Education in Nigeria has recently come under the blight of ill fate among other sectors being affected by the scourge of insecurity. The sector apparently has come under the list of mischief targets as a soft spot for bandits. The extension of banditry to an estate of albatross with debilitating impacts on the Country has continued to occasion disturbances, with much emphasis on the Northern part of the Country. Recently, records of attacks have become a phenomenon of discourse, sprouting concern from the easy turn of bandits to abducting vulnerable pupils for ransom.
It is noteworthy that the impacts of this escapade have roughly created a psychosocial environment of fear, not only for school children but also their parents and relatives, many of whom now fear falling victim of the depressing and agonising experiences of those who have had their wards kidnapped from school. The fear appears to be taking deep seated dimension with stormy coloration, frustrating and defying security efforts in the North — a region largely disadvantaged in the profile of education of its population. The multiplier effects on the society pose difficult challenges to further weaken human capacity across the region — a development which has been noted by social theorists as a clog in the development of the entire Country.
The plight of the Government in the difficulty of its inability to secure the release of school children when kidnapped, or better still, to foil or repeal such abduction attempt by bandits, has led to loss of confidence of school children, their families and relatives in the Government to assure their safety in school environs. The whisking of children in their numbers, relatively unchallenged, leaves no justification why the people should not be skeptical about releasing their wards to schools where they are exposed to the risk of abduction by mischievous bandits who have turned kidnapping for ransom to an estate of resort. The force and frequency of abductions of students and pupils from schools and the attendant depression and worries of victim parents to secure their release have coupled with the feeling of insecurity on the part of the students, informed an orientation of loss of confidence, which has begun to give narratives of a dilemma where more children in larger parts of the North are shying away from the class.
As resumption for another academic calendar sets in for basic and secondary schools, the panic over being attacked is set before children, their parents/guardians and relatives. The situation has thus yielded a gap of disconnection pulling children back from school. At least one million among more than 37 million school children in Nigeria have been held up in fear of returning to school, as resumption commence – the United Nations Children’s Fund, (UNICEF) said last week. UNICEF had noted that “so far this year, there have been 20 attacks on schools in Nigeria, with 1,436 children abducted and 16 children dead, adding that “more than 200 children are still missing.” The organisation had added that the attacks have left 16 school children dead, and over 200 missing in 2021. According to the Agency, the fear by the children to return to schools, was borne by the heightening insecurity in the Country, which has seen bandits recently turning to schools to abduct pupils in exchange for ransom.
UNICEF, had in a statement last Thursday, by its Representative in Nigeria, Peter Hawkins, said learners were being cut off from their education and other vital benefits schools provide, as families and communities remain fearful of sending children back to their classrooms due to the spate of school attacks and student abductions in the Country over the last several months which has seen the conditions of insecurity worsening. The organisation had further mentioned that in Nigeria, education was delayed for many children due to COVID-19 restrictions during 2020, along with the additional challenge of school closures due to prevailing insecurity across the Country.
The statement had read partly: “As more than 37 million Nigerian children start the new school year this month, at least one million are being left behind – afraid to return to school due to insecurity. Learners are being cut off from their education and other vital benefits schools provide, as families and communities remain fearful of sending children back to their classrooms due to the spate of school attacks and student abductions in Nigeria over the last several months and the current climate of insecurity. A child’s first day of school should be an exciting event for parents and children – a landmark moment in their young lives, signaling new learning and new friends that will impact their futures.This moment is being stolen from around a million Nigerian children this year, as insecurity threatens their safety and education.
“It is unacceptable that communities should be worried to send their children to school over fears they will be abducted from what should be a safe space. Insecurity must end so that children can return to their normal lives and benefit from all the important things being in school brings to them. It is unacceptable that children need to fear returning to their friends and classrooms – and that parents are afraid that if they send their children to school, they may never return. This insecurity must end so that children can return to their normal lives and benefit from all the important things being in school brings to them.
