THE WEEPING CHILD: NEGLECT ALMAJEERIES IN NORTHERN NIGERIA

   GINA WEEKEND COLUMN,
BY:
HABIBU GENTE
DATE:   Saturday,11 February, 2017.

"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious convictions". Blaise Pascal.
" Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities ". Voltaire.
This topic of  today's column will of course generate much controversy. I knew that, much more than my previous articles that exposes my opinion and standpoint in the current administration. Many scholars and social commentators alike, especially those from the northern part of the country tend to ignored or are too busy in worldly accumulation which made them nonchalant over seeing these innocents teenagers suffering on this earth. The muslims clergies (not all of them of course,)are to my own view, the machineries of these aberration of 'almajeeries'. They channels every forms of the inevitability of its occurrence. Amazingly, the few intellectuals I knew were so silence on this burning issue which kept me in doubt for so long. Was it that its doesn't worth their commentary, or its intellectually exclusive so much that it could not add ink to their already bank of literary ocean. Who knows, may be it is a ruse against political threat. Whatsoever is the case I don't think would justify their intellectual exclusivism  and socio-economic abandonment these innocent children endure in every minutes of every day of their lives and living as second class citizens in their own country. Despite the intellectual timidity many social critics and activists portrayed on the issue of 'almajeeries', (especially  we Northerners whose it affect negatively).  I will  stake being arrogant, and break the long unjustifiable silence.
     Although, I wouldn't risk being drowned into ocean of ignorance. But with my shallow knowledge of Islamic religion, and my attentive assimilation from intermittently listening of  Islamic scholars over radios or audios tape. Scholars of course, whose erudition, rectitude, and integrity would have prevented them from remaining silent when an error in society morals was committed. Though, i tried to stayed away from it but fairness required my interjection.
These almajeeries' are pervasive everywhere in Kano and Kaduna, estimably there are about three thousands in each of the state respectively. Children of age six- twelfth or thereabout, teenagers who suppose to be in the confers of their parents, enjoying the warms of their mothers and all the filial love such child do receive from the parents. Its pity and heartbroken to see a teen wandering in the streets, public places and religious centers only because he doesn't have anyone to offer him parental love and care. Your 'love' is more important to them than the 'food' and 'knowledge' you falsely misguide the children to go and acquire in the city. One will see a situation where child of teen aged will be forced by the parents from a village in the name of acquisition of Islamic religion knowledge, whilst such parents will be pleased and relaxing in the village and leave the child suffering in the city.
     Such misguidance was as a result of 'little learning' of the religion and on occasions from the  misconception of the religious injunctions by headstrong conservative religion scholars who can't adopt to  the changing circumstances to fit in  time and era. I'm very sure that there isn't any Islamic injunction of either the Qur'an or Prophetic tradition that recommend childbearing without making it mandatory for the parents their responsibilities toward caring the children. If there is any, you can help me. Must you born children ceaselessly just because your religion recommended such, while in reality you can't fulfill your responsibility?, just for you to let the children transform into tugs, beggars, rubbers and sort of illicit behaviour. There is a challenge in our societies today, and it is the responsibilities of the religion scholars and clergy men to clear this dragon of misconceptions and misguidance our people in the rural and remote settings were swallowed into. Every parents should know that you  will  be asked in the day of resurrection by your creator how you administered your children affairs and if you can't give a satisfactory answers, I'm sorry, it is that day you will know that you are been misguided by  your ignorance, thinking you are acting upon the religion injunction.
    Our government too contributed to this aberration. No any governmental policy seem to give attention to the rehabilitation and reintegration of these almajeeries' into schools and reforms centers for them to regain their lost psychological security of isolation. For them to initiate such policy, rather Kano state government struggling to spend outrageous money in building railway and some unnecessary projects that were designed to serve and protect the privileges. such is pathetic when there are common  social basic things that are crying to be attended.  The Muslim clergies should begin to preach to people the danger of neglecting children. And the state government should impose a policy that can restrict parents from sending children to learning  from local Islamic scholars. I was paralyzed with fear, stunning emotionally when I saw teen children who should be in the school,begging for food to eat. I was left with no option than to take pictures of them, here is the pictures of innocent children glimmering from grinned-hard faces. You will weep ceaselessly.