The President-elect, Bola Tinubu, has been urged by the Almajiri Child Rights Initiative, to help curb the menace of the Almajiri in the northern part of the country.
The NGO, led by its Director, Mohammad Keana, made the call in Abuja at the 2023 Almajirai Child Rights Day.
The theme of the event: “Transformative Actions to Address the Situation of Almajiri Children in Northern Nigeria”, seeks to provide equal opportunities for the Almajirai children.
Keana tasked the incoming administration with effective laws and political tools that can be used to address the situation of these children, adding that the Child Rights Act, (CRA), must be made to work in all states.
“For us to have all these, it is about building family support in the community and also providing alternative care for these children, as well as enforcing the existing laws so that they are not being exploited the way we see them”.
Also speaking at the event, the Chief Executive of Connected Development, Hamzat Lawal, called on States yet to domesticate and pass CRA to do so to provide equal opportunity and access to these children with others.
According to him, every child deserves to live a dignified life and have access to timely education, irrespective of where they are, where they come from and their social status.
He mentioned that the almajiri syndrome must be a “collective effort, where society will frown at the way these children live”.
Lawal said the traditional and religious institutions must also play their roles.
