‘Bandits won’t win war against education in Kaduna’

Ever since terrorists and bandits began their nefarious activities in Kaduna State just like in other states in the Northern part of Nigeria, the state’s education has been in trouble. From serial killings especially in Southern part of Kaduna and, unfortunate incidences of abductions including over 30 students of Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka, to, the kidnapping of at least 23 students of Greenfield University and a member of staff as well as over 120 students of Bethel Baptist School, Damishi, Kaduna, all in 2021, the narrative has been that of disaster. In few cases, the abductors released some of their captives after their parents paid huge amount of money in millions of naira as ransom, while many others are either still languishing in captivity or lost their lives in the process. It’s baffling that in spite of the heavy presence of military formations and institutions in the city which include Jaji Military Cantonment; 1 Mech. Division Headquarters, Nigerian Army, Kaduna; New Barracks, otherwise known as ‘Kotoko’ Barracks; Old Site of the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna; Kalanpazi Barracks (Artillery Regiment) and the Nigerian Air Force Base, terrorists and bandits have unleashed so much mayhem on the state. Recall that on August 24, 2021 gun men invaded Nigeria’s foremost military institution, the Nigerian Defence Academy, Afaka, Kaduna, killing two officers and abducting one.The despicable activities of the kidnappers have so far resulted in the closure of over 5,000 schools in Kaduna state which according to the governor, Nasir El-Rufai, became necessary due to the ongoing military operations to flush out bandits from his state.Governor El-Rufai sadly noted that shutting down schools in Kaduna was exactly the intentions of bandits and terrorists oppressing the state. He however expressed the state’s determination not to allow these perpetrators of evil win.El-Rufai who spoke during Channels Television’s ‘Sunrise Daily’ breakfast programme, stated that “The continuous closure of schools is exactly what bandits and Boko Haram want and we are not going to let them win but we must put the safety of our children and teachers first”.He disclosed that “The schools are closed now because, on the advice of security agencies, they need a couple of months to undertake massive security operations. They are doing that. We are confident that from the next two weeks, we would start the gradual reopening of schools”.And to ensure the safety of students in the rural areas, El-Rufai added that “We have moved many of our students in rural areas that we are not sure we can protect, to urban schools, thereby increasing the congestion in urban schools that we can protect.”Banditry the governor noted, began “essentially as a rural phenomenon but it has moved to the urban areas”. In spite of acts of terrorists rocking Kaduna State, El-Rufai said that his state has attracted over $3bn foreign and local investments in the last two years, adding that it has also made meaningful progress in the area of infrastructural development. He further explained that when banditry began in the state, “it was essentially a rural phenomenon and that has not affected our ability to attract investments in the state”.“In the last two years, we’ve attracted more than $2bn, close to $3bn of foreign and domestic investments into the state.“We’ve also engaged in massive infrastructure across the state, everywhere,” the governor said.On the need to further secure lives and properties of the people, the governor said that since it appears the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies are overwhelmed, there’s need to train hundreds of vigilantes who will help deal with the bandits who usually operate from the forests of Kaduna.

Credit: Vanguard