LUMPEN CHILDHOOD IN NIGERIA: A CASE OF THE 'ALMAJIRAI' IN NORTHERN NIGERIA

• Authors: Amzat Jimoh
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

That migrant street Islamic school pupils 'suffer' has been contentious in the light of the motive of their endeavour but there is no controversy that the 'almajirai' are part of the underprivileged population. Hence, they constitute part of the lumpen population. The paper explores the various dimensions of lumpenhood among the 'almajirai' discussing the forms of hardships which have been a way of life of this set of lumpen children. The paper shows that street livelihood among the children constitutes a distinct social problem in Nigeria with particular reference to migrant Quranic school pupils in Northern Nigeria. Attributes of this set of lumpen children have been inhuman exposures to poor accommodation, drug use, malnutrition and shortage of other basic amenities. It is observed that the preservation of the 'almajiranci' system of education despite the enormous succession of social alterations in the overall social organization has been a major source of concern. This is because such preservation has been a mechanism for the reproduction of lumpenhood which is detrimental to overall national development. It is in the light of this that the paper suggests an overhauling of the 'almajiranci' system of education in line with current and emerging new education values and realities.

Keywords

EN

ISLAM; LUMPEN CHILDREN; NORTH NIGERIA; STRET LIFE

Discipline

• SOCIOLOGY: SOCIOLOGY

• Publisher: Polska Akademia Nauk. Instytut Kultur Śródziemnomorskich i Orientalnych PAN
• Journal: Hemispheres. Studies on Cultures and Societies
• Year: 2008
• Issue: 23
• Pages: 49-59
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Amzat Jimoh

• Jimoh Amzat, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Department of Sociology, Sokoto, Nigeria;

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

09PLAAAA06351