Former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has explained why he set up almajiri schools in the North, IgbereTV reports.
He also said several Nigerian governors were not happy with the Almajiri schools he created, characterising them as a ticking time bomb.
He said, “When I was in office, I had to step in at a time, to even attempt to build Almajiri schools. I know that some of the governors probably were not happy but then, they didn’t tell me they were not happy, it was when I left office, they said they weren’t happy.
“We used the federal government’s money from Universal Basic Education. It was just to partner with the state governments to create these learning environments, and I did that because of my knowledge about the ethno-religious crisis.”
Jonathan made the comment in a speech he delivered at the graduation ceremony at the National Institute for Security Studies (NISS), Abuja.
Under his presidency, Jonathan built 35 Almajiri schools in his first two years in office.
According to a national daily in its online edition last night, the former president requested the governors of the country’s 19 northern states to change the Almajiri education system.
