,Almajiranci () refers to a system of
Islamic education practiced in northern
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
, the male gender seeking Islam knowledge is called Almajiri, female gender is Almajira, and the plural is Almajirai . The system encourages parents to leave parental responsibilities to the attached Islamic school. The
Hausa
Hausa may refer to:
* Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa
* Hausa language, spoken in West Africa
* Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states
* Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse
See also
...
word Almajiri is derived from the
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
word, "al-Muhājir," which refers to a person who ''migrates'' from his home in search of Islamic knowledge.
Colloquially, the term has expanded to refer to any young person who begs on the streets and does not attend secular school. Many people in Hausa land give 'Sadaka' to almajirai on daily basis seeking Divine reward and protection. Almajirai are children, usually from poor rural backgrounds, who leave their hometowns to study Islamic learning with malammai, teachers of the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
.
Most ''malams'' were educated in the alamajiri system themselves, and as they do not receive a salary but depend financially on the alms of the community and the work of the almajirai.
The almajirai usually begin their studies between the ages of 3 and 12, and learn about the Quran in schools called tsangayu.
In their early twenties, the almajirai reach sauka, graduation, and become gardi or gardawa.
When not engaged in learning the Quran, almajirai in rural areas may work on farms, while urban almajirai conduct small tasks like domestic chores, running errands, and fetching water.
Some almajiri attend secular schools concurrently, or switch between secular and almajiri schools.
Additionally, almajirai practice alms begging, or almajiranchi, out of necessity to eat.
Almajiranchi was not originally part of the almajirai system, but it is now said to prepare the almajirai for the hardships of life, make them strong and humble, and keep them devoted to studying the Quran.
The practice of alms begging is widely denounced as child abuse in Nigeria.
Approximately 8.5 million children attend Islamic schools in Northern Nigeria.
There are approximately 300,000 almajirai living in the
state of Kano.
In a recent report during the COVID 19 lockdown, the government of Kano State revealed that it cannot take care of over 5 million alamajiri in Kano state so it has begun the process of deportation of the boys back to their various states of origin. Some other northern states also followed suit on the grounds that the boys will be easy spreaders of the dreaded coronavirus in northern Nigeria. About 69% of the 13.4 million school children in Nigeria are children from Northern Nigeria.
The almajiri system in Nigeria is highly controversial. The system has been attacked for promoting youth poverty and delinquency, for failing to teach young boys vocational skills and thus making them unequipped for the workforce, and for radicalizing boys and making them perfect recruits for gangs and
Boko Haram
Boko Haram, officially known as ''Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād'' ( ar, جماعة أهل السنة للدعوة والجهاد, lit=Group of the People of Sunnah for Dawah and Jihad), is an Islamic terrorist organization ...
.
Others believe the almajiri system teaches young boys to be pious, good people who will benefit society.
History
Precolonial era
Muslim traders first came to the Nigerian regions of
Kanem and Borno in the 9th century, and the religion spread through trade and migration. Almajiri began in Kanem-Borno in the 11th century, when many rulers practiced Islam. More than 700 years later, in the 19th century, Islamic scholar
Usman dan Fodio
Usman Ɗan Fodio ( ar, عثمان بن فودي, translit=ʿUthmān ibn Fodio; 15 December 1754 – 20 April 1817) was a Fulani scholar, Sunni Islamic religious teacher, revolutionary, and philosopher who founded the Sokoto Caliphate and ruled ...
founded the
Sokoto
Sokoto is a major city located in extreme northwestern Nigeria, near the confluence of the Sokoto River and the Rima River. As of 2006 it has a population of over 427,760. Sokoto is the modern-day capital of Sokoto State and was previously the ...
caliphate, and furthered the cause of Islamic learning. Prior to the
British arrival in Nigeria, almajiri children stayed at home with their parents and attended tsangayu to learn about the Quran.
All the schools available then were in close proximity with the immediate environment of the students.
Inspectors were introduced to go to the schools and report the affairs of the school to the
emir
Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...
of the province.
The schools were funded by the state treasury, the community, parents,
zakah
Zakat ( ar, زكاة; , "that which purifies", also Zakat al-mal , "zakat on wealth", or Zakah) is a form of almsgiving, often collected by the Muslim Ummah. It is considered in Islam as a religious obligation, and by Quranic ranking, is ne ...
controlled by local emirs,
sadaqqah and sometimes the farm output of the students.
In the precolonial era, almajirai did not beg because there was sufficient funding to feed and clothe them.
