News
Nigeria’s Alms Race
You probably thought I misspelled or you misread. Sadly, that is the title.
Location: Borno
Temperature: 40C/104F degrees scorching hot days and 12C/54F freezing cold nights.
Time: 2am approximately, some day in 2009
Two 9 year old almajiri boys were in bed; well, on the floor actually, inside or beside a mosque or nondescript shack somewhere in Borno state, north east of Nigeria.
One woke up to use the “bathroom” that fateful cold night and when he got back, the second had pulled his, and the only blanket over himself.
‘Give me my blanket,’ the almajiri boy demanded. The other “bully” would not let go, not just because he felt stronger, but because the nights get so cold in Borno, you just can’t give that up.
At the end of the fight that ensued, one of the 9 year old almajiris, the smaller one who owned the blanket had pulled out his life protective dagger they always have on them, one of…actually the only asset they ever have, and stuck it into the bully.
He lay dead in a pool of his blood.
Fast forward to 2012, Amanda meets a nice, passionate lawyer who described this incident to her. ‘That’s why I’m here,’ he said, ‘I just can’t let this boy keep rotting in jail.
You need to understand the predicament of these almajiri boys. They have nothing, they belong to no one.’
Amanda tells me how she once held conversation with an almajiri – about 7-8 years old, making his rounds on the dusty, harsh-weather roads of Borno.
Borno where they say, in the winter morning, you must open your mouth with care, else you hear your lips crack and see the blood gush from them.
‘Where are you from?’ Amanda asked him.
‘I think somewhere in Katsina,’ he replied.
‘Who are your parents?’ Amanda asked.
‘I do not know, I came here when I was 3. … I am a child of the world.’ The boy replied.
It brought tears to her eyes. It brought tears to mine too, hearing her narrate it.
This is the typical tale of the almajiri boys in the nuclear alms race on the dusty roads of cities in northern Nigeria.
The north eastern extremes of Nigeria which by Soludo’s account, compares economically with places like Somalia and Eritrea.
With a 72.2% poverty rate in the North East region, the highest level of poverty in Nigeria, followed closely by North West (71.1%).
On the contrary the South East at 26.6% has the lowest level of poverty of poverty in Nigeria followed by South/South (35.1%) and South West (43.05%).
With such poverty levels, it is not surprising that the Boko Haram terrorist cult easily finds recruits.
What is even Boko’s story? A people disgruntled with the system.
Who knows, its founders and top leaders may have all been almajiris, abandoned by their parents, their country and their traditional and religious leadership.
The Muslim mualims (teachers), almajiri’s are hooked up with are slave masters at the best. They show these boys no love.
They whip them, sparingly teach them any quality Islam, and send them out to go race for alms.
Psychology and psychological trauma is a very important factor in propensity for criminality and terrorism.
Just last week, two Nigerian boys, both Michael Adebos, were reported to have killed a soldier in Woolwich, UK.
After the horror of the event was endured, details about circumstances leading to the extreme actions of Michael Adebolajo started slowly trickling into the news.
A serious Muslim revert with staunch views, Adebolajo visited Kenya for some form of Islamic experience.
While there, the Kenyan police allegedly picked him and a few others up from their village and interrogated them.
Adebolajo’s friend, Abu Nusaybah recounted on BBC interview, that Adebolajo who told the security men that he would not speak, was promised,- ‘this is Africa, not UK, we torture here.’
The torture and sexual abuse he was put through made him a changed man, his friend said. From then on, the young man with two wives became ‘changed and withdrawn.’
To top it up, according to his friend, the British security services who it appears brought him back to the UK from detention in Kenya, routinely paid him visits and ‘harassed,’ and ‘bugged,’ him to work for them, as he reportedly complained to his friend. The rest is history.
A boy reportedly abandoned by his parents when he reverted to Islam and played hard cards by the local and foreign security, went to pick and kill a security related officer.
Their actions can never be justified in today’s world; however a history of family, and societal abuse and dysfunction is hardly uncommon in so many cases related to the propensity for social oppositional and gravely violent behavior.
Research reveals that children from domestically violent homes are several times more likely to be abusive parents with up to half being involved in violent relationships and marriages.
