Kaduna: A firm, Nutriment Investment Hub Ltd, on Thursday began a three-month training of 100 teenage Almajiris on various skills in Kaduna. Almajiris are children who leave their families to study Islam in Qur’anic schools, mostly in the northern part of the country.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the company is a subsidiary of Nutriment Feeds and Nutriment Holdings. The Almajiri children will be trained in alternative farming, which includes sack farming and gardening, livestock, poultry farming, shoe cobbling, soap, and pomade making, among others.
Mr. Dauda Oche, the Group’s Head of the company, stated that they organized the programme tagged, ‘Almajiri Lets Farm’, as a corporate social responsibility. Oche explained that the programme is a community-based initiative designed to empower the almajiri children with practical agricultural and life skills through practical training. The programme aims to provide the almajiri children with sustainable skills that could enhance their food security, self-sufficiency, and long-term livelihood opportunities.
Oche emphasized that the objective is not for external aid to support the Almajiris, but to collaborate with stakeholders for a sustainable outcome. He highlighted the need for collaboration, believing that the almajiris have dignity, talents, and intelligence. The firm has engaged with institutions like Kaduna Polytechnic to secure land for cultivation based on the training provided to the almajiris.
The organization is looking into the possibilities of empowering about 10,000 almajiris in the future. Oche noted that according to the World Health Organisation, about 8.5 to 10 million almajiris constitute 70 per cent of the out-of-school children in Nigeria. Empowering this number could significantly contribute to food security and productivity in society. He cited the example of Brazil’s agricultural output compared to Nigeria’s, highlighting the potential for increased production through better utilization of arable land.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Kaduna State House of Assembly Committee on Education, Mahmoud Lawal, praised the organization for its efforts in empowering the almajiris. He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to supporting such programmes to ensure that almajiri children acquire skills for self-sufficiency.
The training will span three months and take place simultaneously at various locations, including Unguwar Rimi, Badarawa, Babban Saura, Rigasa, and Badiko.