5-yr-old beggar in Gombe can't remember parents' names

isaac dachen

July 21, 2016 1:14 PM

A five-year-old beggar who can't even remember his parents' names has a bleak future staring him in the face.

Hussaini, the young Almajiri boy

A five-year-old boy has been abandoned by his parents to beg in Gombe State, has been found roaming the streets looking for his daily meals, drawing more attention to the plight of kids used as Almajiris by so called Islamic scholars, a situation that has become prevalent in most parts of the north of Nigeria.

Also Read: "Child Abuse: Islamic cleric chains 9-yr-old 'Almajiri' so he won't escape"

According to Saudat Saraki, a woman who has been worried about the menace of the practice, the young boy, Hussaini, and his twin brother, Hassan, were handed over to a cleric by their parents who are from Jigawa State, but as they roam the street in search of what to eat, they are being exposed to harsh conditions with a bleak future staring them in the face.

Saraki who has been making efforts to get the government to look into the plight of the street children, say the kids cannot even remember the names of their parents apart from telling her they were brought to the state from Kazaure Local Government Area of Jigawa.

This is what Saraki posted on her Facebook wall:

"And this is Hussaini. they were brought to 'almajiranci' to Gombe together with his twin brother, Hassan.

They are not up to six years; they said their home town is Kazaure, but unfortunately, they cannot remember the names of their parents and forgot the name and location of the quarters of their residence in Kazaure. Imagine their plight!"

In Islam, Almajiri is a general name given to Qur'anic students but they are mostly used as destitute by their teachers to go around any town they are located to beg for food.

Also Read: "Child Abuse: Woman brutalises house boy for allegedly stealing meat"

A few years ago, the Federal Government under former President Goodluck Jonathan built schools in some parts of the north to assimilate the Almajiri children but it does not seem that much has been done to take them out of the streets.

isaac dachen