The Almajiri phenomenon is a complex and deeply entrenched feature of northern Nigeria’s religious and social landscape. Rooted in pre-colonial traditions of Islamic education, it has evolved into a system characterised by street begging, childhood neglect, and institutional abandonment. While similar Quranic schooling models exist in other Islamic countries, Nigeria’s version has taken on a unique and troubling social character. This article critically examines the Almajiri system, situating it in its historical, religious, and socio-political context, and explores why Nigeria’s case is different from what obtains in other Islamic societies. It also highlights how the system has been co-opted into broader patterns of inequality, insecurity, and political manipulation.

1. Brief Historical Origins of the Almajiri System

The Almajiri system predates the colonial era. It originated as a noble form of Islamic education in the Kanem-Borno and Sokoto Caliphates, where young boys—referred to as ‘Almajirai’ (from the Arabic ‘al-Muhajir,’ meaning seeker of knowledge)—were sent to study under Islamic scholars (Mallams). These students were often housed, fed, and taught within the community. The system was self-sustaining and socially supported, deeply embedded in the religious and educational culture of the time.

However, colonial and post-colonial shifts significantly altered this model. The British colonial administration disrupted traditional structures without providing alternatives, and post-independence governments failed to integrate Islamic and Western educational systems. Over time, as economic hardship intensified and government support diminished, the Almajiri system devolved into a loosely structured network of Quranic schools, many of which rely on child begging as a primary means of sustenance.

2. Structural Disconnection and the Problem of Informality

A key distinction in Nigeria’s Almajiri model is the disconnect between informal Quranic education and formal state policy. Unlike other Islamic societies that have integrated traditional learning into national education systems, Nigeria’s Almajiri schools operate outside regulatory frameworks. This lack of oversight has fostered an environment where abuse, neglect, and exploitation are common.

Successive administrations have acknowledged the problem without addressing its root causes. Attempts at reform, such as the Almajiri Integrated Model Schools introduced during the Goodluck Jonathan administration, were largely top-down and unsustainable. Many of these schools were poorly funded, lacked community buy-in, and were eventually abandoned. Meanwhile, millions of children remain in unregulated Quranic schools, where educational outcomes are uncertain, and welfare is neglected.

3. Social Stigma, Economic Exploitation, and Political Mobilisation

In Nigeria, being an Almajiri is not only a socio-economic condition—it is a deeply stigmatised identity. Almajirai are often viewed as burdens, vagrants, or threats, further marginalising them from mainstream society. Their economic vulnerability has also led to systemic exploitation, where children are forced to beg for survival, handing over proceeds to their Mallams.

Moreover, the Almajiri population has been co-opted into Nigeria’s political theatre. In many instances, their numbers have been manipulated for voter mobilisation or even used as political foot soldiers. With little or no state protection, the Almajiri has become both a symbol and a casualty of governance failure. The contrast with Islamic societies like Indonesia or Egypt, where religious students are integrated into policy frameworks, is stark and telling.

4. The Security Implications of Neglect

Perhaps the most pressing consequence of Nigeria’s mishandling of the Almajiri system is its link to insecurity. In the vacuum created by government neglect, extremist groups such as Boko Haram and other non-state actors have found a recruitment base in disenfranchised youth, many of whom passed through unstructured Quranic schools.

While it is important to avoid generalisations, there is documented evidence that prolonged marginalisation, absence of formal education, and lack of economic opportunity make Almajirai susceptible to radical ideologies. This reality has turned a cultural and religious issue into a national security crisis.

By contrast, countries that have reformed their religious schooling systems through integration, oversight, and curriculum modernisation have managed to reduce such vulnerabilities. Nigeria’s refusal or inability to do the same underscores its exceptionalism and deepens the risks it faces.

5. Comparative Perspectives – Why Nigeria’s Case is Unique

Informal Islamic education systems are not unique to Nigeria. Across the Muslim world, from Sudan to Pakistan, from Indonesia to Morocco, traditional Quranic schools have long served as foundational spaces for religious instruction, identity formation, and literacy. However, what sets Nigeria’s Almajiri phenomenon apart is the sheer scale of neglect, disconnection from state structures, and its transformation into a complex socio-political dilemma.

In countries like Indonesia and Malaysia, religious schooling, pesantren and madrasah, respectively, operate within a regulatory framework. Governments often provide oversight, teacher training, curriculum harmonisation, and integration with national education policies. Similarly, Morocco’s muhafazah system has undergone reforms, including curriculum modernisation, oversight of religious content, and linkage with vocational

pathways. These examples show that Islamic education can coexist with modern governance when there is political will, community engagement, and investment.

In contrast, the Almajiri system in Nigeria remains largely outside the reach of policy and reform. It operates in a quasi-legal, informal space where child rights protections are routinely suspended in the name of religious freedom or cultural relativism. Many of these children live in conditions that violate international conventions on child welfare, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, both of which Nigeria is a signatory to.

Furthermore, unlike in many Islamic societies where religious schooling does not necessarily equate to poverty or abandonment, in Nigeria, the Almajiri is almost exclusively poor, mobile, and structurally abandoned. This sharp divergence stems from decades of underdevelopment, politicisation of religion, and a post-colonial education system that failed to reconcile Islamic and Western pedagogies.

The tragedy, then, is not in the existence of Islamic schooling, but in the uniquely Nigerian trajectory that has turned it into a marker of social exclusion rather than empowerment.

Conclusion: Rethinking Responsibility and Reclaiming the Future

The Almajiri phenomenon in Nigeria stands at the intersection of cultural tradition, state failure, religious politics, and systemic neglect. What began as a spiritual apprenticeship rooted in centuries of Islamic scholarship has evolved through decades of state retreat and societal complacency into a visible marker of inequality, urban destitution, and lost childhoods.

As this article has shown, the Nigerian case is not inherently exceptional because of the existence of Islamic schooling, but rather because the state abdicates responsibility in regulating, reforming, and supporting it. This has allowed a system meant to foster religious education to devolve into one of mass deprivation, where children are left to beg on the streets, vulnerable to abuse, radicalisation, and political exploitation.

To address this crisis, policy solutions must move beyond tokenistic handouts or episodic interventions. Genuine reform must include:

1. Integration of Islamic schooling into national education systems, with support for curriculum development that combines religious and secular content.
2. Partnership between government, traditional authorities, and faith-based actors to co-design culturally sensitive, enforceable reforms.
3. Legal enforcement of child rights protections, including universal basic education, education laws and anti-child trafficking statutes.
4. Economic support for vulnerable families, reducing the need to outsource parental responsibility under the guise of religious piety.

Perhaps most importantly, any reform must begin with a national reckoning: a willingness to admit that Nigeria’s Almajirai are not invisible, nor expendable. They are citizens with constitutional rights; rights to education, safety, dignity, and a future. Until that truth becomes actionable policy, the cycle of abandonment and exploitation will persist.

The Almajiri child is not a relic of tradition. He is the face of a future Nigeria—one that must be reclaimed with courage, care, and coordinated reform.

References

1. Boyle, H. N. (2006). Memorization and Learning in Islamic Schools. Comparative Education Review, 50(3), 478–495.

2. Hefner, R. W. (2009). Making Modern Muslims: The Politics of Islamic Education in Southeast Asia. University of Hawaii Press.

3. UNICEF Nigeria. (2017). Children on the Move: Protecting Almajiri in Northern Nigeria. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/nigeria

4. Loimeier, R. (2012). Islamic Reform and Political Change in Northern Nigeria. Northwestern University Press.

By Dr Toyin Omotola