By Rasheedat Abidiesin
It was a Thursday Morning in September, 2025. The street of Dandima wore the busy look it’s known for on every business day. The street, being the main road that leads to the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, had cars heading to and from the UDUS main campus. The horn of the cars and vehicles noises filled the air as people got busy minding their respective businesses.
It was 10am in the morning, a time when most pupils ought to be in the cozy walls of their respective classrooms. Yusuf Sani, 10, was found wandering around the street of dandima begging for what to eat.
Yusuf, though young, already had his fair share of life’s harshest reality. His grey shirt, told stories; once new, has definitely seen better days. Now pretty in their tattered state, the rag-like tees offered him the coziness he needed against the harsh weather of the Sokoto sun.
Speaking with this reporter, Yusuf, who came all the way from Gusau to Sokoto for Arabic education, reiterated the fact that he doesn’t go to a formal school.
“I am not going to any formal school, the only institution I am going to is an Arabic school (Makarantar Allo). I came all the way from Gusau to learn Arabic but since I came to Sokoto it has been hard to find something to eat. I beg on the street to feed myself,” he said with teary eyes.
A glance at him (Yusuf) revealed; a boy full of life, with pure eyes that have seen hell beyond his age. To him, western education seems like a distant reality. Becoming a Mallam (an Islamic teacher) is the biggest dream of the ambitious little boy who came from several miles to Sokoto just for Arabic Education.
Like Yusuf Sani, many Children are still in the same struggle. For Isma’il and Hambali who hailed from Rudun Bisa, a town between Bunza and Kamba in Kebbi State. Their plights are quite similar.
“We only came here to learn the words of our religion not the formal education, so why would I go and learn the formal education instead. But if I would see a sponsor I will attend the formal education also,” they said in unison. Their faces, reflecting a distant smile
“Our parents sent us here to come and learn this Karatun Allo. We were in this town during the beginning of this month, we had to beg for what to eat as there’s nothing to eat. We are literally combining begging and attending madrasa together,” they explained.
The Bigger Picture
The plights of Yusuf, Ismail and Hambali reflected the struggle of 10 million children under the management of the Almajiri system in Northern Nigeria, the majority of whom lacked access to basic welfare. Despite increased primary school enrollment, Sokoto state accommodates 113,208 Almajiri children, mostly boys living outside of family care, a 2020 research conducted by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) revealed.
According to a report released by the National Senior Secondary Education Commission (NSSEC), Northern Nigeria recorded the highest school drop-outs in the country, with over 63 percent out of 127,067 children dropping out of school nationwide. Which implies that the region has 80,052 dropouts.
Behind Kano, has the third state topping the chart, Sokoto, breeds 11,339 drop outs with predominantly male children who cover 7,610 of the figure. Factors such as poverty, prioritizing Madrasa makes formal education a major problem in Sokoto.
Between Religious and Formal Education
Mallam Dandima Abubakar Atiku (known as Alaramma Atiku) who owns a Madrasa in the street of Dendima explained how most of his students aren’t a fan of Formal Education. While some are interested in going, he furthered that they have to reach a certain stage in their assimilation of the Quran.
“Some of my students attend schools. They usually close by 1 O’clock PM and come back here by 2PM to Islamiya Knowledge because this school (Makaranta) is a boarding house. That’s how we operate before their vacation, and now that they’ve vacated, they are always here,” he explained to this reporter.
“We have some of them that didn’t register for the Formal school (Makarantan Boko). This is because they haven’t completed their Qur’an; once they have certain knowledge, they will start going to learn the formal knowledge also. We have some of them that are even going to the University among these students,” he explained and talked about how both can be balanced.
Again, Malam Abubakar Isiyaka (their Teacher) a teacher at the Makarantar Malam Isiya Gidan Igwai. Who did not allow some students to talk to this reporter said “Our students are from different places, some are even from Niger. They are only learning Makarantar Allo only; and our students got their food by begging.”
He made it clear that the only thing he is expected to do for the children is to teach them Arabic, not feed them or send them to school.
Taoheed Adegbite, a Child right advocate and online editor with Tribune online, speaking with this Reporter, explained that kids fending for themselves to survive is not news, to be honest. But it’s a terrible issue that’s taking too long to be addressed and one we thought the Child Rights Act (Child Protection Law in Sokoto State) will fix.
“However, one thing is to make law, another is implementation. And that’s frankly where we’re lagging as a nation. Laws are there, but for poor implementation culture; we may continue to be here.
“I believe more needs to be done from all stakeholders, including custodians of culture and religion, to stop this trend. Poverty is there, unarguably. But there’s a need for a restructuring of the mindsets on how many of us continue to bite more than we can chew for streets to shelter,” he further explained
Mr Taoheed added that we should stop requesting for more laws but put the government on their toes on why our laws are toothless bulldogs.
“I’m sure there’ll be a behavioral change to political will to tackle this menace,” he concluded.
