MURIC said Kukah’s proposal is a ploy for evangelization, modern colonialism, and a potential time bomb.
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) yesterday rejected Bishop Matthew
Kukah’s almajiri initiative to train 10 million almajiris in northern
Nigeria.
The MURIC director, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, said in a statement that Kukah’s idea raises more questions than answers.
He said Kukah’s proposal is a ploy for evangelization, modern colonialism, and a potential time bomb.
“We all agree that something must be done about the almajiri
children. We can welcome ideas from everyone but the implementation must
be in the hands of Muslims in the region. Any other thing will make the
intention questionable. We cannot pretend to be so naive as to entrust
our Muslim children to the hands of Christian gospellers. As far as we
are concerned, Kukah’s almajiri dream is a Trojan horse.“These children have teachers even if the system is
unconventional. The parents entrusted them to the teachers and learning
still takes place somehow. Can any Christian community allow an Islamic
organization to take their children away just like that? What is the
fate of the children taken from Chibok to an Edo IDP centre in 2014?
Whatever the situation may be, we wish to caution Northern Muslims,
particularly the elders, never to allow it to happen.“Instead of allowing Christian missionaries to seize this kind
of initiative, Northern Muslims should empower available Muslim NGOs to
cater for almajiri children. We know from experience that whatever
happens will be a point of reference in the near future. Who will bear
the shame at that time? We, therefore, advise state governments in the
region to rearrange their priorities and concentrate on the education
and welfare of almajiri children,” Akintola said.
While saying that it is indisputable fact is that almajiri is
essentially a system practiced by northern Muslims and that it is not
part of Christendom, he wondered if Rev. Kukah prefers to alleviate
poverty among Muslims to doing same among Christians.
He said, “Is he (Kukah) telling us that he loves to assist
Muslims more than he loves to help Christians? Can Rev. Kukah give any
guarantee that those children will remain the same at the end of his
intervention? It is modern colonialism. When did the reverend father
suddenly develop so much love for Muslims that he has now decided to
give them preference above his Christian folks?“Are there no poverty-stricken children in the Christian
majority Middle Belt particularly in Benue and Plateau? Why can’t he
take his project there? This type of project demands trust. No NGO can
successfully train children or adults in an atmosphere of mutual
distrust.”
He added there were no less than five NGOs that specialize in
eliminating poverty among vulnerable people and that one of them, the
Almajiri Child Right Initiative (ACRI), specializes in almajiri affairs.
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