Ulama council wants almajirai, insecurity tackled

By Usman Ibn A. Lapai
Kaduna

Nigerian Council of Ulama has urged parents to stop sending underage children from one state to another for Qur’anic knowledge as almajirai, saying that “they can learn at home,” while the scholars also lament insecurity in parts of the country.
According to the scholars, the parents should keep their children at home until they attain adulthood when they can take care of themselves to avoid risking their lives for ritual killings and becoming social miscreants.

The appeal followed the case of seven-year-old Almajiri boy, who was recently sodomized by a fish seller after the latter bribed him with fish head, leaving the boy bleeding from his anus and being unable to walk properly.
Addressing the press at the weekend in Kaduna, the Secretary-General of the Council, Prof. Sadiq Al-Kafawy, said “if that process of learning is the best, why are Nigerian Almajiri children not excelling in Qur’anic competitions and was that not practised in other Islamic countries.”

He said: “The Council believes that more compassionate measures can be taken like it is obtained in many Muslim countries such that will protect them from becoming victims of ritual murders and social miscreants.
“The Almajiri system has for quite a long time been generating concerns across the country, this has attracted the attention of authorities to the extent that some interventions at the level of some states and the Federal government have been given. The puzzling questions that have defied answers are, must our children be subjected to this kind of callous treatment before they learn how to read the Qur’an?”
On recession, the Ulama urged the federal government to bone up with palliatives that would mitigate the effects of the economic downturn on the citizens.

“In view of the recession, grains should be purchased from farmers and sold at subsidised prices to reduce the hardship engendered by the economic hardship pestering Nigerians. In this regard, the council supports the idea of re-introducing price control to curb the excesses of businessmen and women.”

The Council commended the Nigerian Armed Forces for their efforts in the fight against insurgency, but urged Nigerians to be extra vigilant in their surrounding and report any strange person, activity or movement to the nearest security agency.
They also urged Nigerians to intensify prayers for the country and the recovery of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Leave a Reply