The recent closure of Unity Schools and other educational institutions across Nigeria has sparked widespread outrage among the nation’s youth, who argue that the government’s “proactive security measure” is a failure in addressing the escalating insecurity rather than a solution.
Rotimi Odunaike, Lagos State Chairman of the Labour Party Caretaker Committee and fellow of the Nigeria Leadership Initiative, described the school lockdown as “a declaration of total, pathetic surrender” and condemned the government for punishing innocent students by denying them access to education.
Government Response Criticized
Odunaike criticized the Federal Government’s approach, arguing that while the authorities promised to tackle kidnappings, particularly in Niger and Katsina states, the closure of schools reflects avoidance rather than effective action. He stated, “This isn’t proactivity; it is cowardice wrapped in a circular.”
He also highlighted the government’s failure to implement the Safe Schools Declaration, citing the lack of perimeter fences, intelligence-driven surveillance, and rapid-response units, which he believes emboldens criminal elements.
Impact on Students and Communities
The closure, Odunaike warned, could have devastating effects on students:
- Learning Loss and Inequality: Students in rural areas without access to electricity or e-learning platforms face widened academic gaps, while children in private institutions continue their studies uninterrupted.
- Increased Vulnerability: Idleness could expose young people to early marriage, crime, or recruitment into criminal gangs.
- Psychological Toll: Parents and students alike are left with fear, uncertainty, and mistrust in government institutions.
Calls for Structural Solutions
Odunaike urged the government to implement long-term security measures instead of reactive lockdowns, including:
- Massive Investment in School Security: Fortifying schools with fencing, deploying trained School Vanguards, and installing panic buttons linked to central security commands.
- Community-Based Intelligence: Empowering local vigilantes, traditional leaders, and youth networks to provide real-time intelligence to security agencies.
- Accountability for Security Chiefs: Those responsible for the recurring abductions must be held accountable.
- Decentralized and Modernized Security: Establishing state-level policing systems and leveraging technology, such as Big Data analytics and surveillance tools, to predict and prevent attacks.
Odunaike concluded with a firm demand: “We reject this education lockdown! Our future is not up for negotiation, and we will not be the generation that loses its destiny to the terror of a few criminals and the spinelessness of a few leaders. Open our schools and secure them, or step aside and let those who are willing to fight for Nigeria’s future take charge!”
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