By Our Reporter – IA-Foundation and Peace and Social Justice have warned about the chilling reality of insecurity stranglehold on the Nigerian education sector.
IA-Foundation is a UK-based educational charity which was setup to reduce the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria. Peace and Social Justice is a UK-based advocacy NGO of diasporans and friends of Nigeria who are committed to peace building and social justice in Nigeria.
The organisations have co-authoried a report titled, Insecurity and Education in Nigeria: The Context and Challenges . The report, launched at the Jubilee Room of the House of Parliament last month, highlights the devastating impact the insecurity has on the Nigerian education sector and surrounding communities.
The report exposes the harrowing impact of kidnappings, violence, and fear on students, teachers, and the entire educational ecosystem and beyond. The report identifies insurgency and terrorism, ethnic and religious tensions, social economic inequality, weak and corrupt government, and the proliferation of arms as being among the root causes for insecurity in Nigerian.
Ibironke Adeagbo, the Founder of IA- Foundation, described education as the cornerstone of Nigeria’s development, saying that fosters critical thinking, opportunity, and a brighter future.
However, she warned that education is under siege, warning that schools once regarded as neutral and safe havens for learning have become targets of violence and terror.
She explained that Nigeria has been grappling with a pervasive and deeply troubling phenomenon, namely the alarming escalation of insecurity within its education sector over the last 10 years, since the 2014 Chibok school girl’s abduction.
She expressed excitement about Nigeria President Bola Tinubu’s appointment of Retired General Ja’afar Isa as the head of the National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of- School Children Education. She said she is looking forward to working closely with the commission.
Adeagbo added that her organisation is also looking forward to the Senate Bill being discussed to penalise parents who do not send their children to school.
Ayo Adedoyin, the Chief Executive Officer of Peace and Social Justice UK, explained how every year since 2014, hundreds of innocent children in primary and secondary schools across the nation are snatched away, their dreams held hostage for ransom.
He said children have become victims to a harrowing cycle of kidnapping and ransom demands. According to him, many die and never return. Kidnapping fears have forced numerous schools to close their doors, leaving a generation in the shadows of an uncertain future.
In the Report, the NGOs proposed recommendations aimed at safeguarding schools, restoring a sense of safety, and ensuring that every child in Nigeria has the chance to learn and thrive.
Halogen Group Chief Executive Officer Wale Olaoye said institutionalisation of education as a form of prevention and tool of personal, political and social transformation is strategically vital to the possibilities of establishing lasting peace in Nigeria. Olaoye spoke on the subject of ‘Nigeria: Illiteracy and Insecurity’ and suggested that comprehensive and sustained integration of educational interventions into the whole of society is more likely to yield transformative results.
Speaking at the report’s launch, Conservative MP Fiona Bruce MP, lauded the efforts of both NGOs. She gave assurances that the report will be presented to Andrew Mitchell, the Minister of State for Africa and Development.
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