Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje has disclosed that his state has about 2,000 Almajiris under quarantine.
He made the disclosure on Thursday at the opening of a training for a special Rapid Response Team to cater for the Almajiris quarantined at three mega centres in Kiru, Karaye and Gabasawa.
Ganduje described Almajiris as breeding ground for COVID-19 because of their vulnerability as a result of poor hygiene and lack of shelter.
He disclosed also that there were three categories of Almajiris in the state.
“From our investigation and data collected, we have three types of Almajiris in Kano state. The first group are those Almajiris who belong to other states of the federation, second group are Almajiris who are indigenes of Kano state and the third group are Almajiris who cannot even mention where they come from or who their parents are.
“They have nowhere to go, some sleep under the bridges, markets, motor parks but because of the Coronavirus climate we are in now, we have already banned begging and all schools are closed, these Almajiris constitute hazards and they are breeding ground for Coronavirus because they stay in a congested environment.
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“They have no defined place for them to sleep, no prescribed food for them to eat, no provision for sanitation and therefore they are vulnerable,” Ganduje stated.
He said government, therefore, decided to pay special attention to the Almajiris by establishing the special response team to examine and protect them during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to him, those found to be negative will be taken back to their parents while those found to be positive will be retained, isolated and treated and when they recover, they will then be taken back to their states with certification by the NCDC.
His words: “We decided to examine all the Almajiris in Kano State. Our intention is to protect them and those who are negative we take them back to their parents, back to their states to ensure that they are free from coronavirus. Those who are positive, we are not taking them back to their states of origin. We are putting them in isolation centres until they are cured and are confirmed negative. Then we take them to their respective states in a good condition with certification from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.
“Those Almajiris from Kano, we have adequate arrangement for their education and those who cannot find where to go we are their parents and we are already to cater for them.
“Our intention is to ensure that the Almajiri system is fully integrated with the conventional system of education. Our children have right to education and Almajiris have right to education.”
