Abduction In Schools: Looming Danger On Education – NAWOJ

BY EVELYN DADU, ABUJA – The Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), on Friday, declared that the latest abduction at the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, Afaka-Kaduna in Kaduna State which is the fourth in the series of attacks on schools in last two months, calls for urgent and proactive actions by the Federal Government and security agencies to halt the activities of criminals in the country.

This is as the Association noted that the attacks on schools are deliberate attempts to scuttle the Nigerian government’s achievement in the reduction in out of school children from the alarming rate of over twelve million to seven million.

NAWOJ which stated these while condemning in strong terms, the abduction of over 200 students of the Afaka College, said that the question on the lips of many Nigerians is when will this act of criminality which is exposing innocent children to dangers in the forest end?

In a statement by its National President, Comrade Ladi Bala, NAWOJ stressed that it is quite disheartening to note that in recent times, schools in northern Nigeria have come under serious security threat, thereby putting teaching and learning in jeopardy.

According to Bala; “From Kankara in Katsina State, to Kagara in Niger, Jangebe in Zamfara and now Kaduna state, with the same mode of operation is certainly one attack too many for comfort.

“This ugly trend no doubt spells doom for the future of young Nigerians especially our cherished young boys and girls who are our future leaders.

“The cherry picking in our schools if allowed to continue is certainly not in the best interest of our great nation.

“While concerted efforts are being put in place by government and development partners to bridge the gaps of learning lost to COVID-19, the wave of abductions of students is counter-productive,” NAWOJ said.

The Association further said that when schools are no longer safe for learning owing to the activities of criminals that seem to have taken over and calling the shots, it is not only inimical but retrogressive as well as alarming in Nigeria’s developmental stride.

NAWOJ said that as the umbrella body of women journalists, it urged government at all levels to fence all boarding schools and ensure that security personnel are deployed to keep watch over school environments in Nigeria.

It noted that while the decision to close schools by some state governors could serve as preventive steps in the interim, it is however not in the best interest of students and education.

NAWOJ therefore said; “The Nigerian government must not allow criminal elements to hijack and hold education and other sectors to ransom.

“It is in the light of this that NAWOJ avers that the time to act is now.

“No more negotiation with abductors and related criminals in the interest of safety of Nigerians,” it stressed.