The word almagiri is derived from the Arabic word Al-Muhajirun which literally means a learned scholar who propagate the message of Islam.
"Wherever we go,we meet crowd of them" at the railway station, streets, mosques, Church's etc holding plastic bowl begging for food or money.
Some of them are kept under the supervision of some literate missionaries who themselves lack the necessary finance and supports to cater for themselves.
"Almagiri who are usually little boys
between the ages of 5 to 17 may have been direct product of broken homes or economically challenge family or offspring who see pawing of their children as an act of religious devotion"
The almagiri grows up In the street without the love,care and support of a parent.his struggle for survival expose him to danger and sexual abuse etc
They also are sometimes used as slave, brainwashed and recruit for anti social activities and also used for destruction activities.
The fact that Islamic teaching strongly forbids begging except in special circumstances which includes a man loss of wealth to disasters or when he has loaned his money for peace between two parties.
And almagiri system which is actually being practiced Today is totally unislamic(Haram)a child neglected to dangers and crimes in other to survive, he often have to beg from morning to night after which he returns to school or even look for something doing.
Almagiri system has made ways for criminally minded people to assault the almagiri children and also sexually molest them.
To conclude the almagiri system has deviated from it original purpose and it given bad image to Nigeria.
The past administration which was the administration of the former president Goodluck Jonathan, designed a program under which the almagiri boarding schools were established and it aim was to bring in Western education to Islamic teaching's.
But that program failed because less than 3 percent of almagiri were captured by the government.
There is a need for government to banish the almagiri system and also save these innocent minors form violence.
If the almagiri system continue people will be bearing children that they can not finance for and just because they know they can easily push those children in to the street to beg.
This is time for the present administration to take action and put in measures in place which would see to the banishment or positive reform of the Almajiri system in order to save the country from adding to the threatening state of humanitarian crisis In the nation.
By,
HAMEEDAH YAHAYA
SS3 STUDENT OF
Gss ZONE 3.
