The Niger State government has placed a total ban on any form of begging in the state.

The Commissioner of Information and Communication, Alhaji Mohammed Sani Idris, who disclosed this to journalists in Minna said the law was not aimed at attacking the culture of almanjiri.

He noted that similar laws in other states have more or less turned Niger State into a dumping ground for the almanjiris that were sent packing from those states. According to Idris, anybody caught begging will be repatriated to his state.

The commissioner insisted that quranic teachers who are interested in running schools for the almanjiris should provide them with accommodation and feeding without sending them out to beg.

According to him, there are more than enough Shangaya schools in the state run by government to accommodate interested almanjiris.

“What we will not tolerate is somebody running an almajiri school in a way of turning them to beggars. Gradually, Minna is becoming a dumping ground for almajiri. We have discovered that many of them are not even from this state.”

Meanwhile, a non-governmental organisation, Assembly of Patriots International, has applauded the recent banning of street begging by children in Kano State.

Governor Abdulahhi Ganduje issued the order after a series of condemnation of street begging by the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido.

Speaking in Abuja at a youth development seminar, the National Coordinator of the group, Abdulkareem Ikharo, said the move was a welcome development that must be fully supported by every parent in Kano State as well as other governors and stakeholders, especially in the north where the almanjiri system and street begging by children are common.

Ikharo stessed the need for the children to acquire Islamic education through the system. He condemned the idea of sending and exposing the children ranging between seven and 13 years old to street begging on a daily basis while their counterparts in other places are in school or at home with their parents.

“Such act, aside exposing them to health hazard, makes the innocent children also become vulnerable to negative practices that include criminal activities, drug abuse, and indoctrination, especially now that the country is battling unprecedented security crisis.” (The Guardian)

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