Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has urged the nation to give underprivileged Almajiri children access to their own share of the “national cake”.

The Kaduna-based cleric made the call in a Facebook post on Monday after encountering a group of Almajiri children begging.

Gumi, who shared a video of the hapless children, decried their plight.

He reiterated his January 12, 2026, call for the implementation of a ‘Marshall Plan’ – the massive post-World War II American reconstruction effort – envisioning a comprehensive, well-resourced strategy that modernises Quranic education without discarding its moral core.

Gumi said, “Today, I met these almajiris waiting for alms. There is a need for a Marshall plan to give them their share of the national cake.

“The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Are you granted victory and provided for except through your weak ones?’”

The cleric has been a strong critic of the Almajiri system in Northern Nigeria.

He has often framed the challenges inherent in the system not as a charitable concern but as a national imperative tied to societal stability.

In a submission on Facebook on January 12, Gumi argued that Northern Nigeria, home to roughly 150 public and private universities, has the institutional capacity to lead the country’s education sector within 15 years, provided deliberate reforms are implemented.

He explained that his proposed ‘Marshall Plan’ would help phase out the Almajiri system, combining a curriculum that blends moral education with modernity.

The Almajiri system is a centuries-old tradition of itinerant Islamic scholarship that originated in pre-colonial northern Nigeria and historically involved young boys being sent to study the Quran under a Mallam (teacher). Communities once supported these students through alms and labour.

In contemporary Nigeria, however, economic pressures, rural poverty and weak state support have turned the system into a visible humanitarian challenge.

Millions of children, often far from their families, now roam streets begging for survival, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation, child labour and recruitment into criminal networks. (The Sun)

• Islamic cleric, Gumi