TheCable

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has called on the federal government to declare a state of emergency on the country’s education sector.

Atiku was reacting to the abduction of some pupils from a UBE primary school at Rama in Birnin-Gwari LGA of Kaduna state, on Monday.

The attack occurred three days after a similar incident at the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation in Igabi LGA.

The 39 students abducted from the college are yet to be released.

Atiku also asked the government to ensure that all schools in the affected areas are under 24-hour guard by security forces.

He expressed concern over the attack, and noted that the series of abductions in Nigerian schools will only worsen the country’s situation as it relates to out-of-school children.

“With the latest Kaduna school abduction, I repeat my call for the FG to declare a state of emergency in the education sector, and to post 24-hour armed guards at every school in the affected and neighbouring states. No expense must be spared to keep our schools safe,” Atiku wrote on Twitter.

“With 13.5 million children, Nigeria is already the world headquarters for out of school kids. This can only make things worse. It behoves on us as a nation to act decisively and excise this cancer of school abductions from our polity with clinically precise policies.”

With the latest Kaduna school abduction, I repeat my call for the FG to declare a state of emergency in the education sector and to post 24-hour armed guards at every school in the affected and neighbouring states. No expense must be spared to keep our schools safe.

— Atiku Abubakar (@atiku) March 15, 2021

He further warned against the payment of “ransom at random”, describing it as a short-term solution that must be discouraged.

“We must also stop paying ransom at random. It is a short term solution that will cause much long term destruction. We must, as a nation, impose law and order now, or we will bequeath lawlessness and disorder to the next generation. And may God forbid that,” he said.