The United Nations has warned that banditry and incessant abduction of school children constitute great threat to Nigeria’s future, warning President Muhammadu Buhari’s government to tackle the security menace ravaging the country.
Edward Kallon, United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, in a statement on the 2021 International Day to Protect Education from Attack, said “UN condemns attack on schools, calls for more efforts to protect students and ensure uninterrupted teaching and learning.”
“Children are traumatised; parents are scared; teachers and school administrators are afraid; attacks on schools are gradually spreading to areas not known to insurgencies.
With education under attack, the collective future of Nigeria is under threat. This must stop now!” Mr Kallon said.
Mr Kallon said further: “whenever teaching and learning is disrupted, the impact on human capital development is enormous as the recovery period is always tortuous and longer than the length of the initial disruption.”
Lamenting increasing number of out-of-school children, Mr Kallon said “In the last academic year, it is estimated that 1.3 million children have been impacted by attacks or abductions at schools in Nigeria.”
“Across the North-East region alone, over 600,000 children remain out of school and some 1.1 million need educational support to stay in school. This has all been compounded by the setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” he added.
UN’s warning comes amidst incessant coordinated killings and kidnapping of schoolchildren across Kaduna, Kebbi, Katsina, Niger and Zamfara State, forcing closure of schools in the respective states.
Bandits have continued to be brazen in their attacks, downing Air Force fighter jet in July and also invading the Nigerian Defence Academy, killing three and abducting one in August.
Garba Shehu, spokesman to the President, however, dismissed attack on NDA as a politically motivated move aimed at rubbishing Mr Buhari regime.