Colonial era
The British
colonized Nigeria in 1904, and with them came many changes to the almajiri system.
During the colonial era, the British deposed
emir
Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...
s and defunded the almajiri system.
The remaining emirs lost control of their territories; this resulted also in the loss of fundamental control of the almajiri.
With no support from the community, emirs and government, the system collapsed.
The British neither established secular schools on a large scale nor advanced existing institutions.
Most Western education (Boko) was conducted by Christian missionaries, but this education was only available for a small portion of Nigerians.
Because Islamic scholars did not have a western education, they were disqualified from white-collar and political jobs.
One Muslim response to the establishment of Christian-led secular schools was to create integrated Muslim-led secular schools. In 1921, there were more than 30,000 Islamic schools in Northern Nigeria.
![Almajiri](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Almajiri.jpg)
The British did, however, establish large urban centers, so many malammai migrated from rural areas to the cities.
Many northern cities, such as
Kano
Kano may refer to:
Places
*Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria
* Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State
**Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries
**Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between ...
, became important centers of Islamic learning.
Parents started sending their children to the cities to study Islam, and the relationship between the almajiri and the malammai became more salient.
The teachers and students had no financial support, so, they turned to alms begging and menial jobs for survival.
Eventually this practice became the norm.
Post-Independence Era
The 1970's
oil boom, which decreased the profitability of farming, and the 1986 Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), which slowed economic growth, both increased poverty in Northern Nigeria and exacerbated the challenges of the almajiri system.
In 1989, the Nigerian government created the National Commission for Nomadic Education (NCNE) to improve formal and non-formal education systems (including the almajiri system) for nomadic Nigerian children. Some children come to Nigeria from neighboring countries (Chad Republic, Niger, and Sudan) to attend almajiri schools. Many Northern states made integrated Muslim/secular primary and post-primary schools.
Contemporary Government Policy
In recent years, there has been an increased effort to integrate the almajiri school system into the Nigerian secular school system. Several Northern states, such as
Adamawa state
Adamawa state () is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Borno to the northwest, Gombe to the west, and Taraba to the southwest, while its eastern border forms part of the national border with Cameroon. It tak ...
and
Niger state
Niger is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria and the largest state in the country. Niger state has three political zones, zone A,B and C. The state's capital is at Minna. Other major cities are Bida, Kontagora and Suleja. It was fo ...
, have started integrating the almajiri education system into existing government programs. In 2009, the states of
Sokoto
Sokoto is a major city located in extreme northwestern Nigeria, near the confluence of the Sokoto River and the Rima River. As of 2006 it has a population of over 427,760. Sokoto is the modern-day capital of Sokoto State and was previously the ...
and
Zamfara had three times as many Quranic students as students in the formal education system, which the government considered to be a serious problem.
In 2010, the Nigerian Universal Basic Education (UBE) system was expanded to include the National Framework for the Development and Integration of Almajiri Education, which allocated funding to open more than one hundred almajiri schools.
The schools were funded by a $98 million joint operation between the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the Nigerian government.
The plan was intended to keep children from becoming radicalized and recruited by
Boko Haram
Boko Haram, officially known as ''Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād'' ( ar, جماعة أهل السنة للدعوة والجهاد, lit=Group of the People of Sunnah for Dawah and Jihad), is an Islamic terrorist organization ...
and other terrorist groups.
In 2013, 124 Islamic schools had been built.
However, since then, many of these schools have deteriorated.
In 2012, President
Goodluck Jonathan
Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan (born 20 November 1957)Lawson Heyford, ''The Source'' (Lagos), 11 December 2006. is a Nigerian politician who served as the President of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to fo ...
referred to the almajiri as “dangerous to national development.”
He also said that Nigeria should ensure that the almajirai receive a traditional, secular education.
In 2015, the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Almajiri Education Programme wrote that its goals were to provide the Universal Basic Education to all almajiri children, to eliminate begging, and to facilitate the integration of Islamic studies into the secular Universal Basic Education Program for Northern
Nigerian
Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...
children.
The report emphasized that children could continue to learn the Quran, but that the Universal Basic Education program would prepare almajirai with secular knowledge and skills to "enable them integrate into the Nigerian society and ensure realization of their potentials."
