By Okey Ikechukwu
Our people say that the slave you see splitting firewood in the morning in his master’s compound when other children are leaving home to learn one trade or the other is not necessarily unwilling to head out with other children to learn a trade. The salve is also not necessarily less intelligent than the children in the plethora of trade and skill centers in the community. It is just that his circumstances have confined him to a tasks that will never make him a significant democratic fact in his environment. He is Cannon Fodder: Easily replaceable and often no great loss at all if he suddenly drops dead.
Now, picture a child standing up before a large audience to recite the entire Qur’an. That same child could have used the same intellectual capacity to study and pass almost any other subject in our conventional schools. But his 100% score in the Arabic rendition of the Islamic scripture does not give him any skill and knowledge in his economic environment. He therefore begs, in order to ensure materially from one day to the next, notwithstanding his demonstrated brilliance.
He cannot engage in the local economy in any way whatsoever. He cannot compete in any way whatsoever. He has ‘graduated’ from his school, but only as an economic burden to society. He has no goods he can offer to earn income. And that is why others must provide for him, why he must go out and beg for alms, or get involved in petty thievery and occasional thuggery if recruited for the purpose. He best among them take to begging, and keep begging.
But, let us backtrack to an event that took place in Abuja some two weeks ago. around you. There were about twenty-one former Almajiri and street children in a hall in Peniel Apartment. They had learned to build computers and drones. All it took was an intensive six-month program that combined daily practical training, holistic welfare support, and entrepreneurship mentorship. These can, henceforth, be the new face of Almajiri in Nigeria. Which means, replicating what made this possible on a much larger scale.
Months before the “graduation” programme of last week, many of the trainees in that hall had never seen, nor used, a computer. Most of them also could not communicate in English at all. Fast forward to a life-changing encounter with Tim Akana and his truckload of good ideas six months ago, they can now assemble drones, repair laptop and desktop computer, fix troubled mobile phones and power banks, as well as electric fans, microwave ovens and other electronic devices.
All it took was an intensive practical training that combined technical education with entrepreneurship training, mentorship and character development. Unlike many programmes that end with theoretical and paper certificates, this one equipped graduates with professional work tools and start-up support to make them income earners immediately. As part of the package, a business directory was launched, to connect households and businesses with the graduates for computer and electronics repair services.
This is all thanks to the Almajiri-to-Tech-Foundation, founded by Tim Akano, in partnership with New Horizons Nigeria. They took vulnerable youths off the streets of Abuja and turned them into effective tech entrepreneurs. The skills these hitherto troubled youths have now acquired include Hardware Building, that is the assembling of custom desktop computers, battery inverters, robots, and drones from scratch. They also carry out electronics repair jobs, in terms of fixing laptops, mobile phones, power banks, electric fans, washing machines, and microwave ovens.
They have all learnt basic English and numeracy. They can communicate and negotiate with customers. This was all carried out under a welfare support system that provided daily meals, uniforms, learning materials, and transportation support. The holistic mentorship encapsulated in the programme also offered guidance from integrated religious mentors, psychologists, and imams to reorient mindset and character.
And it was all being rounded up two weeks ago via a Business Launch that would equip top Amajiri graduates with professional toolkits and enterprise backing, via a dedicated workshop in Wuse II, Abuja, to start earning immediately.
Akano and New Horizons have joined forces to also address the second, and even bigger, problem of Almajiri children in Nigeria. And that is the fact that they often lack any true moral compass, notwithstanding the fact that they could recite one of the world’s strongest sources of moral precepts, the Qur’an. Because it is in Arabic, and they can only recite it in Arabic, the revered scripture does not give them any real guidance, thus leaving them to the machinations of unscrupulous individuals in society. This second dilemma of the Almajiri child has also been addressed by the Almajiri-to-Tech initiative.
The event of two weeks ago should be seen as a clarion call to all to wake up and realize that the solution to a decades-old programme lies within our grasp, and at an affordable cost. The Almajiri child is the product of a system and not the work of the devil. To pretend that he is intrinsically evil is to overlook the fact that whoever wants to find out why a river is polluted downstream must look for the source of the pollution upstream.
