By Ibrahim Goronyo,Sokoto
Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto state on Sunday signed into law two bills on Zakkat and Waqf as well as Arabic and Islamic Education commissions.
Bello Muhammad said the decrees establishing the two as ‘boards’ was an aberration that needed modification, thus the initiation of the bills and their subsequent evolution into laws.
This was in furtherance of his administration’s move to upgrade the services of the two bodies and make them more enduring in providing the dividends of democracy to the people of the state.
The governor also inaugurated the of Almajiri Nizzamiyyah Education Model (ALNIZAMO), a hybrid of the Indonesia Pondok, Turkish Nizzamiyyah and Northern Nigeria Almajiri systems of education, to upgrade, standardize and make the Almajiri education more durable and lucrative to pursue.
Speaking at a ceremony, held at International Conference Centre, Kasarawa in Sokoto on Sunday, Governor Tambuwal said ALNIZAMO is not a substitute for the Almajiri education system, just as the two Commissions are meant to be critical to addressing the needs, welfare and wellbeing of the people of Sokoto state.
Seeking further cooperation with the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and other global agencies and institutions, Tambuwal said, this is “in order for us to address this greater efforts of our government aimed at improving the Almajiri system in Sokoto state.”
“We are not eradicating the Almajiri system. We are improving it, because Islam is dynamic and believes in dynamism and changes in the society
“The effort in Sokoto state is making sure that we bring up to speed the Almajiri system to the current trend that we have in other societies, like Indonesia, Pakistan, Malaysia and the rest of them, for instance.
“The government of Sokoto state is happy with the progress made so far in the implementation of this policy, whereby data has been collected and we have established that we have about 717,630 students that are in various Islamiyya and primary schools,” he explained.
He added that the government will continue to track and support all the students in their pursuit of religious and Western education as well as entrepreneurship, emphasizing that the model is simply aimed at making sure that whoever passes through it acquires skills to make him self reliant and less reliant on getting white collar jobs.
On the Zakkat and Waqf Commission, the Governor says it will be a trend setter, as many states in the country and other countries are waiting to adopt and adapt it “to suit their own situations.”
He also urged the incoming administration in the state to embrace synergy and work closely with all stakeholders in the state for sustainable development.
In his address the Sultan of sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar gave kudos to the state government for inaugurating the ALNIZAMO model and signing the bills into law, stating that all were pacesetters in the the country.
He also called on full implementation of the ALNIZAMO system.
The Guest speaker at the occasion, Professor Bashar Shehu Galadanci of the Bayero University Kano spoke extensively on the blending of the Pondok system into Almajiri Nizzamiyyah education (ALNIZAMO).
In their separate remarks both the permanent secretary and Chairman of the Zakkat and Waqf Commission, Mallam Lawal Mai Doki and that of the Executive Secretary of the Arabic and Islamic Education Commission, Umar Altine Aliyu Dandin Mahe thanked the state government for making their dream a reality, adding that this will go a long way in promoting the teaching of Islamic religion.
