A former Catholic Archbishop of Abuja Diocese, Cardinal John
Onaiyekan on Saturday blamed the worsening tempo of insecurity, especially in
Northern Nigeria on the Almajiri system, saying it had failed the region.
He also expressed concern that young boys who had been
abandoned by their parents have ended up as bandits and Boko Haram terrorists.
Onaiyekan stated this in an interview with journalists in
Abuja during the premiere of a movie titled, ‘The Oratory’, produced by a
Catholic Priest, Dr. Cyril Odia, to raise awareness on the predicament of
street children in society.
He said, “This question of abandoned children is not new. It
has been in the world almost from time immemorial. It is just that nowadays, in
this age and year 2021, there ought not to be any more abandoned children.
“We have a major issue right now in the North about the
Almajiri system. These are young boys, mainly those who have been abandoned by
their respective parents. We know that many of them end up as Boko Haram
terrorists.
“Right now, where are all the criminals coming from? Go to
Kuje prison and find out the ages of the people who end up in jail. For those
who are now insurgents and bandits, information reaching us is that many of the
heads of those bandits are all young people, because of the way they have been
trained. So, it shows immediately, and you don’t have to wait for 10 or 20
years to see the implications of not doing anything to tackle the menace of
street children.
According to him, Northern leaders should be concerned about
millions of young people in the region who never went through school.
The Cardinal said, “10 years ago, these youths were
children, but today they are teenagers and young men who have no skill of any
sort, and they are ready to be recruited to do anything.
“Today, we are already facing it, and if we say that
security is very difficult, this is one of the reasons why. It is not too late
if we decide to work seriously about it.”
Onaiyekan stressed the need for all hands to be on deck
while urging the government to collaborate with the church and parents to check
the menace.
“It’s not only the
children of the rich people who deserve to be alive, the children of the poor
also have a future. Some of the poor children of today can be important people
tomorrow. I think the film has made the case very strongly and very clearly.
“The film has brought in the religious aspects because, in
many of these things, you need to have a religious enthusiasm.
“I am happy that the work of the Salesians of Don Bosco is
brought to the highlight in this film. Of course, they are not the only ones
that are looking after abandoned youths and children, but they specialise in
this because of their founder Don Bosco who spent most of his time looking
after abandoned children,” he said.
Odia said the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria
was in the millions.
He said, “The attempt of this movie is to call for action.
As Salesians, we believe in faith in action. If we don’t multiply that effect
and get more partners to come on board, we can foresee that there is going to
be a disaster. The more young people are increasing on the street, the more the
threat of insecurity.
“The movie has received a very positive and heartwarming
response from two categories of viewers. For some viewers, the positive ending
of the story confirms the desire for good to always overcome evil especially in
the light of modern-day Christian persecution.
“For other viewers, the movie gives hope about the Catholic
mission to young and poor people who often have little or no hope in
politicians. Many got validation of the idea that religion has a lot of
capacity to bring about social change.”
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