My Name Is Almajiri

My name is Almajiri, I was born in one village far northern Nigeria. I am 15 years old now. I was brought to this city when I was just 7 years old by my father to learn and memorize the holy Qur'an. Since when I was brought here my father only came to visit me three times. And I have never seen my mother since when I left home. The last time my father came visit two years back, I told him I wanted to go back home to see my mother, but he said I could not do that until I memorize the whole Qur'an. I remember when we were leaving my village to come to this city, my father only told me that I was going to the town to stay with his uncle for a while. When my father was going back to the village he gave me some money to be spending and I cried like I was going to die when finally he was to leave. Immediately my teacher came back from seeing my father off, he asked me to bring that money my father gave to me. I have never seen kobo from that money again.

   When it was time for dinner that day, my teacher gave me a small bowl and asked me to join a small army of other students in the school to go beg for food that we were to eat as dinner that night. We roamed the streets entering  one house after another begging for food, and when I finally found something, some of the students we were together, who were a little older than I was and who were not entering houses to beg as we were doing, confiscated my food and ate it and threw the bowl at me and asked me to go get the one I would eat again. When we finally came back and after the evening class, when it was time to sleep, that is when I realized there was in fact no where for me to sleep. We are close to hundred in the school and everybody just scattered in search of a place to sleep, I managed to get a little place beside one gutter by our teacher's house and slept there, that has become my sleeping place ever since. And it does not matter if it is raining or its during harmattan period as there is no where to go and sleep apart from there.

   That was the routine everyday, until finally I was able to get one house where I begged the house wife to be coming and be helping her with the day to day chores and in turn she would be giving me food so that I wouldn't have to be begging for food everyday. This was far better for me than having had to go scavenging for food three times every single day. Lest I forget, perhaps I should tell you that it took me four good years to finally get new clothing! Yeah shocking, right? My few cloths that I was brought here with had become dirty and tattered. It was this hajiya that finally noticed the situation of my cloths, and how it took her that long, I don't know, and gave me some few sets used by one of her children to be wearing. You can imagine how happy I was I got "new" cloths finally. Unfortunately, they never lasted, partly because I could go the whole month without taking a bath or washing my cloths and partly as there were not much to be rotating. It is hajiya when she noticed this sometimes that would give me some soap and detergent to bath and wash my torn cloths.

   When I started growing up I realized my fellow almajiris used to have money on them for which they buy some things they like or need. I asked one of them where they were getting the money and he told me at the roads junctions. That was how I left hajiya's house and started going to junctions and roundabouts begging for money from the motorists. Some will give us, some will refuse, some will even harass us for touching their cars or leaning on them. I stopped going to school completely, I only go back to school when it was time for me to sleep and immediately it is morning, I will carry my bowl and head to a junction and I will be there till evening. Did I hear you say: 'what about prayers?' No, who has time to pray? If you go for prayer, you don't know what you will be missing for that time you go to pray. I pray all the prayers I missed in a day when I came back from the junction and if I am tired on that day, then I just ignore them. As for what I was brought here to do, that is to memorize the holy Qur'an, as I said earlier on, I already stopped going to school since when I started coming to junctions, and the little I memorized has already vanished as I don't quite read it.

   As for my future, I really don't know about that, not that I care anyway. I heard that they said there are more than 9 millions of us roaming the streets in this country. I believe there is no future for us in this country where they say there are equally over 12 million youth who had gone to school and graduated but can not get job to do. What more of an almajiri? Begging is what I know for now and it is my future as I don't know what else I should do. perhaps when I grow a little bit I will think of becoming a water vendor or become okada rider or better again, start selling fuel by the road side. As you can see plenty of options for me there. It seems like I have a future after all!

   Government? Well, I just hope its not me you are asking that question, as I don't know if we ever have government in this country. I heard its election time, so may be they are trying to get re-elected so that they continue steeling our country money, and for us - almajiri family - we will continue been pauperized, ragged, torn and hopeless!

   This is my story, thank you for your time and God bless you.

Long live my country Nigeria.

   Yours faithfully,

   

   Almajiri.