These social and psychological developmental correlations are as many as there are disorders.
Amanda was on a journey with the lawyer who told her the story of his almajiri inadvertent murderer youth client.
But before the journey started, an almajiri boy had come to try to board their bus, with less than enough for the fare.
Amanda chipped in to enable him travel with them. The boy sat quiet till they got to Bauchi.
At a food and prayer stop in Bauchi, the boy came back and Amanda noticed he had had something ‘spiritual,’ not from the Mosque, behind it perhaps, or somewhere else altogether, ganja, marijuanna possibly.
Suddenly he was all loud and talkative. ‘Those in this bus who think they are better than others….who think they can control what happens here… We have killed before, we will kill you here…’ The almajiri revealed the inner ambitions of his heart.
His desire to subdue and control society. To revenge, to prove he is someone, that he has influence and power too.
He was not speaking in relation to any event or person on the bus. Hadn’t Amanda, one of the passengers, given him money to enable his travel? He was talking to society at large.
Those were the kind of statements he was uttering, to everyone’s distress. The driver was bothered, soon he parked.
The lawyer now went up to the boy and landed him a hot punch. From somewhere on his body, his dagger fell. The journey continued without him, as can be expected.
But he’ll be just fine, like the cave men of the beginning of time, like animals in the wild; the almajiri has learned to get by in the dusty thatched jungles of the north.
Many crisscross countries in their race for alms. Oblivious of Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad’s borders, these nuclear beggars traverse any type of terrain, with no one to miss them if they die; who cares.
Life is merely worth your pocket load of alms. Hopefully the picture you see attached to this UNICEF article is one I came across a while back, March 2012, of almajiri refugees who fled Nigeria to Chad due to early on Boko Haram-government clashes.
I spent a few minutes looking at the pictures. I still can’t get over it. It was written in that story in 2012, that the boys were in the cross hairs:
Migrants told UNICEF they fled the villages of Douri and Madaye in eastern Nigeria when members of the Boko Haram militant group attacked them, burning down houses. Police and military forces then arrived and started firing at those who remained, claiming they were Boko Haram supporters, according to witness accounts.
The last few weeks have been weeks of reflection for north Nigeria. A region where the leaders – from the parents, to the traditional/religious leadership and up to the governors, and presidents, have failed in absolute proportions.
The governor of Kano, Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso put it out straight and unglazed. ‘Our problem, the insecurity is the failure of us as parents, the society at large and the leadership.’
Of the children, he said, “they grow up to hate themselves, hate their parents, hate the leaders, and hate the government and the society.
They feel they were deprived, they feel injustice and they become enemies of the state and constituted authorities; and thereby becoming vulnerable to crime and violence.”
He further explained that typical northern parents have 20-30 children and keep two or three they like, while sending off the remaining dozens out into the almajiri world to never know love.
Senate president David Mark said the same thing days later, alleging that he spoke Nigeria’s Sharia master who told him categorically that the almajiri system is Haram (forbidden in Islam).
Boko Haram’s uncontrollable terror is the reward for this wickedness. Amanda told me the then Governor of Borno, hired these almajiris and defunct schools like that of late Muhammed Yusuf, arming them to be his political thugs.
For the first time in their lives, the almajiris got a job; they got some sort of social belonging, some meaning and relevance and along with it came finance.
How will they ever abandon such lucrative lifestyle, and opportunity to tell the world, we are better than you, we harass you, duck western civilization, duck the government of Nigeria, duck anyone who stands in our way.
To be on TV every day, on radio. To kill parents like theirs who abandoned them and sentence children, hitherto lucky, into a cold world without the shelter of a loving home? To revenge and get paid.
Cap that with the free flow of more potent ‘spiritual’ uplifting concoctions Boko Haram is said to be availing its recruits and the likelihood of surrender approaches the likelihood of the United States and Israel willingly accepting a Nuclear Iran.
The almajiri’s are not going back. Nigeria must urgently find a way to start giving them something else, other than the permission to beg. Parents must be fined and incarcerated for child abandonment. A social welfare system must be immediately constituted. This is available in all developed societies.
