Some Kano residents on Wednesday commended Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State for banning street begging in the State.
DAILY POST reported that Ganduje gave the directive on Tuesday even as he threatened to prosecute parents of children found on the streets.
The governor said the decision was made to fully consolidate the free and compulsory primary and secondary schools education in Kano.
Some of the residents told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kano that the directive would add more value in the state.
One of the residents, Malam Abubakar Wada, hailed Ganduje for the decision to prosecute parents whose children are found begging on the streets rather in school.
“The number of children roaming the streets of Kano during school days showed that parents somewhere have failed in carrying out their responsibilities.
“No child was brought to this world to take care of itself and its responsibilities, so why should people bear them when they aren’t ready for them?”.
An Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Salih, said the word almajiri used to describe child beggars in Northern Nigeria, which was adopted from the Arabic word, “Almuhajir.”
He noted that the word means a scholar who leaves his comfort zone in search of knowledge but not a beggar as believed.
A housewife, Malama Umaira Ibrahim, also hailed the governor for the decision, adding that most mothers were forcefully separated from their children, who were sent out to learn the Qur’an but ended up begging to survive.
She said, “If a child that goes to the formal school can be successful from his parents house, the child in the informal school can obtain such success too.”