More Woes…
“We lost my father and my mother is the only one catering for our needs,” says Bashir Adamu, 14, from Kuran Bello Village in Sokoto.
“In my home town, Shinkafi, I was attending formal education. I stopped going to the school and my parents brought me here to come and learn the Islamiyya Knowledge. Myself and my brothers Nura Usman, and Indiya have spent almost a year here. Our Mallam will not allow us to go to school to learn even if we wanted to until we finished mastering the Holy Qur’an,” he furthered.
For Adamu, a boy in his teens, his tale is that of a life he never wanted to have anymore, a dream he willingly denied himself.
“I was in secondary school when I told my parents that I am tired and I only want to attend the Islamiya school. So they brought me to this Islamiyya in Kauran Bello. But I will be going back and learning my formal education once I return back to my town, if possible,” Adamu told this reporter.
How societal norms fuel to the menace
Muhammad Dayyabu, a father of four and a resident of Gidan Yaro village in Sokoto expressed his zero belief in the system that offers no beneficial returns.
“My children are not going to have formal education. They only go to Makarantar Malam Umaru. This is because Boko is of no use. Children of the poor going to school are just wasting their time for nothing because even if they attend the school, they won’t gain anything,” he said with full confidence.
We didn’t attend this formal education and we never lack anything in life. So we prefer staying with our children everyday on the farm; they should go to Makarantar Allah (Arabic school) and come back. And if they feel like they need money after graduating from the Qur’anic school, we will give them a chance to go and hustle.”
The father of four said he has realized that even with a certificate, there is no job so what is the essence of that Formal Education.
“Imagine a child spending 6-years and can’t even write his name and his surname when you give him a paper and pen, not to even talk of the rest of his family. I don’t see any progress in formal education now,” he lamented.
“Even if the government will sponsor our education, we must make sure that they can take good care of our children on things we can’t afford for them, then we can allow them to go and learn the formal education. But for now, we are focusing on the reality before us now, we are fighting hunger first. Children should go and farm. And if a child grows up and wants to get married, we will build a house for him and get him married instead of wasting money on education that’s of no benefit to a child,” he ended..
What Does the Law Says
In 2021, under the administration of the former Governor Aminu Tambuwal, the Sokoto government through the state’s House of Assembly passed the Sokoto State Child Protection Law. The development came after years of protest and clamoring from international and local actors, demanding the state to domesticate a legal arrangement that improves the well-being of children in the state.
The law makes provision for right to free, compulsory and universal education for every children including right to parental care, protection and maintenance; protection against child labour, especially when it will interfere with the education of such child in question, and more.
Despite the direct and clear obligations of the law, the deficits the promulgation seeks to cure still lingers. Several children of school age that spoke to this reporter told similar tales.
Consequently, the parents of these children together with the government violated numerous provisions of the Law without punishment.
For instance, Section 15 of the Sokoto Child Protection Law mandates that every child has the right to free, compulsory and universal primary education.
The Law orders the government to ensure every child has access to free, compulsory and universal basic education. Also, the government has the responsibility of implementing the provisions of this enactment, and shall punish any person who breached any provision of the law.
Habeeb Gobir, a legal practitioner, explained that from a legal standpoint, Nigeria has indeed domesticated children’s rights laws, particularly through the Child Rights Act 2003 and equivalent legislation at the state level. However, the challenge is implementation and enforcement. Many states have either not fully adopted the Act, or where it has been adopted, enforcement mechanisms are weak.
“This gap between law and practice is why children are still found roaming the streets, often due to poverty, lack of access to education, cultural practices, and sometimes neglect by parents or guardians,” Gobir began.
“From a social perspective, the law alone cannot solve the problem. There needs to be political will, adequate funding, and community involvement. Governments should provide stronger social welfare systems, NGOs and civil society must continue advocacy, and communities need to see child protection as a shared responsibility,” he continued.
He furthered that, while Nigeria has the right laws on paper, the real issue is bridging the gap between legal protection and practical reality.
“Until enforcement improves and socio-economic conditions change, children will unfortunately remain vulnerable despite the existence of protective legislation,” he concluded.
Efforts proved abortive
While this reporter is trying to balance this report, this reporter sent messages via WhatsApp, text messages and several reminders to the Commissioner For Basic and Secondary education in sokoto, Professor Ahmad Ladan Alah.
After receiving no feedback for days, this reporter reached out to the Prof Ahmad Ladan Alah, via phone call, regarding the government’s efforts to ensure full implementation of the sokoto Child protection Law, enacted in 2021,he made reasons why he can’t talk to this reporter.
He told this reporter that while reporting this kind of story considering the perspective that it might be their choice not to go to school to is a necessity not blaming it on poverty.
The call dropped and this reporter tried calling back but wasn’t going through. The next day the reporter called back and he said he is In a meeting which he didn’t reply the call as of the time this Report is being published.
This report is completed with the support from Campus Reporter