School Abductions: Reps, ACF, Ohanaeze, MBF, NEF Send Message to FG
- The House of Representatives is worried over the spate of kidnapping and attacks on northern schools
- Also, socio-cultural groups in Nigeria, on their part, believe the federal government is not doing enough to tackle insecurity
- Some of these groups like Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Ohanaeze Ndigbo, and the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) recently lamented over the increased abduction of schoolchildren
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The House of Representatives has expressed serious worry over the disruption of the school calendar in the country, caused by rampant attacks on students, teachers in most northern states.
Nigerian lawmakers have said that the effect of the constant abduction of school children is that the pupils and students are now traumatised while their parents are afraid to allow them to return to classrooms, Vanguard reports.
The chairman of the House committee on basic education services, Professor Julius O. Ihonvbere, in a statement called on government at the state and national level to rise to the occasion as is expected of it.
In fact, Daily Trust reports that there are claims in the north that the government has not only failed to do its duty but has completely abandoned those it should protect.
Source: Twitter
Ihonvbere noted that the trend has left state governments with no other option than to shut down schools amid the vandalisation of academic infrastructure.
Part of the statement read:
“The clear consequences of these attacks are that children are afraid to return to school, parents are uncertain if their wards would be safe in school, and teachers and administrators can no longer concentrate fully on their duties. Insecurity is now breeding a palpable fear for education in Nigeria.
"...With the largest number of out-of-school children in the world, now, insecurity of steadily shutting down the school system in historically underserved communities, even war-torn nations do not experience such levels and frequencies of attacks as they affect our schools."
These views were also echoed by socio-cultural and religious groups like the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Middle Belt Forum (MBF), Northern Elders Forum (NEF), and Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
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These groups called on the federal government to beef up security in the north and increase its intervention to get rid of those who terrorise students.
Meanwhile, in an effort to end the frequent abduction of schoolchildren in the north, the United States expressed readiness to help Nigeria.
This was disclosed by the deputy assistant secretary, Michael Gonzales, on Thursday, March 11, at the US Bureau of African Affairs.
Onyirioha Nnamdi is a graduate of Literature and English Language at the University of Lagos. He is a Politics/Current Affairs Editor who writes on news and political topics for Legit.ng. He brings into his reporting a wealth of experience in creative and analytical writing. Nnamdi has a major interest in local and global politics.
Source: Legit.ng
