MURIC Rejects Reverend Kukah’s Initiative To Train 10 Million Almajiris

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has rejected Mathew Kukah’s
initiative to train almajiri children.

Kukah, bishop of the Catholic diocese of Sokoto state, had
disclosed his plans to train 10 million almajiri children in the
north.

Reacting in a statement on Wednesday, MURIC described Kukah’s
proposal as a ploy for “modern colonialism and a potential time
bomb”.

The group cautioned Muslims elders against accepting the idea,
saying they should empower people of the same faith to cater for
almajiri children.

“We all agree that something must be done about the almajiri
children. We can welcome ideas from everyone but the implementation
must be in the hands of Muslims in the region. We cannot pretend to
be so naïve as to entrust our Muslim children to the hands of
Christian gospellers. As far as we are concerned, Kukah’s almajiri
dream is a Trojan horse,” the statement read.

“The devil we know is still better than the one we do not know
and we expect Rev. Kukah to know better. Can any Christian
community allow an Islamic organization to take their children away
just like that?

“Whatever the situation may be, we wish to caution Northern
Muslims, particularly the elders, never to allow it to happen.
Instead of allowing Christian missionaries to seize this kind of
initiative, Northern Muslims should empower available Muslim NGOs
to cater for almajiri children.

“We therefore advise state governments in the region to
rearrange their priorities and concentrate on the education and
welfare of almajiri children.”

The group questioned why a foreign donor would be interested in
funding a project targeted at Muslim children since they are known
“for their preference for supporting Christian-oriented
non-governmental organisations (NGOs)”.

It advised Kukah to gain the confidence of northern Muslim by
allowing Muslim NGOs to implement the project while the reverend
father and the donors monitor how the funds are used.

“Is Rev. Kukah telling us that he prefers to alleviate poverty
among Muslims to doing same among Christians? Are there no poverty
stricken children in the Christian majority Middle Belt
particularly in Benue and Plateau? Why can’t he take his project
there?” MURIC asked.

“Another question has to do with funding. Who will fund this
gigantic project? Our guess is that the fund will come (or has
come) from one of those foreign donors. This raises another major
concern.

“Incidentally, Western donors are known for their preference for
supporting Christian-oriented non-governmental organizations
(NGOs). They dish out huge amounts of money to non-Muslim NGOs
while Islamic organizations get pittance, and that is if they get
anything at all. That is not to say we are blaming them. We have no
moral right to do so.

“But we have every right to stand up against Kukah’s almajiri
initiative and question the rationale behind a foreign donor or
donors funding a project targeted at Muslim children particularly
if the project is to be executed by a Christian organization.

“This project is repulsive. It has the tendency to portray
Muslims as a bunch of unintelligent, irresponsible and carefree
people. We cannot allow such a misleading impression to remain just
like that. Muslims are responsible people, idealistic, pious,
self-satisfied and integrity-loaded.

“We caution foreign donors to desist from exploiting our
predicament. We invite foreign donors who are genuinely interested
in helping the almajiris to do so through Muslim NGOs.

“To secure the confidence of Northern Muslims, Kukah should put
his cards on the table. Who are the donors? How much are we looking
at? What is the time frame?”