The almajiris in Northern Nigeria have been "sinned against" and denied opportunities for social progress by the region's Muslim elite, Catholic cleric, Hassan Kukah, has said.
"The Almajiri has become a scapegoat for the multiple sins of the Nigerian state in general and the Muslim Umma in particular," Mr Kukah said in a paper shared with PREMIUM TIMES on Monday.
How and why did the Mallam and his Almajiri, a much-treasured part of Islamic history, deteriorate to the status of the scum of the earth?
"They left their people in the lurch as the modern state emerged, providing no further rung on the ladder of progress for the Almajiri as part of the future for their children.
"So, while the modern elite equipped themselves and their children with the armour of western education, the Mallam and his Almajiri were left behind in the twilight zone of ignorance, fear, anxiety, disorientation and discomfiture, treating those outside with veiled contempt."
