HISTORY OF ALIMAJIRI IN NIGERIA

The word ALMAJIRI emanated from the Arabic word “AL- MUHAJIRIN”, the concept of Al-MUHAJIRUN came as a result of Prophet Muhammed’s migration from Mecca to Medina, meaning the emigrant. In Hausa land the term Almajiri could take any of the following forms children between the ages of seven and fifteen who attend informal religious school who roam about with the purpose of getting assistance or alms; or even a child who engages in some form of labour to earn a living.

Almajiranci has two very visible myths, both of which are rooted neither in laziness nor in the neglect of the northern Nigerian talakawas by the northern status quo, but in ignorance. These myths are the belief by the Muslim Hausa people, that itinerancy is synonymous with search for knowledge and that begging and not working is OK. Both are myths and myths are meant to be exposed or unraveled. While the former manifests itself as a dirty looking, teenager begging for food on the street. The latter cuts across every strata of the society. From the able bodied man or woman begging for alms at the traffic light to the Alhaji who has neither company nor expertise but goes from office to office seeking contracts or “welfare” from friends in high places. Or the local political big wig lobbying the local governor for a political appointment for his unqualified son or son-in-law.

But in this discussion we are more concerned with the first myth. That of the vagabond little boy in the street who arrives at the city as an itinerant scholar.

There is nothing wrong with being an itinerant scholar. The reformer, Sheikh Othman Bin Fodio was an itinerant scholar. He travelled as far away as Sudan and Saudi Arabia and came back to the Gobir kingdom not only enlightened by his travels but also bold and ready enough to challenge the then status quo in order to form a better society devoid of the unislamic corruption and innovations that were disguised as Islamic practices. Dan fodio's search for knowledge took him to centres of knowledge and he studied under reputable and learned and scholars. His first teacher was his father and it was at his father's insistence that he left home to gain a wider and deeper intellectual exposure.. Similar also to our hierarchical system of western education where you start your primary school at your local environment and you drift farther away from home geographically as you go deeper in your academic quest.

This is the norm of itinerancy in the quest for the Golden Fleece.

But things are done differently now. A half-baked semi-literate Mallam who, after harvesting his crops at the end of the rainy season in the village gathers a bunch of kids from his village and other surrounding hamlets and heads for the city. He has no abode, job or any means of livelihood when he gets to the city. The Quranic education these boys will be exposed to would have been imparted to them by the same Mallam in the village have they decided to stay put there. So from this stage, “cin rani” has been disguised as “neman ilmi”. The upkeep of the Mallam in the city now depends on these kids who are forced into begging or doing menial chores.

Bringing these children to the city now exposes them to a different (better?) way of life with all the attendant corruption that comes with it. This exposure is happening to these kids at a period when they are most impressionable and vulnerable. It is happening to them as adolescents. So, Left at the mercy of the street, these adolescent kids with no parental or social guidance are more likely to become vagabonds with a very real likelihood of drifting into a life of crime. The so-called Mallam who has estranged them from their parents is not equipped financially or intellectually to handle the functional needs of these kids at this age. The sheer number of the kids under him has already overwhelmed him.

This is where the social disconnect sets in. The kids are now estranged from their parents at a very young age, they are now used to the easy and fast paced life of the city and won’t be able to cope with the laid back and tough village life of their parents. Meanwhile they are not equipped through formal education or vocational training to derive the benefit of eking out a functional living in the city. They don’t want to be where they belong and they don’t belong where they are.