President Muhammadu Buhari

The Almajiris comprise of downtrodden parents and their children, orphans and destitute. Alamajiri system of education commenced in Kanem Borno, a long time ago.

Sokoto and Borno caliphates were the pioneers in this system of education.

Under the system, children learnt moral upbringing from their parents. All schools at this period were within the vicinity of  the students. Matters pertaining to the schools were handled by inspectors who reported to the Emir of the province in question. These schools were financed by parents, zakkah, sadaqqah and in some instances through the farm output of the students.

With time, the British abolished the system of education, thereby ensuring that government no longer funded the system of education. This resulted in the Teachers and students resorting to begging for alms and undertaking menial jobs for sustenance. 

Sadly, presently, the system of education lacks qualified Teachers, educational facilities and other essentials.

Worried stakeholders of this system of education insist that proscribing the system would be a great disservice to humanity, since the government in the present dispensation has done next to nothing to impact positively on those in the system, even though government made use of the stakeholders to achieve self serving interests.

In this interview with Federationews2day, the Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagoke opines that for this and other issues to be resolved Nigerians must pray for President Muhammadu Buhari and all the 36 state Governors to have the political will to curb institutional indiscipline and endemic corruption which has consumed the fabrics of society. Excerpts :

The Federal Government is toying with the idea of doing away with the Alamjiri system of education, even though the administration of the former President Goodluck Jonathan spent considerable amount to ensure that the system of education remains. Do you think this would be beneficial to the country in the long run ?

During the tenure of former President Goodluck Jonathan, he ventured into building schools for nomadic education, which Nigerians hoped then, would have taken care of the Alamajiris, who lived like orphans,but returned their proceeds from the streets to some wicked surrogate parents.

Fortunately, President Muhammadu Buhari referred Nigerians to section 18 : 3 of the 1999 amended constitution, which places on all Nigerians, the obligation to eradicate illiteracy.

Free and compulsory education accroding to international standards demands that every government in Nigeria must provide free and compulsory education for every child of Primary and Junior Secondary school age.

The President also stated that it was indeed a crime for any parent to keep his or her child out of school for this period.

By implication, when the government fails to provide the schools, Teachers and teaching materials necessary for basic education, it is actually aiding and abetting crime.

Based on this assertion, the President emphasized on,with affirmation to all state Governors, the need to ensure proper education during the first nine years of schooling, to be able to inculcate in the children, the right moral values.

The President equally realized that the age long Almajiri system of education, resulted in the North of Nigeria witnessing orgies of crimes which have eventually snowballed into insurgency and uncontrollable acts of violence and terrorism.

The President, believes that the problems confronting Nigeria are rooted in the fact that a lot of people have been denied the opportunity to get formal education and this has led to the accumulation, over the years, of  large mass of Nigerians who have taken to crime, drug addiction among several other social problems. Again these category of Nigerians have also become willing tools in the hands of some elements in the wider society, who have always nurtured dangerous intentions.

The President then made mention of the Alamajiris, as a group to be proscribed, as they happen to be the symbol of informal education, that could be likened to absolute illiteracy, considering the fact that their activities spread beyond the geographical contraption of the North, to the nooks and crannies of Nigeria.

Firstly, as street urchins, they continue to become the future monsters, who work against society.

The President now went on, to recognize and recommend the Western region of Nigeria philosophy, under the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who started free and compulsory education at both the Primary and Secondary levels, when he was Premier.

My worry and take on this issue, ranges as follows :

In the face of the present scenario of poverty for the people and kleptocracy in government, would the state Governors be able to meet up with the calls of Mr. President ? Which equally aligns with the UNICEF’s stand that education is the right of every child and the United Nation’s charge on countries of the world on the need for sustainable development.

Unfortunately, it is imperative for the state Governors to find a means of achieving this, most especially if one considers the two digit interest loans, even for those who have access, poor remuneration for workers, excluding the political class and the unfortunate state of dilapidation of the buildings of several public schools. All these put together have given way for the quacks to foray into the education sector. They put up schools that are never accredited through the laid down government rules and regulations.

