The recent bomb blast at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital in Borno state did not just shake the ground, it shook people’s minds. It was one of those moments that made everyone stop and ask, “What is really going on?”
According to reports, three teenage boys, between the ages of 13 and 15, carried the explosive in a flask and threw it near the gate. The blast caused chaos, fear, and loss. Among the victims was an almajiri boy who died on the spot.
But beyond the noise, the fear, and the breaking news headlines, there is something deeper that we cannot ignore. How do children of that age find themselves in such a situation?
This is where we need to look beyond the surface and face the truth many people try to avoid.
Across Maiduguri and many parts of Northern Nigeria, the presence of almajiri children in the streets has become something people see every day. It has become so normal that many no longer question it.
These children walk under the hot sun, beg for food, sleep in open places, and struggle just to survive. Some people give them money out of pity, some ignore them, and life goes on.
These are children who are supposed to be in school, learning how to read and write, building dreams, and preparing for their future.
They are supposed to be under the care of their parents or guardians, not left alone to face the harsh realities of the street.
Instead, many of them grow up without proper education, without guidance, and without protection.
This is not just poverty. This is neglect. And when neglect continues for a long time, it does not just affect the children, it affects everyone.
When a child grows up in the street, learning survival instead of values, struggling instead of growing, anything can happen. They can be influenced, misled, or even used. Not because they are bad, but because they do not know better and have no one to guide them.
That is the dangerous part.
The recent incident is not just about three teenagers and a bomb. It is about a system that has allowed children to become this vulnerable. It is about a society that has slowly looked away while its children are left behind.
The almajiri system was not originally meant to be like this. It was meant to teach, guide, and build young minds. But today, in many places, it has lost that structure. Instead of classrooms, there are streets. Instead of learning, there is begging. Instead of care, there is struggle. Many of these children are sent away from their homes with the hope of getting religious education.
But instead of learning in a safe and structured environment, these children are being left to survive in the street and cater for themselves, with no proper care, no protection and no guidance.
They grow up in the street were anything can happen.
Yet, we still call them the future leaders.
What kind of future are we building if our so-called future leaders are hungry, uneducated, and unprotected?
A child who grows up without care does not just suffer alone. That pain reflects in society. It shows in insecurity, in poverty, and in situations like the one we have just witnessed in Maiduguri.
This is why the conversation must change.
It is no longer enough to react only when something bad happens. It is no longer enough to feel sorry for these children and move on. There has to be real action.
Parents must take responsibility. Communities must stop seeing it as normal. The government must go beyond words and create real systems that protect and educate these children.
This is because at the end of the day, no child chooses to be on the street.
And no child should grow up in a way that puts their life and the lives of others at risk. No child chooses to live their life in the street that way. No child dreams of growing up in the street.
No child should ever be placed in a situation where there becomes part of something dangerous without even understanding the effect. These children still have a chance. They can still learn. They can still become what they were meant to be.
Because they were born to learn, they should never be forced to survive.
These issues will continue to grow if nothing is done about it, because at the end of the day, when a child is left behind, the whole society moves backwards.
If nothing is done, this problem will not disappear. It will only grow. And when it grows, the consequences will not spare anyone.
The bomb blast in Maiduguri is not just an isolated incident. It is a warning. A warning that behind every major incident, there are deeper issues we keep ignoring.
The real question now is: will we finally pay attention, or will we continue to wait for the next tragedy before we act?
