Tackling Insecurities In Our Schools

The task we must set for ourselves is not to feel secure, but to be able to tackle insecurity. — Erich Fromm.

The Insecurity in Nigeria has created fear in every citizen of the world, this is a word that is on everybody’s lips and a topic of discussion in every gathering of people. The insecurity situation in Nigeria is quite unique due to the consistent happenings which the government is yet to put an end to.

Boko Haram has been tagged faceless but yet they live, wine and dine in communities and the strategy is to displace the main settlers and indigenes of that community. The “faceless” group’s name also means “Against Western Education” (Western Education is Forbidden) and the group became known due to the kidnapping of the Chibok girls in 2014 and the government is yet to recover them all.

The Chibok girls were adopted in a school — Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok which in the first place should never have happened because a school should be the safest and conducive place of learning. Herdsmen crisis became an issue between regions — The North and The South, the trespassing of herdsmen and their herds of cattle on farmlands which also led states to develop a grazing act.

Communities have been destroyed and people have been displaced which has pushed some citizens to live in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) Camps who are dependent on the government to provide for their daily needs. There are other major effects of the killings and displacement of people in Nigeria which may not be discussed here.

The new trend of insecurity in Nigeria is to kidnap private citizens — individuals or groups. Kidnappers shoot at cars on highways to cause roadblocks, walk into schools both fenced and partially fenced schools to kidnap students. The recent of these kidnappings in Nigeria is the Zamfara state school girls — who have been released after negotiations with the gunmen/bandits. Some would ask if negotiations with gunmen are the way forward to resolve the issue of kidnapping in Nigeria. Is this act of negotiations not encourage other gunmen to move to other boarding schools in the North? Was ransom paid to free these girls? Are investigations going on at all? Are there suspects or are these gunmen faceless?

The questions are yet to be answered but one thing I know is that the government and members of the community should ensure the school is safe for learning. How many of our public schools in Nigeria (both primary and secondary schools) are fenced and secured? How many of these schools can afford to pay for the services of security guards, local or private security personnel which could be local hunters?

The government should take the responsibility of securing the lives and property of the citizens, this is the first task of the government. Funds should be provided to schools and major investments should be directed towards perimeter security and fencing. Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs), School-Based Management Committees (SBMCs), and community members should meet to find ways to secure the school — donations of cement blocks, bags of cement, sand, etc.

There has been a huge improvement in the enrolment of pupils/students in the Northern part of the country, thanks to sensitization and awareness campaigns on the importance of education. The insecurity and recent school students kidnapping can discourage parents from sending their children to school at least for now — this could lead to an increase in the number of out-of-school children and Nigeria should be responsible for the lives of these children. Whether they are educated or not, Nigeria will reap what they sow.