“The first day of school is a landmark moment in a child’s life — setting them off on a life-changing path of personal learning and growth. Most of us can remember the excitement of returning to school, and the joy of meeting our teachers and fellow students again. But for so many Nigerian children whose education already suffered during COVID-19 lockdowns, that important day has been indefinitely postponed – and for many children still missing, it is unclear when they will ever come back home or enter a classroom again.
“We need to end this insecurity and make our priorities clear – that Nigerian children can and must be allowed to benefit from an education in a safe space. While countries worldwide, including Nigeria, are taking some actions to provide remote learning, many students are not being reached. In addition to lack of assets for remote learning, the youngest children may not be able to participate due to a lack of support using the technology, a poor learning environment, pressure to do household chores, or being forced to work. Studies have shown that positive school experiences are a predictor of children’s future social, emotional, and educational outcomes. Children who fall behind in learning during the early years often stay behind for the remaining time they spend in school, and the gap widens over the years. The number of years of education a child receives also directly affects their future earnings.
“Every hour a child spends in the classroom is precious — an opportunity to expand their horizons, maximize their potential, and build their country’s future.With each passing moment, countless amounts of opportunity are lost. We must put our children’s future first. We can and must tackle the insecurity, stop attacks on education, and keep schools open. The clock is ticking for our young students. Existing evidence shows the cost of addressing learning gaps is lower and more effective when they are tackled earlier, and that investments in education support economic recovery, growth, and prosperity.”
While the Boko-Haram terrorism is known to have one of its foundational ideology to be persecution against western education, it is now saddening that the attack against education in the Country has become more clustered with the entanglements of the ravages of banditry. It would be recalled that the precedence posed by the Boko Haram jihadists with the kidnapping of the Chibok girls in April 14, 2014, has seen stronger forces of banditry sprouting far to unleashing storms in the education sector. While it was not very clear the intention of Boko-Haram in kidnapping the over 270 girls some of which were reported to have been subjected to force marriage to members of the sect, it is more directional that the aim of the bandits turning to abduction of school children can be approximated with deductions to be more of a misadventure largely borne by pecuniary interests, particularly with the swift demands for ransom which each of their attacks recently have spoken of. The bandits have only been known to unleash terror on their victims at the instance of perceived retardation in negotiations.
Last Saturday, it was disclosed that another batch of 10 abducted students of the Bethel Baptist High School, Maraban Damishi, in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna state, were released over the weekend, which brought the total of those released to 100, while 21 were expected. It would be recalled that in the early hour of July 5, bandits invaded the school and kidnapped 121 students. The release of the victims recently kidnapped from the Federal Government College (FGC), Birnin Yauri, in Kebbi State, has continued to raise doubt and loss of confidence in the Government to secure the release of the victims without bowing to ransom. Recall that armed bandits who overpowered and shot security personnel during an exchange of gunfire around the school, had whisked scores of students and staff members of the school, on June 17. Zamfara, Katsina, Niger, and Kaduna have remained on the top lines of States where students have been brought under the cloud of fear, deterring them from the walls of class rooms.
The turn of bandits to schools have not only seen students of basic and secondary schools suffering abductions, but also, higher institutions’ students have fallen victims, recently. It would be recalled that only in Kaduna, armed bandits had earlier invaded the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, the Greenfield University along Kaduna-Abuja highway, and the Nuhu Bamali Polytechnic in Zaria.
It is becoming troublesome for the Education sector in the Country, with the eye of the bandits driven kidnap-for-ransom menace taking feasting course on the sector. The threats which such attacks against an indispensable institution of the society pose on the population, are by all means counterproductive to development and human capacity. Worsening the poor human capital profile of the Country by the prevailing scourge, is largely undesirable for political and socio-economic development. The present conditions are too far unsavoury to be worsened by the scourge of plunging the education institutions in the Country into chaos. It is high time the Government woke up to the necessity to declare emergency on the onslaught of bandits on schools, and thereby mustering by such state of condition, the concerted efforts needed to prevent the sector from strains of disturbances.
Particularly, the need to coordinate security intelligence strategically to fortify security formation around schools is paramount presently for red zone areas which is typical of the North, while proactive measures should responsively be taken into course to foreclose the possibilities of the extension of the onslaught on areas where schools are still having relative peace.