Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule has vowed that his administration would not condole street begging in the state and warned parents who subject their wards to begging in the name of Almajiri to desist from it or face the wrath of the law.
The governor added that there were about 10 million children in Almajiri system in the entire northern states, affirming that most of them serve as beggars and spending all their time on the streets begging.
According to him, the Almajiri system of education was completely misunderstood.
He stated that street begging was a crime, maintaining that the rights of children must be protected, affirming that a bill to that effect would soon be in place.
He stated this during the weekend while appearing on a NTA programme where he bared his mind on the concept of Almajiri system of education in Nigeria, explaining that the Almajiri system had become a menace and security threat to the state.
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According to him, his government was approaching insecurity in three different ways which include providing job through agriculture, vocational and technical skills as well as ensuring that parents who send their children to Almajiri School are able to take care of such children.
His words, “Government must establish that it is a crime to abuse a child, it is a crime to bring children to this world and send them to Almajiri system when you cannot take care of them.”
The governor added, “It is a crime to send children on the street begging, that is what we are trying to do. Parents must take responsibility, you can’t bring children to this world and dump them somewhere and expect somebody else to take care of them, so parents must not shy away from their responsibility.”
He vowed that Nasarawa State Government under his leadership would make sure that begging on the street was a crime, adding that the rights of children must be protected.
The governor said that begging was not part of the concept of Almajiri system of Islamic education; he therefore shifted the blame on parents who give birth to children and dump them into begging in the name of Almajiri system. [PUNCH]