The lack of it predicts sure and certain chaos. And the Mosques must preach that Islam does not permit riots and nonsensical violence, that hooliganism is not Jihad.
The Mualims and proponents of the almajiri system must know the prohibition in Islam of sending able-bodied young men to beg. To them, this message from the prophet of Islam:
Whoso openeth unto himself the door of begging, God will open unto him the door of poverty.
Verily it is better for any of you to take your rope and bring a bundle of wood upon your back and sell it, in which case God guardeth your honor than to beg of people, whether they give or not; if they do not give, your reputation suffereth, and you return disappointed; and if they give, it is worse than that, for it layeth you under obligation.
Whoever hath food for a day and a night, it is prohibited for him to beg.
It is time to start ending the nuclear alms race.
Dr. Peregrino Brimah
Every Nigerian Do Something [ http://ENDS.ng ]
Contact: [email protected]
Article References:
http://www.irinnews.org/report/95014/nigeria-chad-migrants-fleeing-boko-haram-violence-await-aid
http://saharareporters.com/news-page/kano-governor%C2%A0kwankwaso-blames-government-and-society%C2%A0for%C2%A0nigeria%E2%80%99s-insecurity
http://newsrescue.com/poverty-in-the-north-a-mayday-call/
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/05/abolish-al-majiri-system-mark-tells-northern-govs/
Mrs. Jane Egerton-Idehen, managing director, Nigerian Satellite Communications Limited (NIGCOMSAT), has said that the time has come to unlock Nigeria’s true potential, by embracing digital transformation and fostering a culture of innovation as a way to further enhance other sectors like Financial and Insurance (Financial Institutions); Trade; Agriculture (Crop production); Manufacturing (Food, Beverage & Tobacco); Construction; and Real Estate, among others.
She said that over-reliance on the oil sector has created a vulnerable economy in Nigeria.
Egerton-Idehen said this in Nsukka on Saturday while delivering the 20th Herbert Macaulay Memorial Lecture themed, “Harnessing Practical Engineering Solutions for Sustainable Economic Development” held at the Princess Alexandra Auditorium Hall, University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN).
Egerton-Idehen who spoke on the topic “Championing Innovation: Digital Transformation and Economic Diversification in Nigeria,” said that Nigeria has heavily relied on oil production for many years which has not augured well for the country’s economy.
She said that digital transformation is the process of using digital technologies like Robotics, Mobile Internet, Artificial Internet, to radically transform existing traditional and non-digital business processes and services.
According to her “The largest contributor to the nation’s GDP post-1970s was crude oil. With the oil boom in 1973-74, it was in the double digits at its highest; it was 40% of GDP until post-2010 when sectors like Agriculture and ICT started to redistribute that balance.
“Currently, oil contribution to GDP has returned to a single digit — pre-1970 figures, it sits at 6% of GDP today. The oil sector still provides for 95% of Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings and 80% of its budgetary revenues.
“Nigeria, as we know, is a nation brimming with talent and potential, stands at a crossroads. While blessed with abundant natural resources, particularly oil, our economy remained heavily reliant on a single sector for over five decades.
“The price per barrel of oil needed for Nigeria to balance our budgets is– $139, Saudi Arabia $83.8, and UAE $67 (Kullab & Abdul-Zahra, 2020). Current global conditions make this untenable. Oil prices have crashed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, among other reasons (Alia Alzubair, 2021),” she said.
NIGCOMSAT Boss said further that the vulnerability to fluctuating oil prices exposes Nigeria to external shocks and hinders sustainable growth.
“There are many ways we can frame our road to diversification and non-dependence in the oil sector.
“With our experience with ICT, we can safely assume we could reform, and impact various sectors driving economic growth through digital transformation.
“This could be done by addressing the challenges and harnessing the opportunities, Nigeria can leverage digital transformation as a powerful tool for economic diversification, job creation, and shared prosperity.
In a remark, Prof Charles Igwe, vice-chancellor of UNN said that was one of the first Nigerian nationalists and his opposition to many colonial policies paved the way for the Independence of Nigeria
“Together with Nnamdi Azikiwe he co-founded the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroon (NCNC) and became its president.