What we are seeing, and condemning today in many places is actually not exactly the authentic Almajiri tradition, but a distorted version that has evolved under the weight of irresponsible leadership, poverty, neglect, and poor governance. When we consider that the word Almajiri derives from the Arabic al-muhajir, which refers to one who migrates in pursuit of knowledge, we easily see that the Almajiri system was historically a respected institution of Islamic scholarship across West Africa.
Young learners travelled from their homes to study under accomplished scholars, immersing themselves in Qur’anic education, moral discipline, and character development. The system was designed in such a way that communities, parents, and rulers collectively bore the responsibility of supporting both the teachers and the students in the system. The present crisis is not because the philosophy of Almajiri education was flawed, but because the social structures that sustained it gradually collapsed. Economic hardship, rapid population growth, urbanization, and inadequate public investment transformed many Qur’anic schools into institutions struggling merely to survive.
In too many cases, children were constrained to beg for food and money in the streets. This was ordinarily not a requirement, or a component of the Almajiri educational system; but the obvious consequence of poverty, hunger and societal abandonment.
Those who argue that the Almajiri system itself is beyond redemption today overlook the fact that there is a difference between the original intentions of an educational philosophy and the new conditions under which it operates in a more or less properly or improperly adapted manner. The issues should be looked at from the angel of what needs to be done to create the kind of Almajiri education that can work sustainably in today’s Nigeria and today’s world.
The question should probably not be whether Almajiri education should exist, but how an authentic Almajiri system can coexist with contemporary education; while combining religious scholarship with literacy, mathematics, science, digital skills, and vocational training. Such an integration and consolidation will preserve cultural values, religious identity and the emergence of Almajiri ‘graduates’ equipped to thrive in a rapidly changing world.
When we also consider that recent education policies in Nigeria have similarly emphasized integrating Tsangaya education with broader basic education and improving access for Almajiri learners, it becomes clear that this is the way to go. That is why we cannot dismiss the prospects of the Almajiri system as a mirage today. To do so would be to ignore its historical contributions to scholarship, ethics, and community life over the years.
The real mistake and illusion is the belief that abolishing the system will solve the problems of child poverty, educational exclusion, or social inequality. These problems predate the current crisis and will outlive it, unless they are tackled from their roots. The future of the system lies in the rehabilitation of its original promise, by taking g urgent steps to reconfigure it in the face a dynamic modern world while modifying whatever needs modification.
The system needs reforms, accountability parameters, adequate funding, community involvement, leadership responsibility, and curriculum upgrade and the integration of numeracy and non-Arabic literacy for it to move from being a relic of the past and a symbol of neglect to a model of inclusive learning in a 21st century world. That will make it the oasis it is not at the moment.
The task before Nigeria, for which Akano and new Horizons have set a precedent, is to clear the dust and show a way out of the distortion and confusion and, thus, allow its true value to flourish and shine once again. The uniqueness of Tim Akano’s Almajiri-to-Tech Programme lies in the fact that it is has shown how we can transform Almajiri children from street begging into skilled ICT professionals; through practical technology training while allowing them to continue their Qur’anic education. It rests on the belief that the Almajiri system should be reformed rather than abolished. Saving the Almajiri system requires the reforming of content and structure, while preserving its original purpose. This will rescue a centuries-old tradition of Islamic scholarship, and restore its integrity; as adapted to contemporary realities.
Introducing vocational and technology education delivers practical skills in such areas as agriculture, carpentry, tailoring, electrical installation, computer literacy, coding, and electronics repair can prepare students for employment or entrepreneurship. And initiatives like Tim Akano’s Almajiri-to-Tech programme demonstrate how technical education can complement, rather than completely replace, Qur’anic learning.
In sum, it about balancing tradition with transformation, and combining moral education and memorization with anti-poverty capabilities. As our people would say, instead of cutting the tree because some of its branches are diseased, let the branches are pruned so the tree can flourish again and not have to be cut down as an eyesore.