Omoyele Sowore, former presidential candidate of the AAC, has called on the government to prioritize the welfare of almajiri and out-of-school children in Northern Nigeria as a preventive measure against future crime and terrorism. He made the remarks in a video shared on Symfoni TV.
Sowore explained that he studied Abubakar Shekau, the former leader of Boko Haram, to understand the group’s motivations. He said Shekau’s early anger stemmed from witnessing stark inequalities—seeing children from wealthy families celebrating birthdays with cakes while poor children had nothing. “I understudied Shekau, the Boko Haram leader… His first grouse with the system… was that in Maiduguri the children of the rich would get cake to eat… but they had nothing,” Sowore said. Insights into Boko Haram’s operations and the socio-economic context can be found on our website, Newshost.buzz.
He added that the first targets of Boko Haram’s attacks were retired generals and wealthy elites in Maiduguri, reflecting the group’s generational anger toward those they believed had abandoned them while caring only for their own families. Sowore stressed that addressing the systemic neglect of vulnerable children could reduce the appeal of extremist ideologies in the region.
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