The VC noted that the Faculty of Engineering initiated the biennial lecture series in order to achieve the following goals; Highlight the faces of a man who has been described as the father of Nigerian Nationalism, Encourage present da engineers, surveyors, architects, and other professional to learn from his professional lifestyles and make every effort to leave good footprints on the sand of time.
Other targets of the HMML series are; To map out strategies and mobilize resources to improve the teaching, learning, and research environment within the Faculty of Engineering and the university at large,, and to identify major National issues of engineering importance, and through the learned discourse proffer engineering solutions to them.
“The theme of this HMML, ‘ Harnessing Practical Engineering Solutions doe Sustainable Economic Development’ is very apt for Nigeria and the world over where sustainability is the current jingle for every developmental solution, and I am happy that very distinguished professionals have gathered here for the discourse,” he said.
Igwe challenged the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and other staff of the faculty to proffer immediate solutions to the energy crisis in the University and its environs.
Also in a remark, Prof. Emenike Ejiogu, dean, Faculty of Engineering, UNN said that the HMML series is one of the longest-running academic lecture series in any Nigeria university, noting that the faculty had instituted the lecture series in honour of Herbert Heelas Macaulay.
“The Faculty of Engineering Board resolved on October 5, 1978, to establish a Memorial Lecture series to be known as HMML, to honour Macaulay; the father of Nigerian nationalism, who trained and practiced as an engineer, architect, and surveyor.
“The first lecture was held in 1980 and has since continued every two years with many distinguished lecturers doing justice to the selected theme that the faculty board carefully selected according to the needs of time.
“This year’s (20th edition) HMML lecturer, Mrs. Egerton-Idehen is the first ever female to feature as an HMML lecturer, and she has chosen a very timely and appealing title for her lecture,” he said.
Ejiogu, who is also director, Africa Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Power and Energy Development (ACE-SPED) UNN, commended Prof. Igwe, UNN- VC and his management team for their support and encouragement in all the endeavours of the faculty.
He also commended other lead paper presenters, relevant stakeholders and the general public who attended and contributed the the success of the 20th HMML.
The occasion was chaired by Prof. Paul Eke, a professor of Digital Technology and System Engineering, Royal Academy of Engineering, University of Leeds, United Kingdom.
The highlights of the 20th HMML include; Gown Meets Town, a Technical Exhibition of practical projects of staff and students of the faculty of Engineering and interested private and public sector companies and organizations, with products and services relevant to sustainable economic growth, Technical Symposium and Panel Discussion, Alumni Homecoming Events, Unveiling and Handover of Agbebi Alumni Class of ’85 Building, among others.
Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC), in collaboration with the Centre for Energy Research and Training (CERT) at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria is set to leverage nuclear science and technology to enhance electric power generation in Nigeria.
Prof Yusuf-Aminu Ahmed, chairman of NAEC, made this known during the 20th Anniversary Symposium of Nigeria’s first Nuclear Research Reactor-1 (NNR-1) in Zaria.
Prof Ahmed emphasised the accumulated expertise in nuclear power at the center, asserting Nigeria’s readiness to advance to the next stage of power generation through nuclear reactors. “We have utilised the reactor for research and development extensively, and now we are poised to employ it for electricity generation,” Mr Ahmed stated.
He further disclosed that President Bola Tinubu has tasked the commission with contributing to Nigeria’s clean energy initiatives, with the nuclear energy programme set to play a significant role, and noted the signing of intergovernmental agreements with some vendors.
Sen. George Akume, secretary to the government of the federation, lauded the 20 years of safe operation of the nuclear research reactor as a testament to Nigeria’s commitment to the safe application of nuclear energy.
He underscored that the successful operation of the nuclear research reactor paved the way for considering a nuclear reactor for electricity generation, echoing President Tinubu’s advocacy for nuclear energy in Nigeria’s power sources.
In his remarks, Prof Sunday Jonah, director of the center, highlighted the event’s purpose of celebrating two decades of safe operation, maintenance, and utilisation of the NNR-1.
