices: drug abuse, thievery, thuggery. They become vulnerable to being preyed upon by criminals to do as they like with them. So, they grow up hating and resenting society including their parents. This is because their parents and society didn’t give them anything.”
According to the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), girls account for over 60% of out-of-school children in Nigeria, majority of who are also from the northern region. Socioeconomic barriers such as early marriages, poverty, lack of toilet facilities in schools, insecurity and sexual harassment by male teachers in schools are the major barriers for girls’ enrolment and retention in schools across northern Nigeria.
According to The Guardian Nigeria report, more over 31,000 Almajiris, streets urchins were deported to Kaduna
Besides effort to contain the spread of COVID-19, there are indications that Northern states embarked on the deportation of almajirai to cut down on anticipated expenses.
Governors of the region last month had agreed to send the almajirai back to their states of origin. The states, however, appear to be deliberately cutting down on possible expenditure, unwilling to shoulder the responsibility of catering for an army of non-indigenes.
But, what can Dangote do in this case?
Advocate for the revival of the Almajiri School created by Goodluck Jonathan
Advocate for birth control in the north
Advocate for abolition of child marriage
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