Another challenge, is on the strength of the political will of Mr. President to abrogate the Alamajiri system in the North and the possible ‘’hostility’’ from the states outside the North, that would quickly seize the opportunity to ‘’deport’’ the beggars within their environment.

My Prayer and Nigerians must also pray for Mr. President and all the state Governors, for God to give them the needed will power and wisdom to curb institutional indiscipline and endemic corruption in both low and high places.

Equally, it is important for government to take the issue of functional education seriously, by first, reviewing downward, the wages and allowances of the political class as a form of the necessary sacrifice from them, to be able to make the Nigeria project feasible.

They equally need to down size the number of ‘’servers’’ in their cabinet to meaningfully control wastage in governance while we must equally look inward to resuscitate the ‘’dead’’ industries to be able to provide employment for those who are been turned out as fresh graduates for the country’ institutions.

The governorship and state houses of assembly elections were conducted, some days ago, in all the state of Nigeria, including the Federal Capital Territory. The elections were characterized by ballot intimidation, threats, box snatching, violence, killings and cover ups.

Nigerians lament that in during the second leg of the elections, several innocent lives were lost again, with the security agents doing virtually nothing to prevent the ugly situation.

Indeed, hoodlums and the security agents had a field day, not ensuring the safety of lives an property, but terrorizing, maiming and killing harmless citizens. In this interview, the Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabit Olagoke says, despite the irregularities that characterized the general elections, Nigeria remains one by the grace of God. Excerpts

The Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections have come and gone, what is your impression on the electoral process ?

Structurally, the electoral process should be regarded as an improvement over the past ones.

One can, however, say the the problem with the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC), ahs been the headache of politicians. For example, the ruling party would humanly want to win the elections at all costs, not minding the peoples’ perception about their performances in governance.

The main opposition party would equally want to win at all costs, capitalizing on the weaknesses of the ruling party.

Expectedly, the voters are the major determinants of those that will win elective positions in the elections, no matter how perfectly or poorly conducted.

In the case of 2019, the issue of ballot box snatching must have been widespread, indeed, the two major political parties are guilty of the electoral offence.

Equally, killing of perceived political enemies and innocent citizens were recorded across the country.

Indeed, unprofessional reports on social media almost set the nation on fire.

General observation on the structure put on ground by INEC viz-a-viz the INEC officials, security agencies, the National Orientation Agency(NOA) could have been passed to be very credible, but for some unsavory reports of unholy romance with politicians.

For example, some has more than adequate number of security agents at alert, while others had just one or two security agents, without arms.

In quite a number of areas, reports of security agents killing harmless voters, were rife.

Although there were several detected cases of already thumb printed ballot papers, these cases passed without any action been taken.

Also, in several polling units, ballot papers were inadequate, considering the number of voters. This was deliberate, to further diabolic intentions.

However, against all the odds, results of the electoral process, defective or perfect, were conclusive, except for six states, according to INEC.

Now that winners have emerged in most of the states, what Nigerians should appreciate is the courage displayed by some of the losers, in congratulating the winners.

Suffice it now to say, that winners must look beyond their party lines to serve, so that e will be able to have an inclusive government for an inclusive society, which the United Nations has been working on, for all nations to realize and imbibe, as their political culture for the sake of having equity practice on ground, peace and sustainable development in place.

For those who are not happy with the results declared by INEC, redress must be sought through the election tribunal or the law court.

This should be the only way to address grievances, so as not to further charge the already heated polity into violence.

Though, many Nigerians are clamoring for e-voting, I believe that it is possible, but not until we sensitize and train ourselves to that acceptable level of technological know-how.

Even when we must have attained the state of electronic voting, our attitude must have been worked on, as patriots and sincere Nigerians with the culture of integrity and as die hard believers, in bequeathing an acceptable legacy of development to the coming generation.

For the incoming government to be put in place, the areas of moral discipline, ethical values and practice, quality and standard, must be emphasized in the code of our democratic practice, if we are to justify the divine intervention that still holds us as a nation together, despite the inherent irregularities that mark and dot the lines of the 2019 electoral process.

