The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III has said unequivocally that the almajiri concept and practice have nothing to do with Islam, but is simply a reflection of the poverty of parents.
The Sultan explained that it is the poverty state of most parents that makes it impossible for them to send their children to school and instead allow them to go begging in the streets.
He declared: “Almajiri has nothing to do with Islam but an issue of poverty on the part of parents.”
The Sultan stated this in Kaduna on Saturday when he chaired a meeting on girl child education by the Sultan Foundation for Peace and Development, with UNICEF and education representatives from the 19 northern states in attendance.
He said the importance of educating the girl child cannot be over-emphasised, stressing that educated women are more of a better asset than uneducated women and most times even educated men.
On girl child education, the Sultan queried, “Why should our girls be turned to street hawkers? We must work hard to make sure that our girls are better than us.
“It is pathetic that in the northern region, we don’t pay attention to girls’ education. As far as I am concerned, a female doctor is of more value than a male doctor.
“This is why we are putting necessary measures in place to have an all-female university in Sokoto State in which government must play a leading role,” he stated.
-Leadership
