The Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, has said that some of the #EndBadGovernance’s protesters in the state were Almajiris, who knew nothing about what they were doing.
Recall that the nationwide protests, which started on August 1, were initially peaceful in some parts the country.
Eventually, the agitation later turned into riot in states like, Kano, Katsina, Yobe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Delta and Bayelsa.
Reacting to the development, Governor Sule, in an interview with Channel TV on Thursday, said that almajiri children dominated the movement in Lafia, Nasarawa state capital.
He added that the protests are an eye-opener for leaders in the northern region, tasking them to double up their efforts in fixing issues affecting them.
Sule said: “During this last protest that we had in Lafia, the majority of those that came out on the streets were the Almajiris – some of them five years old, seven years old, nine years old.
“A lot of them didn’t even understand the meaning of the protest. When I spoke with them later, they didn’t even know what they were protesting against.
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“So, we must sit down. At one point in the year 2020, we sat down as the governors and took the decision about the Almajiris. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out well. They went back to square one,” Governor Sule said.
“Some of the religious leaders criticized it. But from what happened now, I don’t believe anybody will continue to criticize actions that will be taken in order to move forward. Otherwise, it’s a ticking time bomb, it will come and consume every one of us.
“One of the biggest problems we have in the north, from the day I came, is the idea of education and the one we are still pushing on.
“When people actually don’t have education and don’t have economic empowerment, these people will continue to behave the way these Almajiri actually behaved during this protest. So, education must be taken seriously in the North. We must be honest with one another.”