In 2020, 50 out of 59
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
cases in
Kaduna State
Kaduna State ( ha, Jihar Kaduna جىِهَر كَدُنا; ff, Leydi Kaduna, script=Latn, ; kcg, Sitet Kaduna) is a state in northern Nigeria. The state capital is its namesake, the city of Kaduna which happened to be the 8th largest city in ...
were traced to almajiris who were sent back from Kano to their different States. In
Jigawa State, out of 45 samples taken for COVID-19 tests from Almajiris repatriated from Kano State, 16 came back positive. The Northern States Governors' Forum perceived that the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
has set the scene for introducing drastic changes into the almajiri school system as it exposes children to the virus due to lack of hygiene, shelter and itinerant life. This has led to abolishing of the almajiri educational system by
Kano State
Kano State (Hausa: ''Jihar Kano''جىِهَر كَنوُ) (Fula: Leydi Kano 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤳𞤢𞤲𞤮𞥅 ) is one of the 36 states of Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajee ...
. The governor of Kano State Mr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje announced that alamajiri have been banned from the state and deportation of them will start immediately to curb covid spread. The children would be absorbed into the secular school system.
Criticism
The almajiri system has been highly controversial in Nigeria. Some believe that the almajiri system was originally good, but has since deteriorated. Critics say that the almajiri system promotes poverty and neglects, abuses, and exploits young boys, who wear tattered clothing, beg for food on the streets, and work for free.
In one study of almajirai in the
Kaduna state
Kaduna State ( ha, Jihar Kaduna جىِهَر كَدُنا; ff, Leydi Kaduna, script=Latn, ; kcg, Sitet Kaduna) is a state in northern Nigeria. The state capital is its namesake, the city of Kaduna which happened to be the 8th largest city in ...
, 38% of boys surveyed said they were tired all the time, and 62% reported feeling hungry. In the same study, 88% of almajirai said they spend most of their time begging. Some Muslims criticize this practice, as begging is generally discouraged in Islam. Moreover, the conditions that almajirai live in are often unhygienic and not conducive to their health.
The almajiri system is often attacked for promoting youth delinquency and violence and for providing street gangs and
Boko Haram
Boko Haram, officially known as ''Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād'' ( ar, جماعة أهل السنة للدعوة والجهاد, lit=Group of the People of Sunnah for Dawah and Jihad), is an Islamic terrorist organization ...
with an ample supply of vulnerable young recruits.
People believe that the almajiri system fuels Boko Haram because 1) the children are radically indoctrinated and manipulated by their Quranic teachers and 2) the children are economically disadvantaged and live without their parents, which makes them easy targets for recruitment.
Some say that Boko Haram would not exist with almajirai, while others say there's no evidence that Boko Haram recruits from almajirai systematically more than they recruit from any other vulnerable youth demographic in Nigeria.
Additionally, since the almajirai do not receive a secular education (math, science, English, etc.), they are often unequipped for professional jobs.
Because almajirai beg on the streets and are seen by some as unproductive to society, the children face widespread stigmatization: some consider them to be "the butchers of Nigeria,” "urchins" and "nuisances."
Support
Some still consider the almajirai system to be a legitimate, time-honored way to teach children the Quran and Muslim values. Many almajirai consider themselves to be humble and devoted scholars searching for the most holy knowledge.
Several
Sunnah encourage the seeking of Islamic knowledge, such as "Seeking knowledge is a duty upon every Muslim" (Vol. 1, Book 1, Hadith 224) and "Whoever goes out seeking knowledge, then he is in Allah's cause until he returns" (Vol. 5, Book 39, Hadith 2647). Supporters of the almajiri education system believe that it teaches children to be pious, moral, and beneficial to society.
Some argue that the negative stereotypes of almajirai make them easy scapegoats.
They argue that the almajirai system itself may not be the causal factor in the poverty the boys face.
As part of efforts to vaccinate every child in Nigeria, the World Health Organization has supported the Nigerian Government to vaccinate as many alamajiri children in the northern part of Nigeria as possible. The vaccination was targeted at schools and houses where the children are found.
Additionally, some say that there is no evidence that Boko Haram or other violent groups recruit from almajirai more than any other cohort of disadvantaged youth.
In an effort to control how almajiri schools operate in the state, the Kaduna State government plans to register them.
See also
*
JIBWIS
*
Khalwa Khalwa (Arabic, also khalwat; lit., "solitude"; pronounced in Iran, "khalvat"; spelling in Turkish, ''halvet'') has several meanings in Sufism, Islamic jurisprudence, and the Druze religion, which in some way derive from the concept of being alone ...
, the Sudanese name for these schools
References
{{Reflist
Islamic education in Nigeria
Kanem Empire