Mohammed Sabo Keana is the Director of Nigeria-based NGO Almajiri Child Rights Initiative. A former Obama Scholar, he campaigns tirelessly for the rights of this neglected group of children. He attended the UN General Assembly’s Transforming Education summit as a Street Child partner, where he spoke about the vital need for international agencies to include local organizations at all stages of their response.
‘In September I attended the UN General Assembly’s (UNGA) Transforming Education Summit as a partner of Street Child, where we talked about the need to include local NGOs, both at major events like UNGA and within development and humanitarian decision-making structures more broadly.
‘It was fantastic to be at the summit, and obviously very positive to hear discussion of the global education crisis and a commitment to education for all. However, it was clear to me that even though policymakers, ministers, influencers etc. talk about education for all children, they are only focusing on the most visible groups. I represent Almajiri* children, one of the largest groups of out-of-school children in the world spanning multiple west African countries like Nigeria, Mali and Senegal – and yet there was no mention of them at all as a group in need of support. I believe there are two reasons for this.
‘Firstly, there are other more visible causes being supported. At the Summit I heard various officials talk about getting Ukrainian refugees and Afghan girls back to school. Obviously these are important groups, and all issues affecting education are essential, but the numbers missing out on education in Nigeria because of the Almajiri system are far greater. If the international response were truly based on need, I would expect to see greater attention to the Almajiri phenomenon alongside support for these other groups. Unfortunately, funding seems to be allocated in direct proportion to how widely publicized the issue is, rather than its scale and severity.
‘It is estimated that there are between 7 million (Anti-Slavery International) and 10.5 million (UNICEF) Almajiri children in Nigeria. That’s an enormous number. And they are a group of children who, without change, will genuinely never have access to education at all. Yet they are never spotlighted for funding or any other support.
‘Educating Almajiri children is a vital step to delivering peace, security, and sustainable development in northern Nigeria, and if we really want to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4 – quality education for all children – by 2030, we must pay more attention and commit more to addressing the less publicized education crises, such as the millions of Almajiri children in Nigeria and other underrepresented groups.
‘Secondly, no one is asking us – local NGOs who do the work and exist on the front line – what we think. If organizations like mine – the Almajiri Child Rights Initiative – had a voice at platforms like UNGA, the conversations and commitments would be very different, but Street Child’s four partners were among very few local, frontline organizations at UNGA. How can donors and INGOs apply the principle of effective altruism to address the global education crisis without including those of us with first-hand knowledge in the conversation?
‘In his excellent book Doing Good Better philosopher William MacAskill says that “There is a vast difference between 'good' and 'best' use of money”, and advises us to ask three questions before prioritizing a cause to support:
First, scale. What is the magnitude of the problem?
Second, 'neglectedness'. How many resources are already being allocated to tackling this problem?
Third, tractability. How easy is it to make progress on this problem, and how easy is it to tell if you're making progress?
‘I believe that it is impossible to answer all of these questions from the outside.
‘In addition, local organizations need the support of the global community. We can identify national issues affecting children's education that Governments are unable or unwilling to address, as well as challenges and potential solutions, but we need your help to amplify these issues; to make the case as a global community, on a global platform like UNGA, that the system needs to change. My organization has made some progress over the past few years and had some high-end conversations with policymakers in Nigeria. But the out-of-school crisis in Nigeria runs into the millions, and “small is beautiful” approaches just don’t work. The only truly effective solution will be to raise the government’s level of agency and willingness to change the system. This will require constant pressure on the government from the international community, as well as financial support and assistance developing frameworks that lead to effective implementation and use of funds.
‘It is crucial that organizations like mine have a presence at conferences like UNGA, to raise awareness of invisible, under-publicized challenges like this at a global level. On Street Child’s panel with me at UNGA were a number of other incredible local organizations, all of whom have the expertise, knowledge, community trust and capacity to address these challenges – but not the funding or influence.
‘I call on UNGA, other global platforms like it, international leaders and international funders, to do more to decolonize aid. There is an international movement to shift power to local organizations, but small local organizations like mine still face severe structural barriers to accessing funds compared with bigger local organizations that have long-term relationships with INGOs. Stop assuming that smaller local organizations don’t have the capacity or expertise to deliver at scale, that we can’t manage money, that we can’t be trusted. We have strong financial accountability systems; that’s why INGOs like Street Child work with us. Next year let’s see a sponsorship program, financing attendance for local organizations. That will help us to build relationships and visibility, but most importantly it will help you to better understand the issues on the ground.
‘My panel colleague Christian Tanyi from Cameroonian organization LUKMEF expressed exactly what we were all thinking when he said to the audience, “How can you work for me WITHOUT ME?”
‘Let’s make this change right now.’
* About Almajiri children
Almajiri’ refers to persons who migrate to learn or propagate Islamic knowledge. The Almajiri system has been in existence for 300–400 years, and it is traditional in Nigeria, particularly in the north, for families to send their young sons (Almajiri) and daughters (Almajira) to boarding schools in urban centers to acquire Qur’anic education under the supervision of religious scholars known as ‘Mallams’. While initially a way of ensuring that low-income children could access education, the system has evolved and changed, and young adults are now leaving the Almajiri system with no formal education or skills.
Sent away from their homes to these schools, Almajiri children become disconnected from their families and often end up street-connected, begging for food to sustain themselves, or engaging in child labor. These children, who already come from Nigeria’s poorest families, are exposed to violence and exploitation, and most lack access to health, education, nutrition, and protection. Without vital literacy or numeracy it is almost impossible for them to find employment or a means of supporting themselves in adulthood, and they are consequently susceptible to being recruited into armed groups by actors who prey upon their vulnerabilities.