Arewa Forum states position on repatriation of Almajiris, faults governors

The Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, has faulted the approach adopted by State governors in repatriating Almajiris.

ACF insisted that the approach was clumsy and not adequately coordinated.

The body, in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Emmanuel Yawe, however, backed Northern governors for opting to repatriate almajiris back to their states of origin.

It maintained that begging was retrogressive.

The statement reads: “The decision to repatriate Almajiris to their states was taken by the Northern Governors Forum and we have no quarrel with that because we don’t believe in the almajirinci system.

“It’s a retrogressive system. We don’t believe in it at all. It is against the human development of the North and the development of the country. So, the ACF is against the almajirinci system.

“So, the decision of the governors to take them to their states of origin and the state to find their families, we totally agree with it.’

“This is because if somebody has given birth to a child, he should be in the position to look after that child and not to throw the child onto the streets.

“We support that decision. But the only problem is with the implementation. The implementation is very clumsy and the governors should sit up and implement in a proper way.

“The governors are implementing it haphazardly. It is not properly implemented. You can’t just carry the almajiri in your state and without proper coordination with another state go and drop them and go away.

“If one state is taking them to another state, the state should be alerted accordingly so that the state should make proper arrangement to welcome and trace their parents and take them back to their parents (families).”