Almajiri Schools in Northern Nigeria: A Persistent Challenge for the Country

By Mobolaji Sanusi

“The children of the poor you failed to train will never let your children live in peace.”
—Obafemi Awolowo (1909–1987).

Any society that leaves its youth untrained risks becoming a breeding ground for harmful activities. The North, through its almajiri system, has contributed to this problem, even though other regions also have shortcomings.

My conclusion is based on the fact that, despite the North’s advantages before and after independence, the almajiri system was misapplied. Today, the products of that system have become a major social menace, making the region unsafe for peaceful living because of fear and apprehension.

The founders of the northern almajiri system did not anticipate its current state. They intended the system to instill Islamic teachings and create a resilient Islamic society that even the British colonialists could not undermine. This is why the British employed indirect rule in the Northern Protectorate, while the Southern Protectorate used direct rule. Over time, the principles of the almajiri system have shifted, often for the worse.

A brief historical review explains how the almajiri system emerged. The term almajiri originally described a pupil sent by parents to live and study the Quran under an Islamic teacher. The practice dates back to the Sokoto Caliphate and the Kanem-Borno Empire, where young boys from age four or five were placed under scholars to memorize the Quran and learn Islamic jurisprudence.

With the North’s growing population and a lack of institutional planning, coupled with rigid adherence to religious values, the almajiri system has lost its original purpose. It has become a breeding ground for street beggars, touts, gangs, and even recruits for banditry and terrorism. Some teachers allegedly indoctrinate students with radical ideas, encouraging them to become suicide bombers in the belief that they will be rewarded in the afterlife. These almajiri are largely Hausa, Fulani, and Kanuri.

How did the Fulani, Hausa, and Kanuri of the North become associated with criminality through the almajiri system? The once-thriving North, known for commerce and agriculture, now struggles. Its groundnut, millet, sorghum, rice, cotton, maize, leather, textiles, and livestock industries have declined due to leadership myopia, illegal resource exploitation, and ethno‑religious tensions.

Why does the North remain developmentally lagging despite producing many of the nation’s leaders? Notable figures include Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (Prime Minister 1960–1966), General Yakubu Gowon (Head of State 1966–1975), General Murtala Mohammed (1975–1976), President Shehu Shagari (1979–1983), General Ibrahim Babangida (1985–1993), General Sani Abacha (1993–1998), General Abdulsalami Abubakar (1998–1999), President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua (2007–2010), and President Muhammadu Buhari (military ruler 1983–1985 and elected president 2015–2023). Despite their influence, the region has become a hub for illegal mineral exploitation, militancy, and commercial banditry, turning the North into an albatross for the nation.

The North has historically dominated Nigeria’s political and institutional space. Scholarships and employment opportunities in strategic state institutions and public corporations—such as the military, intelligence services, police, customs, EFCC, ICPC, foreign service, petroleum, banking, and the federal civil service—are often reserved for northerners through quota systems, disadvantaging better‑qualified candidates from other regions. This advantage has not turned the northern region into a prosperous area.

Of the thirty‑six states, the North controls nineteen, with Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, also geographically part of the North. According to the 2006 census, the North accounted for 53.57% of the population, about 75 million people, while the South had 71,709,859. The North’s large, largely uninhabited land is fertile for agriculture but remains underutilized due to poor leadership, weak planning, and a long history of banditry.

Despite these opportunities, the North is known for exporting nearly ten million almajiri—young people without formal Western education—to other parts of the country. In many states, almajiri are seen as cart pushers, motorcycle riders, street hawkers, herders, guards, water sellers, and tea sellers. They travel in droves to Lagos daily. Some northerners, however, have lived peacefully with their Yoruba hosts in various states.

The failure of the almajiri system’s founders to integrate Western education was a major flaw. In Saudi Arabia, where the Islamic tradition of the North originates, children’s welfare is prioritized, and there are no cases of untrained youth turning to banditry. Northern Nigeria could learn from Saudi Arabia’s approach to keep vulnerable children off the streets.

With escalating insecurity, the almajiri system— a major contributor to banditry and other crimes—requires urgent attention from northern leaders. Former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration invested over ₦15 billion to build 157 model Almajiri (Tsangaya) boarding schools across the North, aiming to integrate Western education and vocational training into the traditional Islamic curriculum.

To address the crisis, the success of that program should be reassessed and modified where necessary. The North needs to overcome the challenges posed by the almajiri system and its broader educational backwardness. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would likely support such efforts to enhance security and welfare for all citizens.

NB:
Here’s wishing all Nigerians a happy Democracy Day.

We must all work toward a true democracy that will be a source of pride and tangible benefits for the population.

Achieving this is the only debt our governments and all of us owe the memory of Aare MKO Abiola (1937–1998), the great Nigerian who was martyred so that today’s democracy could exist.

May the legendary Abiola’s gentle soul continue to rest in aljannah… AMIN.

• Sanusi, former MD/CEO of Lagos State Signage & Advertisement Agency, is currently managing partner at AMS RELIABLE SOLICITORS. (WhatsApp Only-07011117777)