Dean, School of Post-Graduate Studies, Nigeria Defence Accademy (NDA), Professor Ahmed Adam Okene, on Monday, said the NorthWest geopolitical zone of the country accounts for 70 per cent of the number of Almajiris in the 36 states of the federation and Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.
He stated this at a one-day workshop on street begging in Niger State, organised by the state Law Reform Commission and the launching of the Compendium and Standing Orders of the Law Reform Commission, held at the Bello Arts Theatre, Minna, the state capital.
He said the recent research showed that 30 per cent of children in the northern parts of the country were on the streets.
Professor Okene, however, advocated a synergy between all the state governors in the northern part of the country, to eradicate the problem of almajiri and street begging, which, he said, had been accountable for series of security breaches in the part of the country.
“Governors of the north western states of Nigeria must make concerted efforts and have a proactive and actionable policies to be able to solve it, because if you come to the North generally, it is the culture of almajiri which they now consider as a street begging and we know it is not entirely streets begging. The culture of Almajiri has its historical antecedents as people moved from one place for education. But the British colonial masters came and brought a new order such as education, social amenities and so on and so forth and there was dysfunctional ties,” he said.
