₦airaland Forum

Kobojunkie:
Funny thing is the man DID NOT mention anything of this being about Trade. He simply said he would TRANSFORM the state into Dubai. How does that imply trade? Dubai has never been just about trade so why is this mention of Dubai ONLY about the trade aspect of Dubai? By the way, Anambra is not the only state where trade is of importance. Most all other eastern states can be described in the same way.

Non can match anambra stride by stride not even abia.

Soludo should desist from making such statements.

Dayokanu is kroos (star player at u17 2 yrs ago) in this german squad?

GboGboAye:
must he do what every other person is dong? He'll go and sit in the general assembly and listen to crap. besides Nigeria has nothing solid to contribute yet. Future power and investments lie in Arabia.

Followed by full islamization and sharialization of nigeria

Na wa o

Is there a way this man Ohakim can be assasinated?

Spain vs Tahiti is a joke.

Why do we always strive to disgrace ourselves.Training pitch no grass

Doping room=Detention center

Iliya, the Almajiri
Written by Salisu Suleiman
Friday, 25 September 2009 12:45





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He was about 12 or 13, good looking, intelligent, hardworking and smart. He was confident and likeable. From his appearance, it was impossible to distinguish him from a boy of similar age from a well-off family; perhaps a secondary school student, just becoming self-conscious. But Iliya was an almajiri, sent by his parents from Kebbi State to study with an Islamic teacher in Zaria.



For a number of years, he was a permanent feature around the Post Graduate hostel at the Ahmadu Bello University's Kongo Campus.
Because he was much smarter than other almajirai, he was able to secure a kind of ‘work permit' from the security staff and the hall managers to come and go as he pleased. I suspect the street-wise Iliya passed on tips in return for this privilege. He even had a mobile phone via which one could send him on errands.



Thus, he ran more errands than other almajirai, washed more cars, fetched more water and as a consequence, got more tips from the marginally better-off postgraduate students. We all called him Iliya. Being curious, I one day asked him to tell me his story.
I had no idea that the pleasant demeanor was a façade to swathe stories of sinking sadness. Iliya tells very sad stories.


Iliya told me how, at the age of five or six, his father entrusted him to the teacher in Zaria to be taught the Quran, law, jurisprudence and other areas of study in Islam. His father had left the day after he met his teacher, and that was the last time he saw any member of his family.


The memories of his mother, brothers and sisters still haunted him, and he missed them sorely. But being a smart kid, he was able to deal with those challenges. He was confident of completing his studies and returning home to Kebbi.


It is the stories Iliya tells of less fortunate almajirai that that are most disturbing. He told me candidly, about an almajiri who was knocked down by a car while begging for alms on his first day on the streets.



He sustained a fracture on his leg, but was never taken to hospital He was treated by a local bone setter, but due to poor care, the bone didn't set properly, and the leg became gangrenous. It was amputated, ironically, at the same hospital to which they had failed to go.


From him, I heard the story of another almajiri who used to run errands for a ‘kind' man neighour. The kind man lured the poor boy with money and food and eventually began to sodomize him. And because the poor boy needed the food, he was silent about the abuse and it went on over a long period. The man fell ill and died.



Not long after, the almajiri also fell ill and died. The man's relatives later confirmed that he died of kanjamau (AIDS). Many other boys suffered this fate.



My friend, Iliya, told me the story of another boy who went out to beg and was never seen alive again. After searching fruitlessly for over a week, it was assumed he had run away to another town. But a few days later, the boy's bloated body was found at a dump.
His eyes had been forcefully removed and his sexual organs were missing. He had fallen victim to ‘ritualists'. No one knows how many more have ended up in the same way.



Another story I heard from Iliya was about other almajirai who were ‘hired' out to blind men as guides. Rather than be taught as their parents hoped, these boys hired out to go to places as far as Lagos, Ibadan, Enugu, Abuja, and Aba with their blind masters.
The story I found most shocking, here, was that of the almajiri, who after spending the whole day weaving through traffic, would then lead his blind master to a bar where he was plied with alcohol and sodomized.



