Eid-Fitr: Jigawa Varsity Don Tasks Northern Governors To Collectively Tackle Begging

By Mohammed Abubakar Dutse

A University lecturer Prof. Abubakar Sani Birnin Kudu has tasked northern states governors to jointly and collectively fashion out a deliberate policy aimed at eliminating street begging by underaged children under the guise of almajiri.

Describing the begging as anti- Islam and a clear departure from the teachings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, Birnin Kudu, who is the Chief Imam of Dutse Central Mosque canvassed stiffer punishment for the parents of the underaged beggars, noting that they’ve abandoned their responsibilities to their wards.

In his sermon at the end of the Eid-Fitr prayers at the Dutse Eid Ground on Friday, Birnin Kudu, who is. Professor of Education at the Federal University Dutse (FUD) , noted that while Islam encourages people to seek for knowledge especially in the memorization of the Holy Quran, it was unacceptable for the younger ones to be exposed to the vageries of hash condition all in the name of learning the Quran.

His words, “How can somebody who has a lot of boys, instead of him to keep his sons with him and teach them Islam or send to malams within the community to go and learn and come back to eat and sleep with him choose to send to far away places where he cannot have access to them. How do you think he can monitor their progress.

“Sometimes you see boys as little as between four- six years of age being sent to that far distanced places, how do you think such boys can take care of themselves, especially we’re in a situation today when a lot of families cannot afford basic feeding, how do you think they’d cope?”

He added that because of the danger posed by the presence of such boys on the streets of the north which is giving the region a bad name, the governors needed to work out collectively a strong policy that would eliminate begging, saying anything other than that posed a very serious danger to the region.

Governor Umar Namadi, who led other top government officials to the Eid Ground challenged Muslims to continue to imbibe the lessons learned from the holy month of Ramadan.

His words, “Let me use this opportunity to congratulate t the e Muslim ummah, especially those from Jigawa state for having successfully completed our Ramadan fast. May Allah SWT accept our prayers and I charge us all to imbibe the lessons learnt during the Ramadan.

” It is important that all the lessons learnt, the patience, the forgiveness that well continue to sustain those virtues to the end of our lives so that we could count ourselves among the pious ones.”