Terrorism, education and implications for northern Nigeria

Based on the indivisibility, interrelatedness and inseparability of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, education is not just a human right per se, but also an empowering right that is linked to the realisation of other rights. It creates the life skills, knowledge and capacity needed to earn a livelihood, participate in political and economic life and decision-making, make meaningful contributions to society as well as being positioned to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress. It is therefore a fundamental aphorism that the level of education in any given society is directly related to the level of its development, scientific achievements and social organisation.

The current upsurge of terrorism in Northern Nigeria should be analysed within the context of the right to education of Nigerian children of northern extraction. It is a fact that the 13.5million Nigerian children who are supposed to be in school but are out of school and may never go to school are mainly from the north especially, the North-East and North-West geopolitical zones. So, a situation that is already out of hand, compared to other zones in Nigeria and the world over, is getting messier and sinking into what may become an irretrievable mess. These children who have no exposure to modern education and may likely not have a visible means of livelihood are certain to become the stronger foundation of more terrorism, crime and all forms of anti-social behaviour.

First, it was viewed as a cultural issue that discouraged children, especially the girl child from acquiring education. The almajiri syndrome doubled down on this reluctance to embrace education until Boko Haram came and declared its official policy to include that western education is a sin and as such it declared war of educational institutions to discourage families from sending their wards to school.

Nigerians had yet to recover from the shock of this warped and suicidal philosophy when another set of terrorists came on board. They kill, maim, destroy, rape and kidnap for ransom and unlike Boko Haram, no one knows their demands or their grievances and there are no cognisable historical facts or set of circumstances that could justify their unprovoked attacks and shedding of innocent blood. They just emerged since Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.)’s presidency and have accentuated their murderous attacks after every passing year.

First, it was Chibok, perpetrated by Boko Haram; later, Dapchi, Kankara, Kagara and now Jangebe. The crux of the challenging development is that some state governments from the North-West are treating these terrorists with kid gloves and in collaboration with the Presidency officials, the terrorists have been renamed as bandits. The Nigerian law under the Terrorism Prevention Act of 2011 defines terrorism in Section 1 to include acts which seriously intimidate a population; seriously destabilise or destroy the fundamental political, constitutional, economic or social structures of a country or an international organisation; or otherwise influence such government or international organisation by intimidation or coercion; and involves or causes, as the case may be – an attack upon a person’s life which may cause serious bodily harm or death; kidnapping of a person, etc.

Going by the plain definition of the above law, the so-called bandits in the North-West Nigeria are unapologetic terrorists and should be treated as such. For the Zamfara State governor, Bello Matawalle, to have insisted that not all bandits are criminals is an attempt to clothe the terrorists in the uniform of saints. As if this is not enough, the Islamic cleric, Sheik Ahmad Gumi, now speaks for them and tells Nigerians that they are not criminals, and that they do not kill nor harm anyone. In the process, state resources are now used for the payment of ransoms and meeting the demands of the terrorists. This is unacceptable and will rather encourage the terrorists who will use the proceeds of their heinous crimes to acquire more weapons as they become more daring and emboldened.

The present and persistent danger in this attack on schools is that Nigeria’s quest to join the civilised world in terms of improvement in education, health, local value added to agricultural products, improvements in manufacturing, innovation, etc., is being held back by terrorism and insecurity. As farmers can no longer go to farm safely without endangering their lives, food scarcity is imminent; as schools close, illiteracy grows in quantum leaps and the economy supported by education spending takes a nosedive; as illiteracy increases, so will crime and other manifestations of terrorism multiply. Essentially, more anarchy looms as the state loses the monopoly of organised violence and now submits to the jurisdiction of warlords through the payment of ransoms and endless negotiations.

Pray which investor(s), local or foreign, will invest in an environment where life is, in the words of Thomas Hobbes, cheap, nasty, brutish and short. Investors love secure environments from where investments will grow and blossom and begin to yield appropriate profits and returns. Even Nigerians may consider shifting their investments to secure neighbouring countries. Indeed, the regions which are the epicentres of terrorism may see a movement of investors away to more secured regions of Nigeria. This will reduce available job and livelihood opportunities which will also deepen frustration and criminality.

The foregoing scenario is the foundation, logic and trajectory of a circle of economic depression, poverty and alienation which begets more crime, until the region gradually gets deserted and becomes a ghost of its old self.

Closing down boarding and day schools is not the answer. The government needs to assert itself. It is not enough for the President to perpetually vow to deal with criminals or for Senate President Ahmad Lawan to denounce the actions. It is about taking the war to the terrorists, not when they have our children in their unlawful custody but when the children have been rescued. The terrorists need to feel the heat of the infantry, air and firepower of the Nigerian military. It is better to spend taxpayers’ money to take out the terrorists than to use it to encourage them through the payment of ransoms. Sheik Gumi had said the irrefutable truth that the Nigerian security architecture knows where these terrorists are hiding. So, there is no excuse for the security agencies not to do the needful.

Furthermore, the federal and state governments should resuscitate the Safe Schools Initiative. The Initiative includes the transfer of secondary school students in troubled areas to safer areas; support to education in the IDP camps and pilot safe schools’ models including community mobilisation. Embedding schools in highly secured areas, reinforcing school infrastructure, provision of armed guards, rapid response teams, improving response time of security agencies to reported attacks, devising school security plans, training of teachers and other staff are some of the key interventions of the Initiative.

Finally, the North needs to take a quantum leap in the education of its children. Anything that seeks to further curtail the ability of the authorities to deliver education to Nigerian children of Northern extraction should be eliminated.

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Terrorism, education and implications for northern Nigeria

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