Why Almajirci may never end

(Link on Daily Trust site)

As a topic, beggary Almajirci phenomenon has been thoroughly discussed especially over the recent years albeit to no avail, as all the sets of measures deployed over the decades by successive state governments in northern Nigeria (from where the Almajirai come) ostensibly to tackle it have failed. This is because no set of measures has ever sought to address the underlying dynamics behind its persistence. 

Besides, this persistent failure isn’t due to any cluelessness on the part of the successive governments and policymakers after all; it’s instead only due to a lack of sincerity and the reluctance of the region’s successive generations of governing elite to tackle it. As largely mere ‘yan boko with little Islamic knowledge and/or flawed understanding of the Islamic doctrine of Aqeedah, their reluctance, or rather fear, to tackle beggary Almajirci is borne out of a superstitious phobia and belief that tackling it would provoke the Alarammomi into launching mystical attacks (i.e. asiri) against them to ruin their lives, careers and families. A typical elite member in the region maintains some dedicated Alarammomi as his personal “prayer warriors” who he believes possess some abilities to manipulate circumstances in favour or against whoever they wish.  

Likewise, a typical politician fears the implications of tackling beggary Almajirci on his election or reelection bid and political survival, because many influential traditional clerics are championing it, and can use their influence among the electorate to frustrate his political career; he, therefore, dare not challenge it.

Also, some politicians, having themselves been beggary Almajirai at some points of their respective lives before they somehow managed to change course or having come from families that had practised or supported it at some points, betray reluctance to openly challenge it for they, albeit unjustifiably, consider it self-embarrassing.

Interestingly, there is ironically a growing trend of tacit apologism for beggary Almajirci among the so-called liberal northern Nigerian Muslims who ordinarily condemn it for being too uncivilized; and who have always sounded embarrassed for sharing regional and cultural identity with the Almajirai. Though on closer look, it becomes clear that they aren’t actually doing it out of conviction but only to spite a segment of Islamic scholars who consistently debunk the purported link between Islam and beggary Almajirci; an allegation that many anti-Muslim elements peddle and insinuate to tarnish the image of Islam. 

Perhaps, those “liberal Muslims” want Almajirci to be tackled only with secular mechanisms to maintain the unfounded stereotype that links Islam to beggary Almajirci and other unIslamic practices falsely linked to Islam so that they could maintain the pretexts of attacking Islam in the name of “humanity” and “modernity”.  

Anyway, acquiring mastery in Qur’anic reading/memorization, which is the main pretext for sending out kids to beggary Almajirci isn’t always the parents' motive at least nowadays after all. Because over the past several decades, Qur’anic knowledge penetration in northern Nigeria has increased dramatically leading to the spread of traditional makarantun allo (regardless of their shortcomings) in virtually every nook and cranny of particularly the Muslim dominated northern part of the country where all the wandering Almajirai ironically come from. 

Today, in terms of Islamic knowledge penetration in general and Qur’anic reading/memorization skills in particular, the Muslim dominated northern Nigeria matches up to even Makkah and Madinah. Nevertheless, a parent living literally next to at least one makarantar allo would opt to send out his kid(s) to beggary Almajirci tens and even hundreds of kilometres away. In fact, in many cases, the parent is himself an Alaramma with many Almajirai under his tutelage. 

Many parents sending out their children to beggary Almajirci wrongly assume that a child can only master the Qur’an when away from his family, and living under harsh conditions from which he is also expected to acquire fortitude and self-reliance. 

However, upon all the hellish experiences of destitution, deprivation, exploitation, neglect, bullying, physical, psychological, and sometimes even sexual abuse that a typical beggary Almajiri endures for extended years, he still ends up learning a grossly distorted way of reading the Qur’anic text that disregards its classical Arabic phonetics and “tajweed” rules thereby distorting the meanings of its sacred verses. He also never learns the meanings of the Qur’an or even the basic Islamic knowledge for that matter. He, instead, ends up mastering Talismanic manipulations maintaining a collection of desecrated Qur’anic verses (i.e. kundi), which he uses to perpetrate his polytheistic works in the name of ‘addu’a. 

Equally, contrary to the general assumption of the role of poverty in the persistence of beggary Almajirci, it isn’t always the case. Parents of many, if not most, of those beggary Almajirai wandering around, are not that poor after all. In fact, many of them are from quite rich families with livestock, crops, farmlands and other rural assets; also, many of them are from pretty rich urban families.

On a lighter note, growing up in my native Kano metropolitan neighbourhood, an Alaramma with many beggary Almajirai under him who was particularly sensitive to the perceived Almajiri-Dan gari dichotomy, would often mischievously make innuendoes directed at ‘yan gari kids to the effect that the parents of some beggary Almajirai looked down on are richer than the parents of many bragging ‘yan gari kids in the neighbourhood.  

Anyway, some parents also hide behind pursuit for Qur'anic reading/memorization skills to send out their kids to urban areas to grow up hustling in hopes that they would sometime and somehow make it. That what explains the roaming beggary Almajirai from Jigawa or Katsina, for instance, in the streets of Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt etc. 

Now, it’s obvious from the foregoing that beggary Almajirci persists and resists tackling/reform measures thanks to elite hypocrisy and ignorance (Islamic knowledge-wise), tacit but very effective support from the traditional clerical establishment, parental irresponsibility and communal insensitivity. 

These are the underlying dynamics behind the persistence of beggary Almajirci; and unless they are appropriately addressed, the phenomenon would never end.