However, amidst the achievements celebrated, Prof Jonah expressed concern over a purported attempt by NAEC to wrest control of the center from the university through the proposed NAEC Bill 2022 and cautioned that such a move would contradict the original vision of the center’s establishment within universities, designed to foster a culture of research and development.
International Police Organization (INTERPOL), has appointed Ifeanyi Henry Uche, Nigerian Police Commissioner, as the chairman of the African heads of cybercrime units comprising heads of 54 countries.
Uche who is the Commissioner of Police in charge Nigeria Police Force National Cyber Crime Centre (NPF -NCCC) is taking over from Ratjindua Tjivikua, head of Cybercrime of Namibia after his tenure expired.
Speaking at the closing of the Africa Working Group Meeting on Cybercrime on Friday, Uche said, “The high penetration rate of new technologies in Africa increasingly exposes the sub-regional cyberspace as potential targets for cybercriminals as most African countries still have low levels of commitment to cybersecurity.
“It is important that we join the operational sub groups created by INTERPOL to bolster our collective efficiency in the fight against cybercrime in the subregion.
He said, “Resource sharing, the level of information and intelligence among African law enforcement is still at its lowest ebb largely blamed on extant domestic laws.
“I advocate for the establishment of African Incident Response Mechanism and Cybersecurity Frameworks on a Police-to-Police basis to eliminate the bottlenecks impeding free flow of resources.
“We must leverage the INTERPOL NCB 1/247 communication network and existing capabilities with regard to sharing of classified intelligence.”
Uche said this should be done with “Establishment of Specialized Cybercrime Units, noting it is rather unfortunate that most African countries do not have a specialized Cybercrime Unit dedicated for the investigation of Cybercrime and cyber-enabled crime. I implore member states to under-study the Nigeria police model of the Nigeria police Force National Cybercrime Center (NPF-NCCC).
“Investment in Technology, Infrastructure and Capacity building through a deliberate effort by member states to make the multi-million-dollar commitment in acquiring the much-needed technology and digital solution as a prelude to efficient cybercrime response and prevention. We must begin to look inwards by developing indigenous technologies to address our peculiar socio-cultural challenges.
“Legislative support to push the advocacy and lobby the governments to make and enforce robust cybersecurity laws and regulations that address cybercrime effectively. This includes laws on data protection, online privacy, electronic transactions, and cybercrime prevention.
“With the Fourth Industrial Revolution and emergence of Al and IOT, the undeniable reality is that the global cyberspace is undergoing profound and rapid changes given the penetration of new technologies and growing interconnection of the system.
“Though this evolution offers opportunities for innovations, diversification, and cost optimization, it also carries with it increased exposure to new and devastating risks of imminent cyber-attacks. These attacks permeate and affect the entire global digital ecosystem equally with no exception to geographic belts hence it affects businesses of all sizes both in public and private sectors in all regions at a breakneck speed.
“Cybercrime poses a significant threat to our societies, economies, and security”, he said. “it is imperative that we work together to address this growing challenge. As Chairman, I am committed to lead from the front, fostering the much-desired collaboration among our member Units to enhance our collective ability to prevent and investigate cyber crimes effectively in Africa.
“I consider this as a call to champion the enthronement of a new charter of technological renaissance and home-grown cybersecurity ethics in Africa and a paradigm shift from absolute dependence on external solutions to African nurtured technological initiatives, adaptive to our Socio-Political ecosystem.
In her remarks at the event, Hajia Imaan Suleiman Ibrahim, minister of State, Police Affairs, said, “The Government of Nigeria is fully committed to reforming our police force, recognizing that cybersecurity is an integral component of our national security agenda.
“We understand that a secure cyberspace is essential for our immediate and long-term development objectives. Therefore, we are dedicated to enhancing our cybersecurity capabilities, investing in the necessary resources, and fostering collaboration both domestically and internationally.
“Consistent with the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr President, we are working assiduously to move beyond mere conversations to working with key stakeholders to strengthen Nigeria’s cybersecurity legal and regulatory frameworks.
“We are working to enhance the provision of the requisite tools, equipment, and facilities to strengthen the cybersecurity architecture of the Nigeria Police Force, and we remain committed to regional and international cooperation mechanisms.”
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