ALMAJIRI SYSTEM: A WEAPON OF NORTHERN POLITICAL DOMINANCE AND HEGEMONY.
During GED's administration, he established Almajiri schools with well structured building, provided materials for learning and put educational facilities in place including feeding. Today, most of these schools have been abandoned and become dilapidated moribund educational infrastructures.

Till date, some are of the opinion that it was all fabricated or an audio project that never existed, but fabricated to score cheap political point and I ask if such mischievous makers actually lived here or are domicile outside Nigerian? Even at that, in the age of social media, one cant but conclude that such individual are totally beclouded by ethno religious sentiments or sociopolitical association.

GED's Almajiri school project might be politically timely or motivated, however, he surely had good intention to add value to the educational system of Northern Nigeria by taking the Almajiris off the street and giving them good or quality education.

My opinion then was that GED surely has good intention, however, I also knew he was definitely wasting his time because the Almajiri system in the North can never be stopped by anyone even if you are the Emir.

The Almajiri system in the North is nothing but a weapon in the hands of the political and religious elite of the North, it is used to enslave or control the minds of the uneducated Northern Talakawas which happens to constitute a large size of the Hausa/Fulani population in the North with the aim of protecting their political or personal interest, to maintain their political power within the North, and most importantly to dominate the Nigerian political scene and maintain the Northern hegemony over the south.

The political elites use the religious elites to sermonized or preach false ideology to the Talakawas by twisting verses in the Quran to control the gullible mind of the Almajiris or Talakawas about the direction they should follow because Quran said so with regards to politics, election or even violence etc..

The Northern elites are aware of the danger of educating or exposing the Almajiri to western education. They know that once the Almajiris or the Talakawas (who happens to constitute majority of Northern population) becomes exposed to western education, they will start to ask questions why there is so much disparity between the North and the South with regards to growth and development. They can no longer tell the Almajiris or the Talakawas who to vote for or where to cast their vote or why western education is a sin.

The same reason why birth control will never be welcomed in the North because it will destroys the population advantage of the North which plays a major role in Nigerian politics. The same reason why most of our borders in the North will remain porous due to the purpose it serves during election(Fulani's from Niger Republic, Chad etc are illegally transported into Northern Nigeria to participate and manipulate our electoral system). The same reason why the lopsided political structure will remain, the same reason why CONFAB (Constitutional conference)reviews or suggestions have been swept under the rug, the same reason why the North has refused to discuss restructuring of any kind.

Even the learned Emir could not stop the Almajiris system because it is one of the weapon of the Northern elites used to dominate Nigeria political scene and to continuously exert Northern hegemony over the South.

Why the Almajiri system must remain.

Fadipe Seun