At about 3.00 Am on Saturday morning, 16 February, 2019, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) Prof. Mahmood Yakubu  announced the postponement of the general elections scheduled for the same day by one week while that of the governorship and state Houses of Assembly were shifted from March 2 to March 9, 2019. 

Prof. Yakubu also stated that the postponement was due to logistic challenges the Commission was contending with. Prof. Yakubu  refused to entertain any questions from journalists after the announcement.

 Interestingly, President Muhammadu Buhari had made a national broadcast some days, before the INEC Chairman's announcement. 

Indeed, the utterances and body language of President Buhari indicates that he is not ready to relinquish power.

Sadly, most hit by the election postponement, are Nigerians  who traveled long distances to the places they registered for the elections for the sole purpose of voting for the candidates of their choice.

What becomes of the huge financial resources that have gone into the postponed elections for law enforcement and security agencies ?

Indeed, there is more to the postponement than meets the eyes.

In this interview with Poverty Line, the Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabiut Olagoke says  that INEC, is to blame for its inability to  plan ahead for  problems the postponement has brought about. Excerpts :

What is your reaction to the postponement of the general elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) ?

Nigerians ought to have expected  that the postponement was imminent, if the happenings and some events bothering on safety and security were to be considered ab initio for almost six months, the allegations of the influx of illegal weapons into the country had been reported, not into the hands of security agencies, but into the hands of invisible Nigerians.Intelligence gathering ought to have exposed the sponsors of the illegal arms and the purpose they imported it. But this is not so.

One should not be surprised at the report of various killings in political campaigns, most especially the ones involving the ruling party and the main opposition party.

INEC's claim that the postponement was due to  logistic challenges, should be taken in two ways, partly, Nigerians ought to accept it, if one considers the recent burning of INEC offices in some states of the Federation. 

The allegations that foreign observers intend to interfere with the electoral process, must not be ignored, even though the statement credited to the Kaduna state Governor was overzealous. 

The allegation made against former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), are equally significant, if one considers the various interventions of the United States of America in countries, such as Egypt, Libya and Iraq, to be a voyage of disastrous consequences for the affected nations.

The question now is that when are Nigerians going to be truly independent ?

The issue of the postponement of the general elections could therefore be regarded  as the usual economic waste, when one considers the logistic issue of security and economic importance, regarding the observers, party agents and INEC officials, that had left their places of origin to travel to such a far distance, with the accompanying risks. They now have to return home due to the sudden postponement.

Who is to be responsible for their remuneration and compensation ?                            

On the other hand, the postponement will certainly be to the advantage of the major political parties to consolidate their strategies and gains, most especially in the area of decampment for sale and possible onslaught to prey on  91-2 political parties which would be more of surrogates or buffer solution, to boost the chances of  each of the two major political parties, the All Progressives Congress(APC) and the PDP at the Presidential and National Assembly elections.

The blame on the part of INEC, is on its inability to proactively plan for exigency of this nature to the extent that any form of disequilibrium in the Chemistry of our political activities ought to have been addressed at the preventive levels  of solution, not to nosedive into a very costly postponement, which upon final analysis , must have resulted into a huge economic waste, pockets of waste of lives and property and the general state of frustration for all Nigerians, most especially those who are eligible to vote, into another state of apathy.

INEC and the National Orientation Agency must rise into action to disabuse the minds of Nigerians, so that they would be able to turn out en mass to perform their civic responsibilities, in electing our new leaders for the next four years for us.

Above all, we should count ourselves lucky, that we have the retired military Generals as determinant factors of the country's political destiny. They are to blame for not giving Nigerians the necessary legacy for political stability and sustainable development, making us to grope in the darkness of life, looking for a messiah.

Apart from this, we need to appreciate the fact that the ruling party and the main opposition party are not green horns when it comes to the conduct of elections, which in the annals of our history has always been fraught with  rigging.

What Nigerians should expect is not their rhetoric of politics, which we are already used to with dashed hopes, but that this election should be conclusive, free, fair and credible. The eventual winners should be people and development focused and must have zero tolerance for institutional indiscipline and corruption.

