Yesterday, March 18, 2024 was a significant day for millions of children that I represent as it relates to ensuring a basic quality education for every Nigerian child. The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria finally approved the appointments of Brigadier-General Lawal Ja’afar Isa (Rtd) to serve as the Chairman of the Board of the Commission, while Dr. Idris Muhammad Sani will serve as the Executive Secretary/CEO. This was resulting from a bill that we fought diligently for and advised on to ensure that no Nigerian child is left behind.
Today, I personally want to congratulate the President for moving this forward and both gentlemen on their appointments. I want to recognize their significant work to date as members of the Islamic community and as servicemen to our beloved nation. I am optimistic again that our children have not been forgotten and I am hopeful that we will continue to make positive and forward moving decisions as it relates to their education and wellbeing as a whole.
This being said, the timing of these appointments also bring us to a critical juncture and I would be remiss if I did not call attention to the criticality of this time as we begin to craft the direction that we take with the Almajiri and OOSC Commission.
To the chairman and CEO, my dear brothers in the work, with uttermost respect, this burden you have received is probably the most significant of all appointments to date as the decisions we make for roughly 20 million out of school children will determine the trajectory of our country 10 and 20 years from now. Even as individuals or foundations like mine continue to put forth stop gaps by meeting with Imams, re-enrolling Almajiris in traditional schools, or open doors for free schools and other educational opportunities, the burden is now on the Almajiri and OOSC Commission to work across the country to put systems and structures in place that will fix the problem once and for all.
As you begin to design and formulate the next steps, please remember a few guiding principles:
1. The decisions we make through this commission will be part of the foundation on which our country is being built and each one of us will one day be called to report.
2. Your decisions will impact all of Nigeria, and so you must find ways to patiently listen to all stakeholders, promote inclusion, and diverse opinions as it is from there that our best solutions will emerge.
3. This commission, as evident in its name, was commissioned for all out of school children regardless of where they were born, their ethnicity, or religion. Each one of them must be advocated for and duly represented in every thing we do as it relates to the commission.
4. Lastly, in the making of the bill, there were two distinct factions those for the Almajiri child and those for the non-Almajiris, it was not until we began to look at our unifying goal of education for all Nigerian children that we were able to see the success of the bill. Your continuing to bring both sides together will go a long way in bringing sustainable change to the nation we love.
As I mentioned during the last public hearing on this matter, “I am no different from any Almajiri child, the difference at its core is related to their opportunities for [a 21st century, world class] education”. The decisions we make today will make or break their future and ours as a Nation, and we must therefore be intentional to let the good leadership principles of Listening, Empathy, Healing, Awareness, Persuasion, Conceptualization, Foresight, Stewardship, Commitment to the Growth of People, Building Community, and Ethics guide us. We must also think broadly about how the educators we offer them prepares them to compete globally.
Again, I want to sincerely and wholeheartedly congratulate you both, our presidency, my brothers and sisters in the fight for a basic quality education, and the 20million out of school children for reaching this hopeful step towards the day when no child is left behind as it relates to education in Nigeria.
May the almighty grant us all wisdom and help us achieve success for all our children.
Yours truly,
Dr. Aderonke Kujore
Founder, Aderonke Foundation
Consultant & Advocate for Educating All Nigerian Children
[email protected]