21 Former Almajiri Children Graduate with Tech Skills
Fred Ojeh
Twenty-one former Almajiri children have graduated as certified technology technicians and entrepreneurs under the Out-of-School Children/Almajiri-to-Tech Foundation, marking a significant milestone in efforts to tackle Nigeria’s growing out-of-school children crisis through digital skills and vocational education.
The graduates, comprising 14 boys and seven girls, completed an intensive six-month training programme that equipped them with practical skills in computer repairs, desktop assembly, robotics, drone technology, and the repair of mobile phones, laptops, power banks, televisions, microwave ovens, electric fans, torchlights and other electronic devices.
The graduation ceremony held in Abuja, celebrated what organisers described as a remarkable transformation of children who, just months earlier, survived by begging on the streets under the Almajiri system.
Founder of the Out-of-School Children/Almajiri-to-Tech Foundation and Managing Director of New Horizons System Solutions Limited, Mr. Tim Akano, described the achievement as “a resurrection” rather than an ordinary graduation.
“About six months ago, some of these children could not even write their names in English. Today, they can build computers, robots and drones with their own hands and repair more than 10 types of electrical appliances,” Akano said.
“These children never wanted to beg. They only wanted an opportunity. Every child can succeed when given access to education, digital skills and the right opportunities.”
Akano said the foundation aims to remove every child from the streets by 2031 through its “Vision 2031” initiative and urged governments, corporate organisations and individuals to invest in practical interventions to address the country’s out-of-school children challenge.
He lamented that Nigeria’s estimated 30 million out-of-school children represent a wasted human capital resource capable of driving national economic growth if properly educated and empowered.
“If they were a country, they would rank among West Africa’s largest populations. Conferences do not empower children; action does. This problem can be solved within five years if there is sufficient political will,” he said.
Akano also called on the government to criminalise child abandonment and street begging after providing viable alternatives, enforce free and compulsory basic education, decentralise Islamiyya education into communities, and establish sustainable rehabilitation programmes for vulnerable children.
He further appealed to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to provide a permanent facility for the Foundation’s Out-of-School/Almajiri Republic Technicians initiative.
Former Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, who attended the event, described Nigeria’s out-of-school children crisis as a national emergency rather than a regional problem.
He argued that the widely quoted estimate of 30 million out-of-school children was likely an understatement, warning that failure to address the growing population of vulnerable children and unemployed youths poses serious security risks.
“The problem of out-of-school children is not a Northern problem; it is a Nigerian problem,” Abubakar said.
“The Constitution gives every Nigerian the right to live anywhere in the country. If these children migrate to other parts of Nigeria, the problem becomes everyone’s problem. There is a system breakdown, and that system must be fixed.”
He recalled that a 2006 survey estimated the number of commercial motorcycle operators in Kano State at about three million, suggesting that current figures for vulnerable youths could be significantly higher.
“We are not safe if we fail to take care of out-of-school children and unemployed youths,” he warned.
The former police chief urged the National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education, as well as northern state governors, to intensify efforts to remove children from the streets.
“The government recognised the problem by creating the Almajiri Commission. It must now rise to the challenge, working with state governors to find lasting solutions,” he added.
Also speaking, the President of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Dr. Ike Neliaku, described the initiative as an outstanding example of corporate social responsibility and humanitarian service.
He commended Akano for investing private resources to equip vulnerable children with employable skills capable of transforming their lives.
“We are witnessing 21 former Almajiri children graduating with practical technical skills to repair computers, televisions, fans and other equipment. This is the kind of intervention that addresses one of Nigeria’s biggest social challenges,” Neliaku said.
He noted that the initiative aligns with the NIPR’s commitment to promoting programmes that deliver measurable value to society.
For the graduates, the programme represents more than vocational training—it marks a new beginning. Equipped with practical technology skills, they now look forward to careers in technical services, entrepreneurship and self-reliance, replacing lives once defined by uncertainty with renewed hope for a brighter future.
Pharmacists Insist On National Postgraduate College To Solve Workforce Crisis
Pharmacists under the umbrella of the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) have insisted that establishing a National Postgraduate College of Pharmacy in the country remains key to solving the worsening workforce crisis in the nation’s pharmaceutical sector.
ACPN posited that the dearth of specialist pharmacists in manufacturing, clinical pharmacy, community pharmacy, public health pharmacy and other critical areas should be of concern to federal government, saying that a Postgraduate College of Pharmacy was of utmost need for the training of undergraduate and post-graduate pharmacists for the nation’s health system.
Speaking during the opening ceremony of the ACPN 45th Annual National Scientific Conference in Abuja recently, National Chairman, Pharm. Ezeh Ambrose Igwekamma, stressed the need to have the institution in the country as only the West Africa Postgraduate College of Pharmacists (WAPCP) handles this training at the sub-regional level.
According to him, ‘’most countries including Ghana, abandoned the WAPCP for their home college, such that only Nigeria funds the subsidy gap of over 95 per cent to nurture the sub-regional college in forex.’’