Though this particular pair was eventually caught, how many more are getting away with this form of base exploitation?
He also told me the story of another that was killed in a big city during a recent ethno-religious conflict. Since almajirai were often half mad with hunger, it was very easy for them to engage in mindless violence, especially under a religious pretext.



They usually had no idea who they were attacking, and many times killed or maimed as many Muslims as they did Christians. It was just violence for the sake of violence because, he told me, non-Muslims sometimes treated them better than Muslims.


Another significant thing Iliya told me was about those that graduated from studies before him. He told me that because they had spent years learning only Islamic education, they lacked the practical skills required in the real world to contribute meaningfully to modern society, or even to earn a livelihood.



They become additional burdens on the community and ended up as commercial motorcyclists, cobblers, itinerant manicurists, security men and hawkers of everything under the sun.



But the most interesting thing about Iliya was his ability to discern, and voice the opinion that the whole ‘almajirai' system was antiquated, distorted, unproductive, and indeed, contrary to the real teachings of Islam.

.

Nowhere did Islam teach that parents should send out their children (or anyone) to beg. Nowhere is it stated that pupils who are supposed to be learning should go out and beg for alms or food.



Islam teaches that it is the duty of parents to take care of their children (and the children of family and neighbors), and not dodge responsibility by sending them far away in the name of education.



It is the duty of parents to not only educate their children, but provide them with the opportunities to develop practical skills required to function in today's modern world. The almajirci system as practiced is a negation of these teachings of Islam.


The story of Iliya is a cry for help, not only for other almajirai like himself, but for the many divorcees and orphans, the aged, the incapacitated, the handicapped as well as the millions of unskilled, unemployed, and unemployable people, especially in the North.
It is a call to re-evaluate our intrinsic values and our humanity. It is a call to take bold steps.

(ssuleiman@gmail.com)

http://www.saharareporters.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3793:iliya-the-almajiri&catid=81:external-contrib&Itemid=300

chic2pimp:
Hehehehe Una dey loose again abi?

Well sha I no blame una jare. It's in the blood.

When all of una dey vote Naija to win,na me first vote the Vuvuzelas cuz I no wetin I dey talk. Up Vuvuzelas

Naija peeps make una no let patriotism kill una oo .

Funny coming from you.

Until the Africa learnd to stand on its feet and not go cap in hand begging for loans and aid it will not stop period.i wonder how much dictation the west hads out to china, taiwan,japan or even india.

biggjoe:
no be nnamdi uba wey first talk say he go do airport.

P-boy followed suit much later.

You dey mind the goat.

My view is start with the basic necessities of life before thinking about those big projects.

KenGali:
I totally agree with you, and with out prejudice to Ngige or Soludo (definitely Obi does not come into my picture cause he has had a chance, tried but could not break forth the untapped resources and opportunities in the state, He has some achievement though but not too impressive)

First having Obi as the main Opponent to PDP in Anambra State is simply giving the state over to Uba on PDP platform (that is simply letting gangsters rule), so anybody faulting Soludo's emergence is simply underestimating the capability of Uba to rig out Ngige. Mind you that PDP eats deep into the fabrics of Anambra cause most of our mainline politicians align with the party, especially as it controls most of the resources)

Secondly, putting Ngige back on stand on AC will give us a single power broker in the state against whom all the PDP wigs will unite - This might be good for the entertainment and suspense but not for progress and development, especially the impending political maturity in the state.

When I say maturity, I refer to the formation of a political block where the winner does not take it all. To ensure this we need Ngige in the picture always, to remind who ever is in power that the people have seen better, deserve better and have an alternative choice. He performed this role very well within this ending tenure of Peter Obi, his name virtually become a ghost that chases Obi where ever he goes to spread his Propaganda. If you have spent any time in Anambra state, you will know this.

Thirdly, we have sufficiently enlightened people to play intelligent and progressive political games in the state, using thugs to unleash terror on the ordinary citizens simply sounds like low IQ, and poor self interest to me. Thus, the Uba brothers need to stay away from any direct control of power in the state. The best way to ensure that is to provide a real challenge to their interest within PDP, that is what Soludo and a other aspirants have done.

