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From: Agaju Madugba, Katsina
The Katsina State Government has begun re-opening the nomadic primary schools hitherto closed down at the height of murderous activities of cattle rustlers in the area.
The state government was forced to shut down the schools for about two terms as alleged cattle rustlers carried out bloody campaigns in the communities which led to loss of several lives and property including livestock.
Some of the schools affected were Kyabbo Nomadic Primary School in Jibia local government area, Hamada Nomadic Primary School in Sabuwa local government area, Ginginyu Nomadic Primary School and Garin Liman Nomadic Primary School both in Batsari local government area of the state.
Government eventually reached a truce with the castle rustlers who have since surrendered their weapons and embraced peace initiatives of the administration.
Announcing the reopening of Kyabbo Primary School during a ceremony at Kyabbo village, on Thursday, Chairman, State Universal Basic Education Board, (SUBEB), Alhaji Lawal Buhari, attributed activities of cattle rustling and other criminal behaviors to what he described as ignorance and urged the communities and nomads to embrace education both Western and Islamic education.
According to him, “we are not saying you should not send your children to farm, rear animals or send them to Islamic school but what we are saying is also send them to go to school and acquire Western education.
“We thank Almighty Allah that peace has returned to the land and the nation as a whole with the current set of leaders we have at the helm of affairs. The governments are on their toes to tackle insecurity and ensure that day and night Nigerians are secured.
“With the leadership of Governor Aminu Bello Masari, we now experience relative peace in Katsina State. Before this area, Kyabbo village, was a no-go area with the activities of cattle rustling but today, we entered here without any escort.”
Apart from urging the nomads to embrace adult education, Buhari said they should also encourage girl-child education, “to produce female doctors among others who will in turn play vital roles in the society.
“You are not left out, you can engage in adult education and with that you can read because the Quran is also written in English, fight ignorance because ignorance is the root cause of the killings,” he stated.
Also speaking at the programme, the Executive Secretary of SUBEB in Jibia local government, Dr. Salisu Mamman, explained that the schools were closed down due to what he described as high level of insecurity in the area and to avoid further loss of lives.
“The school was turned into a hideout for the cattle rustlers, though no student was killed,” Mamman said, adding that, “five cattle rustlers including a teacher who was fronting the activities of the rustlers were killed by soldiers who raided and liberated the area.”