The appeal is that votes must count for the people to wholeheartedly support the cause of the government that shall eventually emerge.

At about 3.00 Am on Saturday morning, 16 February, 2019, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) Prof. Mahmood Yakubu  announced the postponement of the general elections scheduled for the same day by one week while that of the governorship and state Houses of Assembly were shifted from March 2 to March 9, 2019. 

Prof. Yakubu also stated that the postponement was due to logistic challenges the Commission was contending with. Prof. Yakubu  refused to entertain any questions from journalists after the announcement.

 Interestingly, President Muhammadu Buhari had made a national broadcast some days, before the INEC Chairman's announcement. 

Indeed, the utterances and body language of President Buhari indicates that he is not ready to relinquish power.

Sadly, most hit by the election postponement, are Nigerians  who traveled long distances to the places they registered for the elections for the sole purpose of voting for the candidates of their choice.

What becomes of the huge financial resources that have gone into the postponed elections for law enforcement and security agencies ?

Indeed, there is more to the postponement than meets the eyes.

In this interview with People, the Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabiut Olagoke says  that INEC, is to blame for its inability to  plan ahead for  problems the postponement has brought about. Excerpts :

What is your reaction to the postponement of the general elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) ?

Nigerians ought to have expected  that the postponement was imminent, if the happenings and some events bothering on safety and security were to be considered ab initio for almost six months, the allegations of the influx of illegal weapons into the country had been reported, not into the hands of security agencies, but into the hands of invisible Nigerians.Intelligence gathering ought to have exposed the sponsors of the illegal arms and the purpose they imported it. But this is not so.

One should not be surprised at the report of various killings in political campaigns, most especially the ones involving the ruling party and the main opposition party.

INEC's claim that the postponement was due to  logistic challenges, should be taken in two ways, partly, Nigerians ought to accept it, if one considers the recent burning of INEC offices in some states of the Federation. 

The allegations that foreign observers intend to interfere with the electoral process, must not be ignored, even though the statement credited to the Kaduna state Governor was overzealous. 

The allegation made against former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), are equally significant, if one considers the various interventions of the United States of America in countries, such as Egypt, Libya and Iraq, to be a voyage of disastrous consequences for the affected nations.

The question now is that when are Nigerians going to be truly independent ?

The issue of the postponement of the general elections could therefore be regarded  as the usual economic waste, when one considers the logistic issue of security and economic importance, regarding the observers, party agents and INEC officials, that had left their places of origin to travel to such a far distance, with the accompanying risks. They now have to return home due to the sudden postponement.

Who is to be responsible for their remuneration and compensation ?                            

On the other hand, the postponement will certainly be to the advantage of the major political parties to consolidate their strategies and gains, most especially in the area of decampment for sale and possible onslaught to prey on  91-2 political parties which would be more of surrogates or buffer solution, to boost the chances of  each of the two major political parties, the All Progressives Congress(APC) and the PDP at the Presidential and National Assembly elections.

The blame on the part of INEC, is on its inability to proactively plan for exigency of this nature to the extent that any form of disequilibrium in the Chemistry of our political activities ought to have been addressed at the preventive levels  of solution, not to nosedive into a very costly postponement, which upon final analysis , must have resulted into a huge economic waste, pockets of waste of lives and property and the general state of frustration for all Nigerians, most especially those who are eligible to vote, into another state of apathy.

INEC and the National Orientation Agency must rise into action to disabuse the minds of Nigerians, so that they would be able to turn out en mass to perform their civic responsibilities, in electing our new leaders for the next four years for us.

Above all, we should count ourselves lucky, that we have the retired military Generals as determinant factors of the country's political destiny. They are to blame for not giving Nigerians the necessary legacy for political stability and sustainable development, making us to grope in the darkness of life, looking for a messiah.

Apart from this, we need to appreciate the fact that the ruling party and the main opposition party are not green horns when it comes to the conduct of elections, which in the annals of our history has always been fraught with  rigging.

