Insecurity: Gombe Gov explains why there is an increase in crime
Chima Azubuike, Gombe
Gombe State Governor, Muhammadu Yahaya, has attributed the insecurity faced by the northern region to the increasing number of out of children children.
Yahaya revealed that every state in the country is battling with the challenges of out of school children with peculiarity.
He made this disclosure, at the Government House exco chamber, shortly after signing At Risk Children project (ARCP), Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), with the Special Adviser to the President on Special Investment Programme Maryam Uwais, who signed on behalf of the Federal Government.
Yahaya said, “Every state in Nigeria is facing the challenge of out of school children in their own peculiar way. In Northern Nigeria, the issue of out of school children can be summed up: to include “Almajiri”, girl child, children & youth on drugs- those affected by communal clashes and migrations, among others.
“This is an issue that has plagued Northern Nigeria for decades and has contributed to the increase of crime within the region. Leaders in the region have met on several occasions to discuss and arrive at the best possible means of eradicating the issue, both collectively and individually.”
While outlining the number of programmes implemented by his administration to reduce the number of out of school children, the governor stressed that he has commenced work towards remodelling almajiri system.
“In Gombe State, my administration has incorporated a multi-pronged approach towards tackling the menace of out-of-school children. In 2019, through the Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA), we moved to enroll 60,000 out-of-school children into public schools. By 2020, we took that number up to 214,000. 40,000 out of this number are girls that were enrolled into Formal Girl-Child Learning Centers in the state.
“In the same vein, we collaborated with the National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies (NBAIS) to formalize the Almajiri education system in the state by ensuring that the children who passed through the modern Tsangayya Schools, and were found worthy in character and learning, are issued certificates by NBAIS. The collaboration with NBAIS also included building the capacity of teachers in Tsangaya Schools to be able to modernize and standardize the quality of education given to the children,” Yahaya added.
Also, wife of the governor, Asma’au Yahaya said lock down caused by Covid-19 has further worsened the plight of children
She said, “The innocence of a child reflects the beauty f life. Sadly in today’s world, our children are fighting to survive a world already vulnerable made even riskier by lockdowns, school closures, rising prices and other challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The Number One risk factor that makes children vulnerable is Poverty. 428 million children age 0–17 years live in extreme poverty, 150 million girls have experienced sexual abuse, 2 million children live in institutional care, and 218 million children engage in various forms of exploitative labour.”
On her part, Uwais said the At Risk Children Project (ARCP), is geared towards alleviating the suffering of the average child.
“We are here to leverage on what exists; existing initiative to work with stakeholders in the state to see how we can improve the lots of children. Ours in Abuja is to coordinate, the work is to be done in Gombe state,” Uwais Special Adviser to the president said.
