Nasarawa governor asks National Assembly to ban Almajiri system in Nigeria

Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa, has called on the National Assembly to enact legislation banning the Almajiri system across the country.

Sule made the call on Thursday at the summit on enhancing human capital development in northern Nigeria held in Abuja.

The governor said the Almajiri system has contributed significantly to the rising number of out-of-school children and worsening insecurity in northern Nigeria, warning that many children recruited into banditry emerged from the Almajiri system.

According to Sule, Nigeria’s education crisis requires coordinated action involving political leaders, traditional institutions and other stakeholders across the north, stressing that Nasarawa accounts for about 430,000 out-of-school children.

Governor Sule recalled the 2020 repatriation of Almajiri children by the governments of Nasarawa and Kaduna states  noting that enforcement efforts would only succeed if accompanied by sustainable alternatives.

The governor proposed that the Almajiri system should be replaced with compulsory formal education and skills acquisition programmes.

He urged northern leaders to translate deliberations at the summit into concrete legislative proposals, adding that policy reforms are critical to addressing poverty, reducing insecurity and improving educational outcomes across the region.