Closure of schools won’t curb insecurity, PDP tells FG

From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said closure of schools by the Federal Government to prevent abductions of school children is not a solution to the security challenges confronting the country.

The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, who stated this at a press briefing in Abuja, yesterday, charged the government to implement the National Policy on Safety, Security and Violence-Free Schools.

Kebbi State Government, yesterday, ordered closure of all public and private secondary schools and all tertiary institutions across the state, except College of Nursing Sciences, Birnin Kebbi.

Earlier on Friday, Katsina and Plateau states had ordered closure of schools following rising banditry attacks on educational institutions in parts of the country.

Similarly, the Federal Government, in a circular released on Friday, citing “recent security challenges in some parts of the country and the need to prevent any security breaches” ordered immediate closure of over 40 unity colleges nationwide.

But the PDP noted that closing schools without actually combating the security challenge  confronting the country decisively will be tantamount to surrendering to terrorists.

The party said this is because the aim of the terrorists is to prevent children from acquiring formal education. It cautioned the government against helping the terror groups achieve their desire.

“Under the APC-led Tinubu administration, Nigerians have witnessed, especially in the last week, a spate of kidnappings in different states (25 students in Kebbi and 315 students and staff in Niger) in Northern Nigeria. Each of these kidnappings leaves a trail of sorrows, tears, blood, fear and deep anguish on the families of those affected and their communities.

‘In response, different state governments in the affected region have taken disparate measures, while the federal government has yet to give any direction.  We are aware that the closure of schools in these areas is already being implemented by some state governments and is currently being contemplated by the Federal Government.

“We warn that this closure, if undertaken, like many of this administration’s quick-fix approaches to serious governance issues, will amount to a complete surrender to terrorists, whose sole aim is to shut down schools and prevent children from obtaining formal education, which they declare forbidden. If the schools are closed, the goal of the terrorists would have been inadvertently achieved.

  “Rather, we urge the government to develop a comprehensive plan to combat the issue instead of resorting to a simplistic approach of closing schools in a bid to prevent further kidnappings and to score cheap political points, quite characteristic of this administration.

“This alarm is crucial because a closure of schools will certainly exacerbate the already challenging educational situation in Northern Nigeria, where, according to UNICEF, the majority of the 18.3 million out-of-school children (10.2 million at the primary level and 8.1 million at the secondary level) in Nigeria reside. This data not only paints a grim picture but also mirrors the exact situation in Nigeria.

“The series of attacks and kidnappings in different states within a week, is indicative of the alarming insecurity that has become the contemporary lived experience and new reality of Nigerians under the APC-led Bola Tinubu government.”

The opposition party berated President Bola Tinubu for allegedly not showing empathy to the families whose children were kidnapped in Kebbi and Niger. He stated that instead of President Tinubu to visit Kebbi and Niger to sympathise with the parents of the school children, he merely directed the Minister of State for Defence, Bello  Matawalle, to relocate to Kebbi.

“A juxtaposition of the contingents sent to the US Congress and the G-20 meeting with Matawalle’s lone envoy exposes the levity with which the presidency treats this matter. This reaction is most insensitive and dismissive of the gravity of the problem by the APC-led Federal Government.

“We charge the Federal Government to immediately fund and implement the National Policy on Safety, Security and Violence-Free Schools anchored on community intelligence and quick security response, capable of anticipating and contending with attacks on schools. Insecurity in schools will be a big disincentivisation for education in the country, especially in Northern Nigeria.

“We again remind the President, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and the entire APC-led administration that the security of lives and property is the primary function of any government. At any time, government is unwilling, unable, or incapable of executing this primary role, such a government, must either ask for help (locally or internationally) or honourably resign, if it is sincere and responsible,” PDP stated.