The federal government said Thursday that it has taken steps to outlaw the almajiri system of education that is making youngsters vulnerable to crimes and criminalities as one of the key measures to address the lingering security challenges in the northern part of the country.
Briefing State House correspondents at the end of the maiden 2019/2023 National Economic Council (NEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, National Security Adviser (NSA) to the President Major General Babagana Monguno (Rtd) said the almajiri system of education is a time bomb for the country.
He said the almajiri system of education has reached a alarming situation that government must take a drastic step to halt it.
“I have briefed council of the danger of the almajiri phenomenon. We can’t continue to have street urchins roaming around unchecked. You need to deal with this issue of almajiri.
Irrespective of what people may feel, we must have to face reality,” he said.
The NSA said the government would proscribe the Almajiri phenomenon because Nigeria could not continue to have street children roaming around only for them in a couple of years or decades to become a problem to the society.
He said the federal government would work with the state governors to enforce the policy of education for every child as education was the entitlement of every child.
Monguno said he also briefed NEC on the crisis between herdsmen and farmers which were limited to 16 states so far, adding that the council was working on a blueprint to solve the problem.
“I briefed council also on the menace of pipeline vandalism, illegal oil refineries and piracy. In recent month, were able to destroy 373 illegal refineries quad curtailed the activities of pirates.
“This situation in the Niger Delta is also affecting security in the Gulf of Guinea and we have been collaborating with the secretariat in Luanda to work to reduce the activities of these people,’’ he said.