What Nigerians should expect is not their rhetoric of politics, which we are already used to with dashed hopes, but that this election should be conclusive, free, fair and credible. The eventual winners should be people and development focused and must have zero tolerance for institutional indiscipline and corruption.

The appeal is that votes must count for the people to wholeheartedly support the cause of the government that shall eventually emerged.

President Muhammadu Buhari recently opined that his slow pace in delivering the dividends of Democracy was as a result of the slow democratic system in the country. Nigerians, however, disagree with the President's claim, they insist that President Buhari's approach to governance  and his choice of political appointees have been the major impediments towards achieving good governance.

Of note is the endorsement of the President for a second term by the  Miyetti Allah. This has attracted divergent views from Nigerians. In this interview with , the Founder, Spiritual Head and Grand Imam of Shafaudeen-in-Islam Worldwide, Prof. Sabitu Olagok says that the time it took the President to realize that the system is slow,  a sizable number of his political appointees and state Governors have emerged as emergency billionaires. Excerpts :

 President Buhari has blamed  his slow pace in governance to the slow democratic system in the country. Do you agree with him ?

While the President is a hundred per cent correct, he has disappointed millions of Nigerians by realizing this fact too late.

This is a man who had been given the grace, with almost three attempts to get to the exalted position of President, before he eventually got the opportunity. During the failed attempts, he ought to have researched into the difference between a military command and a civilian government of bureaucracy,  intrigues and due process.

His failure to do so, is responsible for his period of travails on getting to the seat of power.

Much as he would have tried to build up his political will to fix things up properly, starting from the strategic Treasury Single Account(TSA) as the basis of his fight against  corruption, the internal wrangling of his party, emanating from who will control the President and power sharing principles, led to his period of hibernation in London, where and when his detractors wished him dead.

On his return, a lot of things had changed, beyond his control.

One would have wished him to liberate himself and foster his will on nation building, but unfortunately age and health are no longer to his advantage, while the environment in which he was supposed to operate became hostile-party division trailed by the uncooperative attitude towards the fight against corruption.

For example some of the Governors and Ministers in this present administration are now emergency billionaires, functioning with no impact on the lives of the people.

 To replace these personalities, even when the whistle blowing on them, has become very difficult because the President would not want the house of the All Progressives Congress(APC) to crumble on him, with the probable option of waiting for a second term to take necessary action.

Furthermore, on several occasions, the President cried out on the uncooperative attitude of the Judiciary, while everyone could see the uncooperative attitude of the divided National Assembly.

Apart from this, there is the constitution with the strings of bureaucratic process and lapses, serving as the basis to correct the aberrations in the land, with calls for restructuring.

Besides this, former President Goodluck Jonathan made us to believe that the insurgents aimed at making the environment ungovernable and that their sponsors were always in the fifth column of government. They strike when some policies  and such policies' implementation are not favourable to them.

The Obas, Emirs and Obis are equally anti-people, who dine with government  in order to maintain their status quo of sustaining the social class of the rich echelon.

When money does not flow, they create a tensed polity, too hot for government to operate.

Today, 86. 9 million Nigerians live in abject poverty and these are the people who lack the access to education, good health care delivery and other basic social amenities.

Paradoxically, the majority of them constitute the large population of voters, who will give our leaders the mandate to rule as well as give the Houses of God the wherewithal to exist.

The President has been part of the system since his days as Military Head of State, hence he is expected to have  detected areas and barriers to efficient performances  in governance, for him to be able to perform up to the expectations of Nigerians.

Nigerians will  no longer to tolerate rhetorics of regrets, theoretical promises of hope, but will like to experience proactive measures in decision making.

Manifesto presentation with facts and figures and pragmatic show of capability in governance that would reflect leadership by example, leadership by impact based on the APC's promise to deliver with purposeful direction and self sacrifice through zero tolerance for corruption and institutional discipline for functional Democracy to produce peace and  sustainable development, in an environment that is safe and secured through the natural practice of justice and equity, without any feeling of marginalization.

If  fate brings back President Buhari for the second term, he must careful of  those he  will work with, so that he will not be disgraced out of office.