Bukola Afeni
Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has advocated a partnership between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia to reform the Almajiri education system by integrating Islamic education with formal Western learning.
She made the call while receiving the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Nigeria, Ambassador Yousef bin Mohammed Albalawi, and the embassy’s Chief of Staff, Mr. Mohammed Bukar.
According to the First Lady, such collaboration would help tackle the growing challenge of Almajiri and out-of-school children while creating better opportunities for vulnerable children across the country.
Tinubu stressed that expanding access to formal education would improve the living conditions of the children and contribute to the country’s long-term security and development.
“I work with women and vulnerable children in society, and my heart goes out to the Almajiri children in the North. I believe they need better care.
“This is because most of the insecurity challenges in the nation, if that particular group of children are not taken care of, I don’t know what might happen.
“I believe we can still start begin to give them formal education. If we are able to do that, the future of Nigeria will be well secured,” she said.
Responding, Ambassador Albalawi said his first five months in Nigeria had been encouraging, describing the reception from government officials as warm and welcoming.
He expressed optimism that ongoing engagements with members of the Federal Executive Council would deepen cooperation between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.
