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Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule has urged the National Assembly to ban the Almajiri system, calling it a driver of insecurity and out-of-school children.
The Gist
- Governor Sule urges ban on Almajiri system
- Cites insecurity and out-of-school children
- Calls on National Assembly to act
He made the call at a summit on human capital development in northern Nigeria, held in Abuja.
The call to ban Almajiri system
Sule argued that the Almajiri system has fuelled the rising number of children outside the classroom. He linked it directly to worsening insecurity in the north.
He warned that many children recruited into banditry emerged from the system. In his view, leaving the problem unaddressed deepens the region’s security crisis.
The governor said the country faces a severe education crisis, with an estimated 18.3 million children currently out of school.
Scale of the problem
According to Sule, Almajiri children account for between 72 and 81 per cent of Nigeria’s total out-of-school population. The figure underlines how concentrated the crisis is.
The Almajiri system traditionally sends young boys to live with religious teachers to study the Quran. Critics say many end up begging on the streets with little formal education.
Supporters of reform argue the model leaves children vulnerable to exploitation and recruitment by criminal groups.
A call for legislation
Sule proposed replacing the system with compulsory formal education and skills acquisition programmes. He framed schooling and training as the long-term fix.
He said the forum would engage governors, traditional rulers and federal authorities to sponsor legislation. The goal is a national law seeking to abolish the system.
Any such move would require broad buy-in. The issue is sensitive, touching on religion, tradition and the rights of millions of families across the north.
A long-running debate
Calls to reform the Almajiri system are not new, and they resurface whenever insecurity worsens in the north.
Successive governments have launched special schools and integration plans, but funding and follow-through have often fallen short.
Religious and community leaders hold strong views on the issue, making consensus difficult to reach.
Some argue the system itself is not the problem, but rather the poverty and neglect that surround it.
Experts say tackling out-of-school numbers will require sustained investment in teachers, classrooms and family support.
They warn that bans without alternatives risk pushing vulnerable children further to the margins.
Northern leaders have repeatedly flagged the link between out-of-school children and instability.
Yet turning that concern into lasting policy has proved difficult across administrations.
Funding shortfalls and weak coordination have undermined earlier integration schemes.
Advocates say durable change needs buy-in from parents, clerics and local authorities alike.
Without that consensus, even well-meaning laws risk gathering dust.
For millions of affected children, the stakes are immediate and personal.
Why it matters
Out-of-school children are widely seen as one of Nigeria’s biggest development challenges. A large, uneducated youth population strains the economy and security alike.
Past efforts to reform the Almajiri model have stalled, partly because of resistance and weak funding. Some states have announced bans, but enforcement has been patchy.
Reform advocates stress that any ban must come with real alternatives. Without schools, teachers and support for affected families, a law alone could leave children worse off.
For now, the governor’s appeal puts the issue back on the national agenda, and pressure is building for lawmakers to respond.
Source: Nasarawa State Government
