Almajiris deserve share of national cake – Sheikh Gumi

Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has called for a massive, “Marshall Plan” style intervention to modernize Quranic education and provide for Almajiri children, framing their welfare as a vital component of national stability and social justice.

Kaduna-based cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi on Monday intensified his push for a radical transformation of the Almajiri system, advocating for a massive, state-funded “Marshall Plan” to address the systemic neglect of millions of vulnerable children. Sharing a video of children begging for alms, Gumi characterized the current humanitarian crisis as a national imperative rather than a charitable issue, arguing that these children deserve “their share of the national cake” as a matter of social justice and stability.

Building on his January 12 proposal, the cleric insisted that Northern Nigeria’s vast institutional capacity could modernize Quranic education within 15 years by blending moral instruction with a contemporary curriculum. Invoking a prophetic tradition that links a nation’s victory to its treatment of the weak, Gumi warned that the centuries-old tradition has been hollowed out by economic pressures, leaving children susceptible to exploitation and recruitment into criminal networks unless the government intervenes with a comprehensive reconstruction effort.

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