Education is one of the basic needs of a child. Not only is it one of their most important needs, but also one of their fundamental human rights as enshrined in the Constitution.
In recent times, there has been an alarming increase in the case of kidnapping. Both old and young, the rich and the poor, all live in fear of this dreaded evil. One can no longer move from one place to another in peace of mind, talkless of sleeping with two eyes closed. Never has the nation witnessed these spate of kidnappings as it is happening today. If it is not kidnapping for ransom (which is the most common), it is either abduction for ritual or human trafficking.
The insecurity situation in the country has so much fueled the rise in kidnapping that it has become a wide-spread fire that has engulfed the nation. As the tentacles of the kidnapping menace continue spreading, it has surprisingly and regrettably found its way into our institutions of learning. Alas the academic activities have been threatened. The lives of tommorow›s leaders are in danger. One may not be wrong to posit that these ‹kidnapping devils› may have seen in our academic institutions a habour, housing innocent citizens, who can›t defend or protect themselves in the face of security threat. The demons believe that this opportunity presents them with bountiful harvest when bucks grease their palms in ransom exchanges. And so began the adventurous operations. They started attacking our schools left and right., so much so that in April 2014, 276 female students mostly Christians, who were aged from 16 – 18 years were abducted from a Government Girls Secondary school at the town of Chibok in Borno State by the Islamic terrorist group, Boko Haram. This was no doubt a historical event that shocked any caring individual and concerned parents.
Four years later, as if that was not enough, and amidst the continuous cry of activists and concerned organizations for the release of the kidnapped Chibok school girls, the Boko Haram Islamists struck again. This time, it was in Yobe State. 110 school girls aged 11 – 19 years old were abducted on February 19, 2018 at 5:30p.m. The affected school was Government Girls› Science and Technical College (GGSTC), Dapchi., located in Bulabulin, Yunusari Local Government Area of Yobe State in the Northeast. The Federal Government quickly deployed the Nigerian Air Force and other security agencies to search for the missing school girls and to hopefully enable their return. As commendable efforts continued to be made towards securing the release and return of the Dapchi girls, concerned citizens stayed watching and praying hopefully in bated breaths.
Most will also not forget the evening of December 11, 2020. On this day, over 300 pupils were kidnapped from a boy›s secondary boarding school on the outskirts of Kankara, Katsina State. A gang of gunmen on motorcycles attacked the Government Science School, where more than 800 pupils reside, for over an hour. These and more were some of the kidnapping escapades on our citadels of learning. A critical observation of all these kidnapping attacks revealed they were carried out in Northern Nigeria. This shows that the insecurity situation in the region is very alarming and worrisome. However, it is no longer an exclusive preserve of the North today. Insecurity is now a nationwide issue bedeviling every region in the country. Amidst the continuous abduction of school children which appears unabated, one is forced to ask «who will save tomorrow›s leaders?»
Our vulnerable children are in school because it is their right, and a basic need which must be provided them as part of their growth and development. It is, therefore, the responsibility of the Federal and state governments especially to ensure the safety and protection of our children in their institutions of learning. The protection of lives is one of their responsibilities, and so our children (who are outside their homes) receiving education, must not be deprived of the necessary protection.
In today›s Nigeria, where crime and breakdown of law and order have assumed an alarming rate, it leaves the leaders of tomorrow very vulnerable. They are the jewels, our pride for future and continual national development. So, the government should wake up and start combating in great force, all the insecurity problems threatening the land. When there is no peace and security of lives, how can our children grow? How can they develop?
Furthermore, it is imperative to note that a hostile environment is harmful to the growth and development of children. The trauma of being a victim of kidnapping, witnessing killings and destruction by bombings, wars and so on can instill in the child an emotional disturbance, which can affect their mental health., something which is not good for their age and overall growth.
Finally, a child is a product of environment. Environment can shape children. Give a child a conducive environment and watch him/her blossom into a wholesome responsible individual. The reverse is often the case as children that grew up in unhealthy and hostile environment could end up as drug addicts, armed robbers, sex workers, cultists, thugs, kidnappers and gunmen. The safety and growth of our children is important. Let us save the leaders of tomorrow by giving them the best, they are the jewels.
•Kings Ndubuisi Onwe writes from Enugu