I must link Tinubu’s remarks to the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) because it lives in my head rent-free. When ACF met him during his one-year in-office ceremony, they pleaded with him to help address the issues affecting Arewa. But instead of responding objectively and sincerely, like a national leader, Tinubu responded with outdated regional rhetorics and stereotyping.

In a veiled, subtle attempt to belittle the ACF elders present, he singled out Atiku Bagudu, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, as the exception among the northerners because he is “cerebral and civilised.” As the elders they are, they took the moral high ground and let the jibes slide for good. Readers must accept that Tinubu is responsible for what he says, and we are responsible for how we interpret his words.

But that’s not all. Tinubu extended the regional rhetoric of lack of education by suggesting that the ACF elders focus on reducing the number of out-of-school children. Some may interpret this as a positive suggestion. However, it remains rhetorical because the spending allocation on the National Commission for Almajiri Education and Out-of-School Children is a meagre N1.86 billion, with just over N1 billion allocated for capital expenditure.

The breakdown of the capital expenditure shows that only 13 items were allocated under the commission. This includes N100 million for solar power in Tsangaya schools, N150 million for renovating and equipping learning centres, and N135 million for skills acquisition focusing on Almajiri learners and Arabic language. Others include N100 million for establishing state offices, N100 million for mopping-up exercises, and N50 million each for teaching materials, skills acquisition programmes, computers and office equipment, digitalising processes, and advocacy campaigns. N45.76 million is allocated for website maintenance, N80 million for operational vehicles, and N40 million for vehicles for principal officers.

The other less significant projects related to Almajiri or Tsangaya in the budget appear in three places. National Rural Electrification Agency allocated N30 million for ongoing solar streetlights in Tsangaya provision in Kano State. Ministry of Education earmarked N60 million for a new nationwide project to assess teaching and learning in schools, including Tsangaya/Madrasa centres. The Arabic Language Village, Borno, allocated N7.67 million for aligning course materials for Tsangaya and girl-child education and N10.16 million for a case study on integrating Almajiri children into formal education using Arabic.

This shows how insincere this government is about what it has been preaching as a priority. One would think the government has genuine priorities regarding addressing the real issues, but its spending proposal suggests otherwise. The administrators of this administration do not just divert funds from the areas of priority; they even use spin doctors to justify their spending cuts.

Last week, the Minister of State for Education, Suwaba Saidu, announced that the Almajiri system will not be classified as out-of-school. She announced that the government plans to redefine “out-of-school children” to exclude Almajirai by integrating their educational system into the formal framework. However, she knows that the traditional Islamic education model that harbours Almajirai is broken.

I say this because, in today’s definition, Almajirai refers to children who live under poor conditions, often without access to formal education. These children are vulnerable to exploitation, as many are forced to beg to support themselves and their teachers. The life of an Almajiri child is that of hopelessness, poverty, and social exclusion. Although they might attend Qur’anic sessions, they rarely receive a proper education, which justifies UNESCO’s point to include them in the count of out-of-school children.

How can anyone in their right state of mind consider removing the present Almajiri system from the category of out-of-school children? This means Nigeria is questioning the credibility of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics and other bodies that collaborate with them. In all seriousness, this government must stop this kind of data rigging to achieve any sort of agenda.

People may want to understand the peculiar agenda behind the proposed rigging of the numbers. The apparent answer is to divert money away from specific sectors and regions, as this government has always done. The Ministry of Education has budgeted N50 billion for out-of-school children and N60 billion for primary school feeding programmes. Excluding the Almajiri children from the “out-of-school children” category will mean northern states will receive similar amounts with their southern counterparts.

This model—allocating funds to states equally, regardless of the number of people in need—was also applied to the distribution of social funds to state governments. For example, N5 billion was given to each state governor to cushion the effects of subsidy removal, regardless of the poverty rate and population. Yes, this administration prioritises equality over equity and fairness, and spin doctors are used to justify the agenda.

I will not be surprised to see the proposed education funds for out-of-school children and school feeding divided equally among each state, irrespective of the number of public primary schools in the state. It will be interesting to see how the government will justify allocating the same amount of money to Kano, which has over 6,800 public primary schools, as to Bayelsa, which has about 535, or Yobe, with around 1000, or Lagos, with around 1,900.

However we look at it, the agenda and priorities of this government are clear. After all, neither out-of-school children nor the Almajiri system are listed among the top 10 ‘Renewed Hope’ policies for 2025. So, there should be low expectations that the number of out-of-school children will decrease this year. But expect more regional rhetoric, especially when the issue of Almajiri arises.

Looking forward, 2025 is the last year the Tinubu administration needs to get its budget right without interference. Next year is an election year, and it will be dominated by excessive spending on special interest groups to attract votes; Almajiri and out-of-school children will not be considered.