Fubara assures NUT of security of schools in Rivers

From Tony John, Port Harcourt

Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara has assured the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) of the security of teachers and pupils across schools in the state.

The assurance came on Tuesday as members of the NUT, Rivers State Wing, staged a peaceful protest against the recent attacks on schools and abduction of teachers and pupils in Oyo State and other parts of the country.

The protesters, who brandished placards with various inscriptions, gathered at Government House, Port Harcourt, in solidarity with their colleagues who were abducted by terrorists about two weeks ago.

The protest is part of a nationwide action by the NUT to draw public attention to the plight of their colleagues who were kidnapped from three schools in Oyo State and remain in captivity.

Addressing the protesters, Governor Fubara disclosed that the state government had been working closely with security agencies to ensure the safety of schools, teachers, and pupils across Rivers State.

Governor Fubara, represented by the Commissioner for Education in Rivers State, Peters Nwagor, said the state will continue to do all it can to ensure that incidents of attacks and abductions are prevented from occurring.

He also prevailed on the NUT to exercise patience as the federal government is currently working out strategies to ensure that the abducted teachers and pupils are released within the shortest possible time.

The secretary of the NUT, Rivers State Wing, Comrade Bassey Asuquo, who led the protest, described the action as a solemn march of solidarity with their fallen colleague, whose life was cut short by bandits, and the abducted teachers and students still languishing in captivity.

Asuquo lamented that teachers in Nigeria have become an endangered species, as the average teacher wakes up every morning to go to school to impart knowledge to their pupils without knowing whether they will return home alive.

“The school is supposed to be a sanctuary, a place where the future of our nation is nurtured, shaped and prepared for greatness. But what we have witnessed in Oyo State is a brutal attack on a school and the cold-blooded beheading of our noble colleague. It is not only a crime against education itself; it is an assault on our collective future as a people.

“Let it be known that what happened in Oyo State is not an isolated incident. We have seen similar acts of terror in Borno State. We have watched helplessly as schools, the temples of knowledge, are turned into theatres of horror. We refuse to be silenced. We refuse to accept this as the new normal,” he said.

Asuquo demanded the immediate and unconditional release of the teachers and students still held in captivity and urged the federal government, as well as all state governments, to take immediate and decisive steps to end the recurring attacks on schools across Nigeria.

The unionist also demanded the immediate deployment of adequate security personnel to all public schools across Rivers State and the federation, while urging the government to implement a comprehensive national school safety policy to protect students, teachers, and school infrastructure from attacks, abduction, and all forms of violence.