How I was forced into bakery oven over N80 bread – Almajiri, 14

Nafi’u Umar, a 14-year-old Almajiri’s predicament started three years ago, when at the age of 11 he and his then 13-year-old elder brother were withdrawn from primary school, separated from the warm arms of their mother, and sent to a Tsangaya School in Bajoga, Funakaye LGA of Gombe State. Young Umar and his brother were […]

Nafi’u Umar, a 14-year-old Almajiri’s predicament started three years ago, when at the age of 11 he and his then 13-year-old elder brother were withdrawn from primary school, separated from the warm arms of their mother, and sent to a Tsangaya School in Bajoga, Funakaye LGA of Gombe State.

Young Umar and his brother were born in Yelwan Bal village of Tafawa Balewa LGA of Bauchi State. However, among their 21 other siblings, their father picked the two of them and took them to Gombe to start schooling at the Tsangaya School.

Despite the small population of only 23 children in the Tsangaya, Umar’s teacher could not cater for the children under his care; hence they spent more time roaming the streets in search of food than learning the Holy Qur’an.

So, for the three years he has been in Gombe, Umar was able to complete only three chapters out of 60 chapters of the Holy Qur’an.

He narrated to Daily Trust Saturday on his hospital bed at the Federal Teaching Hospital (FTH) Gombe, how he had his feet burnt for allegedly stealing a loaf of bread worth N80 on December 10, 2019.

He said on the faithful day, he and other Almajiri pupils were returning from a farm on the outskirts of Bajoga town where they had picked remnants of beans to cook for lunch.

Umar added that they had to scout for the beans to supplement the little food they get from the Tsangaya School.

On their way back home, they stopped by at USBAB Bakery, located at Sangaru area of Bajoga, to drink water and proceed with the journey back home, when owners of the bakery accused them of stealing a loaf of bread.

When all efforts to retrieve the lost bread failed, a manager of the bakery, one Mohammed Siddik Bala, pushed Umar into the oven of the bakery and had his feet severely burnt.

The hapless boy initially received treatment at home from herbal doctors but when the condition deteriorated, a Civil Society Group – Muryar Talak, heard about the case and intervened. They invited the police and ensured that Umar was admitted in a hospital, as well as the subsequent arrest of the bakery manager.

He said: “On that day, I and other Almajirai were on our way back from a farm where we picked beans left over by farmers after evacuating their farm produce. We stopped over at the bakery to drink water. They just finished producing bread; they counted and found that one was missing.

“The manager and other staff of the bakery accused us of stealing a loaf of bread, an allegation we denied and immediately surrendered ourselves to be fully searched. They didn’t find the bread with us but the manager insisted that I was the one that took the bread.

“He seized our beans and asked us to call our teacher to come and collect it on our behalf. When we got back to school, our teacher was not around. So, we returned to beg them to give us the beans because we were hungry. He gave my friends but refused to give me mine. He instead forced me inside the bakery oven.”

According to Umar, it was his fellow Almajirai that helped him out of the oven and taken back to the Tsangaya where their teacher was informed about the incident.

“Our Malam was informed about the incident and he later informed the owner of the bakery – Siddik Abubakar, who is also the father of the manager. I was later taken to hospital.

“My condition deteriorated following traditional herbs that were being applied on the wound. So, I spent a month before my story was publicized. I was then transferred to Federal Teaching Hospital (FTH) Gombe. After the police got involved, two suspects were taken to court and later to prison.”

Our correspondent gathered that since Umar and his brother were brought to Gombe three years ago, they’d never visited home and their father has never visited them either.

Many children in danger

Umar is one of 11 reported cases of child maltreatment between January 2019 and January 2020.

Among such cases was that of Peace Goewam, 10, who was forcefully ejected from a vehicle and slammed on the ground by her principal Amaka Otolehi in Enugu. Otolehi was seen in a viral video on Christmas Eve maltreating the girl before cuddling her own child. She was arraigned on a six-count charge which included attempted murder in January.

Among the reported cases of child maltreatment was that of three children who were usually locked outside without food and tortured by one Funmilayo Samson in Ikorodu Lagos. She was reported to the agency in December 2019 when the torture had left several bruises and scars on the children, including a three-year-old.

Also Chibike Eziamaka, 10, was locked up in a dog’s kennel in Aguda Lagos. The victim shared the kernel with dogs until security agencies were alerted in August 2019.  Barikisu Ibrahim and Segun Kushadi were also maltreated in Kogi and Lagos states respectively. Ibrahim was poured hot water in January 2020 while Kushadi’s shoulder was scalded with hot water in April 2019.

CSOs call for the domestication of Child Rights Act

While Umar was going through pain, he was taken to a herbal clinic where his condition deteriorated until a Civil Society Group (CSO), ‘Muryar Talaka’ intervened. The group reported to police officers and the culprit was arrested.

Some CSOs said the domestication of the Child Rights Act can go a long way in protecting children from such atrocities.

