Former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo, speaking at an event in Bauchi on Sunday said, 10% of the nation’s population who should be in school are not receiving any formal education, making them vulnerable to recruitment by extremist groups such as Boko Haram and bandits in the future.
In his own words, “These children, not equipped to develop their innate abilities to serve themselves or their communities, are being prepared for recruitment into whatever form Boko Haram or banditry will take in the next 10 to 15 years,” Obasanjo said.
He made the comments while inaugurating projects executed by Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed. He urged leaders to prioritize education to mitigate the looming threat.
Furthermore, he proceeded to say “Let me emphasise what we want to do, human capacity building, education and human capacity building very important.
“World Bank says we have over 20 million children who should be in school that are not in school for a population of about 230 million.
“So, that is 10 per cent of our population that should be in school that are not in school. Governor, your royal highnesses, brothers and sisters, that is recruitment for future Boko Haram, nobody needs to tell us that.
“Apart from being that 10 per cent of our population are not being equipped to develop their innate ability and capacity to be able to serve themselves, their family, their community, we are also preparing them to be recruited in 10 to 15 years’ time for whatever form of Boko Haram it will be that time, whatever form of banditry it will be,” he added.
Obasanjo’s statements should be a wake up call to all local, state and federal government authorities to detonate this time bomb before it explodes.
During the commemoration of Governor Radda one year in office, Katsina mirror published the various achievements of his administration in the education sector which is next to none in the past. (Read more)
But there is still much to be done as there are so many children roaming around the streets of Katsina without the benefit of enrollment into any school, moreover, the rising cost of living is making many to drop out of school and roam around in search of daily bread.
The school feeding program by the federal government helped many parents to send their children to school when it was launched but now parents can no longer send their children to school for lack of food, transportation etc., thus they are left with no option than to send their children to farm or beg.
In conclusion, former President Obasanjo’s warning emphasized that addressing the educational crisis is crucial not only for the development of Nigeria but also for its long-term security.