He warned that Nigeria’s pharmaceutical sector would continue to face specialist pharmacists in hospital, clinical, manufacturing, community, public health and pharmaceutical administration if urgent steps were not taken to establish a Postgraduate College of Pharmacy in the country.
The crisis of inadequately trained pharmacists, he further said, has been worsened by a large number of the professionals who leave the country every year for greener pastures.
Igwekamma revealed that about 9,000 pharmacists left Nigeria in the four-and-a-half years preceding December 2025, while more than 850 pharmacists emigrated in the first half of 2026 after obtaining letters of good standing from the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN), mainly to Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and other countries.
“We have analysed the totality of endeavours which continue to suffer due to inadequate specialised expert/specialist Pharmacists who are Consultants in Manufacturing, Hospital and Clinical Pharmacy, Community Pharmacy, Social and Administrative Pharmacy, Public Health Pharmacy and other areas. This pool of experts are home-made, it guarantees Nigeria a seamless experience of handling the training of undergraduate and post-graduate Pharmacists for the health system. This should be a cause for concern for Nigerian authorities to do the needful,” he said.
The association warned that unless urgent reforms are undertaken, the country risks further weakening of the pharmaceutical sector which is critical to public health, medicine safety and healthcare delivery.
He lamented that while thousands of trained pharmacists continue to leave the country, widespread substance abuse is exposing persistent weaknesses in medicine regulation, drug distribution and healthcare governance.
“The fortunes of the profession continue to plummet rather dangerously in recent years, with data at the PSN National Secretariat confirming the exit of about 9,000 in the four-and-a-half years preceding December 2026. The First six months of 2026 have not been significantly better, as over 850 pharmacists have collected letters of good standing from the PCN and moved on to countries like Canada, the UK, Australia and, to a much lesser extent, the USA and some Asian territories,” he noted.
Highlighting some of the factors responsible for the ugly trend, he said, some of the glaring challenges are the not-too-impressive reward system and the poor drug distribution system, which impinges on the image of the profession, as the National Drug Distribution Guidelines enacted since 2015 are yet to be fully enforced, resulting in undefined public drug procurement policies. “We have other direct challenges with the pharmacy workforce development plan, which must be improved upon to raise a pool of skilled and productive pharma experts for the next level of the great nation we seek to build.’’
Igwekamma called on governments at all levels to confront structural deficiencies affecting pharmacy practice and national drug control with special focus on strengthening pharmacy practice for national development and confronting rising substance abuse, both of which he said underscore the need for stronger pharmaceutical governance.
He described pharmacy as a profession that has historically occupied a central place in healthcare, but warned that its fortunes have declined significantly in Nigeria despite its critical contribution to patient care.
Igwekamma urged the federal government to undertake sweeping reforms in the pharmaceutical sector, including amending the nation’s fake drug law to impose stiffer penalties, establishing a National Postgraduate College of Pharmacy, and creating a Drug Management Agency to strengthen medicine distribution across the country.
He also called on the federal government to sponsor executive bills or support private member bills to amend the Fake Drug Act, establish a Drug Management Agency to institutionalise the Drug Revolving Fund (DRF), and create a National Postgraduate College of Pharmacy to train specialist pharmacists locally.
“We suggest that the federal government set up a Presidential Committee on the pharmaceutical sector to push the agenda of these bills as well as streamline other specific challenges of the Pharma Sector,’’ he said.
Speaking further on the menace of counter medicines and drug abuse, Igwekamma opined that the existing sanctions were too weak to deter offenders and were discouraging investors in the pharmaceutical industry.
“The activities of charlatans are not encouraging pharma investors because of the extremely feeble sanction culture the Fake Drug Act offers,” he said. “In alignment with PSN proposals, ACPN calls for 20 years’ imprisonment for first offenders and life imprisonment, as well as outright forfeiture of all known assets, for subsequent offenders.”
He also urged the government to institutionalise the Drug Revolving Fund system through legislation that would streamline public procurement and distribution of medicines through a central pool. He explained that the National Council on Health resolved in December 2024 that all public procurement of medicines should be undertaken through the Drug Revolving Fund, requiring clearer legislative backing.
Igwekamma argued that establishing a dedicated Drug Management Agency would remove ambiguities surrounding medicine procurement, streamline nationwide distribution through a centralised system and strengthen regulatory oversight.
Stressing further on the desired professional reforms, ACPN noted the country’s gravest public health threats, demanding coordinated government action and sustained collaboration with healthcare stakeholders.
Citing the 2018 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime national survey, ACPN noted that the 2017 findings revealed extensive abuse of psychoactive substances across Nigeria, highlighting the growing scale of addiction nationwide.
According to a survey, cannabis was identified as the most abused substance, followed by opioids, codeine-containing cough syrups, sedatives, tranquillisers, ecstasy, solvents, inhalants, prescription stimulants and cocaine.
According to United Nations records, the combined estimates indicated that more than 21 million Nigerians were abusing various psychoactive substances, reflecting a crisis affecting families, communities and healthcare institutions across the country.
The ACPN attributed the persistence of substance abuse to multiple factors, including dysfunctional family environments, youth unemployment, poverty, peer influence, inadequate public awareness and ignorance of the harmful consequences of drug misuse.