The healthiest kind of politics that we can hope for is where the majority of the political class in the state decides and adopts an interest for progress, without resorting to mere partisan politics. Truth is that no Nigerian political party deserves such an allegiance that should divide a people to their detriment. None can be associated with any Ideology except power control, at best they reflect ethnic interest. I look forward to a future with Soludo as the Governor, involving Ngige in the progress of the state. And of course a more politically matured Andy Uba making his wealth useful for the people by investing in useful ideas[b] such as an International Airport

[/b]


Rubbish.Anambra cannot boast of good enough roads,educational facilities and you are talking about airport.

OMO IBO:
So where is YAR A DOOFUS going to land when he finally returns from his University trip to Saudi Arabia?

Parachute option is there.

Kobojunkie:
Hasn't he met them many times before? He was in Saudi Arabia less than 2 weeks ago.

Oh dear my bad. .Maybe he is just loves being with people of 'like minds' 

Pictures speak louder than words.At least the picture confirms that he actually met the leader in saudi arabia to commision their private university and NOT using it as only a front to treat himself

Kobojunkie:
What has the above to do with providing a source for the information


@Poster, please follow up with a Source, thanks!

Naija

udezue:
Its Kwale u dumbass.

Can't even spell or no who u are talking about.

They are already awake and ready to join Biafra

Ikwerre meka ooo, mma mma nu Kwenu!!!
Kwale kwenu!!!
Ibibio-Akwaibom Isongo

Do not push your luck.

How about places outside enugu and nsukka.How are those places fairing?

@poster

Why doesn't nigeria have 24hrs electricity,water,good roads,education,responsive security outfits,good hospitals and adequate housing like USA?

What do you want fashola to do?^^

Which men are we talking about here?Is it men in general or men in nairaland?it is because guys i know do not give 2 f%&Ks about virginity in a girl for marraige.

Onlytruth:
Anambra State has a Master Plan now. Ngige conceptualized it but Obi acutalized it.  Follow the two links I found on the plan.

http://businessworldng.com/web/articles/561/1/UN-to-Spend-300m-on-Anambra-Master-Plan/Page1.html

http://wesoedu.com/Anambra_Plan.pdf

Bottomline is that Anambra State is moving forward.

I would go with Ngige for the reasons I mentioned earlier. He is:
(1) Street wise (to survive politically in Anambra, you need this)
(2) Courageous (To face or confront anyone on his way to doing the right thing)
(3) Loves his people (understands the bigger picture)
(4) Hands on (didn't delegate much, he was on tour of project sites daily)
(5) diplomatic and astute politician (just added )
(6) Ambitious


Only Ngige has demonstrated those qualities.
He could have sold Anambra to the highest bidder and would still complete two terms if he did. He didn't. True test of character.

If Ngige wins the election i hope he sticks to implementing the masterplan and not discarding it with the excuse that it was done by Obi.I hope if Soludo wins he will not discard it too on the excuse that he did not conceptualize it.

One of the bane of politics in nigeria is non continuation of policies by a previous governmnet that is needed by the people all in the name of change in power.

If i may ask why do you believe so much in ngige?^^^

biggjoe:
Na waa for you oo.

Onitsha has a master plan - commercialize every street.

Is that kind of plan not master enough?

That one na master plan  .However seriously Onitsha,nnewi and awka need master plan.

If i may ask why is that no city or town in anambra has a master plan?

“Even though I was opposed to it before, I am now a born again and that is why I joined others who have been agitating for state police, because it will enhance security in the country,” Babangida stressed.

He also said though he had kicked against people agitations for state policies in the past, there is now the need for state to have and fund their police to beef up security in the country.

Poster abeg next!!!

Why do you bother yourself with someone who once opened a thread that she hates igbos?^^^

Agaba do you think nigeria is really an 'independent' country in the true sense of the word

nigeria. . . bunch of directionless and confused people.i am sorry but lugard was right about blacks.

Gamine:
No one is demonizing.

We are one, so why cant it rest at that.

Things like this, widen the divide.

Funny coming from you.

MrCrackles:
Nah boss. . . .Youz having a laff!
I think someone impersonated me. . .
My username is Mr Crackles not McCrackles. . .
U see

Not when you signed out in the end of the your verse with your siggy. . . . It is brashy u bastards!