Thread by @Realoilsheikh

Dear Malam Nasiru @elrufai ,

Like many Nigerians of northern extraction, I wish to commend the decision of the Nigerian Governors Forum under the leadership of @RtHonSBLalong, the executive governor of Plateau state. We believe that taming the Almajiri menace is long overdue.

We also believe that this will open a platform for a sincere debate about the failure of the irresponsible parent that failed to cater for their children, & of the irresponsible govts that fail to provide adequate facilities; class rooms, teachers & other instructional materials.

On 1st of May, 2020 @daily_trust published an open letter to the NGF regarding this "Cheap, quick but unbalanced action", as a position paper of the Almajiri Schools Remodeling Initiative (ASRI), an NGO interested in the remodeling of the Almajiri sch.

dailytrust.com.ng/govs-ban-on-al…

It is true that a ban on Almajiri system as it is today is unislamic, inhuman & wicked, and a ban on that with sudden return of millions of these Almajiris to their villages may portray you as ACTION MEN, this approach only transfers the problem from urban centres to villages!

In reality sir, this approach tends to precipitate bigger socio-economic & security problems in the near future, to a highly insecured NORTH already battling with so bandits, kidnappers & bokoharam. Your excellencies, what do you think will become of over 9 million children

sent to their villages and no arrangement is being made by the govt to enroll them in schools? Don't you think you are just transferring some new recruits to these rural areas? As it is, we are just transferring the boys from the cities to the villages. How is that a solution?

'To address this long standing challenge, we need not only tame our emotions, but also think innovatively. We are dealing with a problem directly affecting millions of innocent and voiceless kids – who never chose to be the beggars that we see around'.

'Recently, UBEC announced that the Nigerian primary school system is suffering from a shortfall of over 277, 000 qualified teachers (Tribune, 16 Dec., 2019) and that 1 in 2 Nigerian public primary schools have no functional toilets (Tribune, 9 Jan., 2020).'

Your excellencies, assuming all the parent of these Almajiris today decide to be responsible & say, "WE WANT TO ENROLL OUR CHILDREN IN SCHOOL THIS MONDAY", do we have the schools, qualified teachers & teaching materials to cater for an additional 9 MILLION CHILDREN in the North?

I believe VERBALLY BANNING Almajiri system is the easiest thing we can do in the North, and especially that the #COVID19 pandemic has given us a rare opportunity of its kind, as admitted by @GovKaduna himself in this broadcast. Beyond repatriating the Almajiris to their villages,

the NGF should take the responsibilities they have abandoned too, of giving a good governance. There exist some solution models (albeit with different shortcomings) that have been proposed for many years. Some of these ‘Integrated Solution Models’ are fully aligned with the

provisions of section 15(1) of the UBE Act 2004. If these integrated models would be adopted by the NGF, they will include an integration of customised Technical & Vocational Education & Training (TVET) as well as a simplified version of the UBE into the traditional religious

education. As an NGO, Almajiri School Remodelling Initiative (ASRI) has succeeded in mobilizing and organising hundreds of well-meaning people from different parts of Nigerian, including highly revered subject matter experts to develop what has now been termed:

Integrated Tsangaya Education Model (ITEM). ASRI’s model (ITEM) comprises:

1.Almajiri education & vocational enterprise:
1.1Basic education (Maths, English & Basic Science and a local language)
1.2Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVETs)

1.3Enhancement of religious education
2. Campaign & advocacy (targeting six group of stakeholders)
3. Research & development (including baseline data capture).

ASRI is opened to discussion with the NGF on how we can collectively solve this problem once and for all.

ASRI can be contacted at:

Almajiri School Remodelling Initiatives (ASRI),
Beth Torry Home, No. 2, Tukur Tukur Road, Opposite Kofar Kibo, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria.
Email: [e-mail].

ASRI OPEN LETTER, Cc: @MBuhari @NigeriaGov @elrufai @KBStGovt @GovernorMasari @GovAbuBello @AWTambuwal @DrAhmadLawan @NGRSenate

@RtHonSBLalong, @nassnigeria @PoliceNG @DrIsaPantami