Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, has raised concerns over the participation of young Almajiris in the recent #EndBadGovernance protests, stating that many of them were unaware of the reasons behind the demonstrations.
The protests, which began on August 1 across multiple cities in Nigeria, aimed to highlight the country’s worsening economic conditions but later turned violent in some northern states, leading to the imposition of curfews.
Speaking during a recent interview, Governor Sule expressed his dismay that a significant number of those who took to the streets in Lafia, the state capital, were young Almajiris—some as young as five years old.
According to him, these children were oblivious to the actual purpose of the rallies.
“During this last protest that we had in Lafia, the majority of those that came out on the streets were the Almajiris – some of them five years old, seven years old, nine years old,” the governor stated.
“A lot of them didn’t even understand the meaning of the protest. When I spoke with them later, they didn’t even know what they were protesting against.”
Governor Sule emphasized the urgent need for the northern region to address its educational challenges, noting that the protests serve as a wake-up call for leaders.
He urged them to redouble their efforts in tackling the issues that continue to plague the region, particularly the lack of education and economic empowerment.
“So, we must sit down. At one point in the year 2020, we sat down as the governors and took the decision about the Almajiris.
Unfortunately, it didn’t work out well. They went back to square one,” Sule remarked, reflecting on past efforts to address the Almajiri system.
“Some of the religious leaders criticized it. But from what happened now, I don’t believe anybody will continue to criticize actions that will be taken in order to move forward. Otherwise, it’s a ticking time bomb, it will come and consume every one of us.”
The governor further stressed that education is one of the biggest challenges facing the North and that it is imperative for leaders to be truthful about the region’s shortcomings.
“Without proper education and economic opportunities, Sule warned, the region’s youth would continue to be vulnerable to manipulation and misguidance.
“When people actually don’t have education and don’t have economic empowerment, these people will continue to behave the way these Almajiri actually behaved during this protest,” he said.
“So, education must be taken seriously in the North. We must be honest with one another.”
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