“The state needs to pass and sign the Child Rights Act into law and also commit to its implementation by setting up all the systems required for the law to function.

“The Act protects children from a lot of abuse and maltreatment. It also clearly states the type of punishment to be given for each abuse. But for now, there should be massive sensitization at community level on children’s right and how they should be treated, especially on child labour,” Mrs. Altine Lwei, the state Programme Manager of Save the Children International said.

Meanwhile, Governor Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya said the government would foot the hospital bills and assured that his administration will continue to protect the lives of all citizens of the state and ensure that their rights are upheld at all times.

He described as dehumanizing and unjustifiable, the torture of Umar. He said it is unacceptable for anyone to inflict such a high degree of pain on a fellow human being for whatever reason.

Governor Yahaya ordered relevant state agencies to follow up the matter and ensure that the perpetrator of the dastardly act faces the full wrath of the law to serve as a deterrent.

Also, the wife of the governor, Hajiya Asma’u Inuwa Yahaya, visited the victim at the hospital.

The governor’s wife accompanied by the state Commissioner of Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Naomi Joel Awak, sympathised with the ailing victim and his traumatised parents.

She described the heinous act as the peak of heartlessness and urged the victim’s parents to be strong. She donated an undisclosed amount of money to the teen and other patients on admission at the pediatric surgical ward of the FTH.

The Executive Director, OJA Development Consult, Mr. Jide Ojo, told Daily Trust in Abuja that it is unfortunate that in spite of the Child Rights Act that has been in operation since 2004, there’s still gross abuse of children.

“And this is because sufficient punishment has not been meted to the perpetrators of child abuse in the past. The Child Rights Act is not being implemented because many states have not passed the act. About seven or eight states in the North are yet to pass the act and this is sad. I think there is no reason to justify or condone any act of child abuse. Governments at all levels need to work critically and punish severely those indulging in child abuse,” Ojo, who is also a public affairs commentator, said.

On his part, the Executive Director, Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED), Dr.  Ibrahim M. Zikirullahi, said that across the country, evidence abounds about how the rights of children are flagrantly trampled upon.

According to him, in many cities in the country, there are familiar situations like mothers using their new born babies to elicit pity from passers-by, and thereafter beg for alms.

He said that little children who are supposed to be in the care of their parents or in schools are forced into the streets to beg, and are even given targets, which if not met could result in further abuses.

“There can be no mincing words about the fact that the reality of Almajiri children in Northern Nigeria represents the worst and most cruel violation of the rights of children, which calls to question the humanity of the perpetrators of these abuses. For those of us who have seen on display this painful plight of these innocent children in the cities and towns across the North, we cannot have sound sleep until we concert efforts to end these cruelties perpetrated against innocent children.

“Every day, we see hordes of hungry, unsheltered, and barely clad children approaching us to beg for the next meal or for money. As we speak, hundreds of these children are on the streets of our country, exposed to the elements, with no access to education, food, clothing and parental love. Yet, they too are children and citizens of our country, with their fundamental human rights supposedly protected, recognized and guaranteed by the constitution of our country,” Zikirullahi said.

He therefore called for efforts to boost the honour of Nigerian children in the interest of national development.

Umar’s father and mother disagrees on next action

Our correspondent gathered that Umar and his brother have never visited home since they left for Gombe three years ago, and their parents didn’t visit them.

But their father, a subsistence farmer, Malam Umar Adamu, said his three other children have also passed through the same Tsangaya School system.

“I was also an Almajiri boy myself when I was growing up, so there is nothing wrong because the proprietor is my relative and I believe he wouldn’t harm him deliberately.

“Therefore, when he is fully recuperated, he will still go back to the school to continue with his studies,” he said.

On her part, Maryam Umar Adamu, 40, mother of Umar, said her two children were removed from formal school and enrolled in Tsangaya School.

“The proprietor of the Tsangaya is my husband’s relative, and when he opened the school three years ago, he requested my husband to give him two of his children to start school and he obliged.

“They were withdrawn from primary school and taken to Tsangaya School. When he told me that he was taking them to far away Gombe State, I was not happy but had no objection since we are all under his care.

“Just a year after they started, their teacher sent a message that they were too much in the school and he could not afford their feeding, so I gathered some food and set out to visit them. But unfortunately, I had an accident on my way and had to cancel the trip,” she said.

Umar’s mother said they were informed three days after the incident. His paternal uncle visited him when he was receiving treatment at home. Maryam further said her husband has four wives and 21 children, and only her children – Nafi’u and his brother were taken to Tsangaya School.

However, she vowed to take her children back to their village when he fully recuperates. “We have both primary and secondary school in the village, so I will persuade their father to enroll them.”

The Gombe State Police Command said Bala and his conspirator, one Yarima Adamu, have been arraigned before Chief Magistrate Court II in Bajoga and remanded in prison custody.

The command’s Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Yusuf Balami, said the duo were facing two-count charge of criminal conspiracy and causing grievous hurt on young Nafi’u Umar.