First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, has urged Saudi Arabia to help fold Almajiri and other out-of-school children into formal education, saying a blend of religious and Western-style schooling would protect the nation’s future.
Mrs. Tinubu made the appeal while receiving Saudi Ambassador Yousef Al‑Balawi at the State House in Abuja.
A statement from her media aide, Busola Kukoyi quoted the First Lady as saying that the country’s vulnerable children—particularly those in the northern Almajiri system—“deserve to be educated” and warned that neglect could deepen Nigeria’s insecurity challenges.
“I work with the women and vulnerable children in the society; my heart goes out to the Almajiri children up North,” Mrs. Tinubu said.
“If we are able to give them formal education, the future of Nigeria will be well secured.”
She proposed a strategic partnership that would combine Arabic and Islamic instruction with formal Western curricula.
Ambassador Al‑Balawi, who has served in Nigeria for five months, described his reception by government officials as positive and said he was optimistic about deepening cooperation between the two countries.
“Our nations share religion, culture and potentials to improve our relationship,” he said, adding that meetings with members of the Federal Executive Council could yield economic benefits.
He was accompanied by Mohammed Bukar, chief of staff at the Saudi Embassy.
NewsQuest reports that the visit is indicative of Nigeria’s interest in leveraging international partnerships to address education gaps in the country’s north, where decades of informal religious schooling and poverty have left many children outside the formal system.
The government believes that integrating religious and formal education could also be pitched as a tool for stabilizing communities and expanding economic opportunity.
