Kano prepares to repatriate 2,000 more Almajiris

The government of Kano State on Sunday hinted it was preparing to repatriate 2,000 more Almajiris to their states of origin.

The state Commissioner for Education and Chairman Almajiri Repatriation Committee, Alhaji Sanusi Kiru, who made this disclosure said the Almajiri boys had undergone isolation in three quarantine centres in the state.

Kiru spoke, when he led a delegation of women in Da’awah and some civil society organisations, who inspected two quarantine centres at Kiru and Karaye respectively.

He explained that the state quarantined the Almajiri pupils in isolation centres to make sure they were not infected by COVID-19 before being sent back to their states of origin.

According to him, the boys who are from Kano State would be handed over to their parents and guardians, while those of them from outside the state would be repatriated.

Northern Governors Forum agreed in their recent meetings to deport Almajiri pupils to their states of origin as part of measures to curtail the spread of COVID-19 pandemic across the affected states.

But the House of Representatives about a week ago kicked against the development and asked President Muhammadu Buhari to stop the governors from continuing with the repatriation.

But Kiru said, “We have deported hundreds of Almajiris to many northern states and we have received many from other state governments.”

He maintained that the state would in the next two to three days, commence the deportation of the quarantined Almajiris.

He added that interested Almajiris who were deported from other states to Kano would be enrolled into the new established Almajirai boarding schools initiated by the state Governor Abdullahi Ganduje.