The Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED) has called for urgent and comprehensive reforms to end the suffering of millions of Nigerian children, particularly those trapped in the Almajiri system and forced into street begging.
This was contained in a statement signed by its Program Communications Officer, Furera Isiaka, and distributed to newsmen on Tuesday.
According to the statement, CHRICED decried the systemic neglect of children in Northern Nigeria.
The organisation described their plight as a national emergency that demand immediate action.
“Children are not the problem, they are victims of failed policies, weak enforcement, and societal neglect,”;; CHRICED said.
“This Children’s Day must be a turning point where hollow promises are replaced with bold and lasting reforms.”;;
The organization lamented the current state of the Almajiri system, which it said has drifted far from its original purpose of providing religious education and has now become a pipeline for abuse and exploitation.
“Instead of receiving education and care, Almajiri children some as young as three years old are forced into the streets to beg, hawk, and engage in menial labour. They are exposed to abuse, trafficking, and unimaginable hardship,”;;the statement read in part.
CHRICED called for a total reform of the Almajiri system by integrating formal education and vocational training.
They further called for strict enforcement of regulations in informal learning centres.
