After 2018 Dapchi kidnap in Yobe State, we had thought that school kidnapping is a barbarity left in the pit of our inglorious past. Alas, that is not the case.


The recent orgy of school kidnappings which had brought hues and cries from all the orifices of the North has kept one popping antacid, wondering: why the North again? Why kidnappings again in a region where kids should rather be enjoined to go to school, no thanks to the anachronistic Almajiri system. Why again in a region which harbours 69% of out-of-school Nigerian children.

North as a region with dilapidated educational system, should rather be made secure so female students can be sensitized on reasons to take their studies to tertiary level – before or after which – their hands could be given out in marriage?

The latest attack in a UBE Primary School at Birnin Gwari Kaduna did not come as a shock; it only complimented the recent ones in Kankara, Katsina State, Kagara in Niger State and Jangebe in Zamfara State – all which had happened in spring of three months. Amnesty International gave the report that “No fewer than 618 schools have remained closed in six northern states over the fear of attack and abduction of pupils and members of staff.”

Read ALso: Dapchi attack: Police contact slain officers’ families


Education is already hitting its nadir in the North. Kidnappers would dig deeper. Innocent kids would be scared, so scared of going to school. More kids would wallow on the streets of the North. And the few that would manage to continue are still not guaranteed of safety out of their school premises. Such is the unsafe state of not just the North, but Nigeria.

Insecurity has gotten to the acme of its control; the whole Nigeria is its palace. North is where its blood-consuming throne is placed. If care is not taken, innocent kids that kidnapping would chase out of schools are those who will extend its base in the future. God forbid that happens.

The federal government has got a lion share of the responsibility. No nation is secure without friendly atmosphere and a sound economy. Northern men tend to do the hardest tasks that could cross one’s mind; yet, the debilitating economy has made living harder for them and every other citizen. You can’t make people hungry and have security. The more the hunger, the more the insecurity. And no good will this have on safety of innocent school children.

Kids deserve to go to school with rest of mind. The thought of getting kidnapped is unfortunately what Nigeria has left popping on their unripe minds. It is high time North brought this barbarity to a halt. Absolute security is the first right students are entitled to in education. No student should choose between being safe and going to school.


Born and bred in Ibadan, Hashim Yussuf Amao is a Graduate of University of Ilorin. He tweets via: @LegalBard


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