The current wave of attacks on schools and abductions, mainly of schoolchildren, ongoing in the Northwest and North Central, which have led to a shutdown of schools in many parts of the North, is generating fireworks among political groups and ethnic nationalities in the region.

The Federal Government and governors of Northern states are under fire for not protecting innocent schoolchildren who are at the mercy of insurgents and terrorists.

To many groups and analyts, the shutting down of schools is an indication that the federal government has surrendered its authority to the rampaging terrorists wreaking havoc in the North and indeed, across the country.

While the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), a group many describe as the voice of the North, cautioned that closure of schools should only be a short-term measure, groups such as the Middle Belt Forum (MBF), and Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG), in separate interviews, said such panic move is a testament to the glaring failure of the government to protect lives and property. They urged the federal and state governments to fight insecurity and protect Nigerians, including students.

Govt surrendering to terrorists – ACF

Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) said that for government to surrender to terrorists in the wake of kidnapping of students amounted to undermining public confidence and support for security agencies.

In a chat with Saturday Sun, National Publicity Secretary of ACF, Prof. Tukur Muhammad-Baba made it clear that government should never negotiate from the position of weakness and that the will of the security agencies should prevail at all times.

Said he: “It is understandable that the authorities will resort to such desperate measures as closing down schools. Understandable because from the look of things, the terrorists have discovered how easy it is to make financial gains and publicity from such misbegotten and evil strategy on soft targets, and to which parents, guardians and well-wishers have much attachment.

“What also speaks to the problem is the apparent inability of the authorities to make impactful gains in taming the miscreants as they continue to wreak havoc on our lives, livelihoods and all social interactions. In other words, I see the closures as a desperate move against an intractable and highly disruptive, if not indeed tragic, problem.

“The strategy (of closing down schools), can and should only be a short-term, stop-gap problem or will be seen as victory by the merchants of terror. What is worrisome is that the authorities have not come out with clear explanations or plans about the objectives of the closures – how long they will last, what students and teachers will resort to, alternatives to ensure continuity of the learning process, measures being planned to protect and safeguard schools, students and teachers when the schools are opened, etc.

“Without adequate or at least convincing answers to these questions, it may imply surrender to the whims and caprices of the terrorists who must not be accorded such luxuries. Their aim is to intimidate and unless they are frontally denied, they will be emboldened, tragically so.

“In the interim, the gain is loss of victims to the terrorists. But, this is a pyrrhic victory because there are many other strategies being used by the terrorists – kidnapping for ransom, attacks on other vulnerable populations, disruptions of livelihoods, attacks on farmers, forced labour, sexual violation against women, etc.

The school closure will continue to account for educational underdevelopment in Northern region.

“The authorities should come out with well-thought out strategies to frontally confront and stamp out insurgency and terrorism in whatever guise and forms that they manifest. There is definitely much to be said about empowering communities to serve as early warning and early response outfits and veritable sources of actionable intelligence data.

“The lack of clear directives, with deadlines for delivery to the operational heads of security agencies, is not helping matters. The apparent surrender to the terrorists undermines public confidence and support for law enforcement agencies. Government should never negotiate from the position of weakness and the will of the security agents should prevail at all times. Only then should non-kinetic and rehabilitative measures be applied. There is something to be learned from the experience of Sri Lanka in the fight against insurgency and terrorism.”

Shutting schools down will further retard the North educationally

President of Middle Belt Forum (MBF), Dr. Bitrus Pogu stressed that the development is very unfortunate, noting that it only affirms the fact that the government is incapable of securing the country and securing students given that there have been a number of abductions recently.

The security agencies, he noted, have not been able to take care of the security situation in the country. In his words, the earlier Nigeria seeks assistance, the better.

His words: “Many people have been crying when Donald Trump talked of intervening because of ongoing Christian genocide. Many of our leaders have been speaking lies from all sides of the mouths, saying that there isn’t anything like that, which is false.

“This genocide has been on for quite some time. And in some cases, you can even call it ethnic cleansing. Even in a war situation, hardly do you find up to 500, 200, 300 people massacred in one day by a group that is known to government and people of Nigeria.

He admitted that closing of schools affects everybody, including Christians, Muslims, Hausa, Fulani, and other tribes.

“But the truth is, our government needs assistance. There are too many saboteurs within the system, and we are not running as a nation. Some people feel their interest is religion, while some others feel their interest is their ethnicity. And we have distortions in the whole system of government.

“So, our government has failed. Let them just pronounce their failure and seek assistance to wipe out these terrorists from amongst us, so that we can have peace in this country. These terrorists are attacking, doing ethnic cleansing in the North-West, because it’s mainly Fulani killing Hausa. They are trying to take over their lands.

“They are also doing the same in the Middle Belt, and in the parts of the North-East. And they are killing people for no just reason. Rather than accepting what is happening, the media is also not helping our matters by using terminology like herders- farmers crisis, I don’t know when that is tenable. There’s nothing like that.

“People who come to attack are organized with arms, and attack poor, unarmed villagers, whose preoccupation is just farming. If they were not farmers, they would still be massacred.

“What of those they killed in places where farming is not taking place? So, it is not a farmer-herders clash. It is just a tribe killing other tribes of Nigeria, dispossessing them of their lands, and sending them to graves untimely, and also sending them to IDP camps. It is unacceptable; it has gone for too long, and it should stop.

“It is not that the government has surrendered to the bandits, but the government seems to be either complicit or seems to be lacking the capacity to do the job. But I don’t agree that the government lacks the capacity, no.

“The security agencies of this country are unwilling, along with the government, to address the issue. These terrorists are not anything compared to our security forces, but rather than going after them, the forces supporting these criminal activities are so strong that they ensure that nothing happens to these terrorists. In fact, even people who try to defend their communities are usually arrested and dealt with. There is a strong force within the system protecting terrorism and aiding it to ensure that it succeeds and Nigerians are terrorized for their selfish reasons, be it ethnic or religious.

“This development is retarding the North even further. The North is backwards in education compared to other parts of the country, and schools are now being closed. You’ll find out that results from exams will be poor, and enrolment into higher institutions will also dwindle. Performances will be retarded and reduced.

“The North would suffer greatly as a result of this. All we pray is that the insecurity is addressed. And political forces that also have a role to play in this issue should sheathe their swords and think about Nigeria rather than their selfish interests.

“Why am I putting this one as a variable? In 2014, when they wanted to pull down Goodluck Jonathan government, something similar happened. They abducted Chibok schoolgirls, did all sorts of things, undermining the government and using propaganda to say the government was incompetent. Something similar is happening now. “So, you can certainly say and draw deductions that politicians have a role to play.

It’s unfortunate that we don’t have the guts to deal with criminals, who are in power, and are close to the corridors of power, or have resources and can manipulate things. Up till now, no terrorist sponsor has ever been arrested or dealt with. Even the terrorists, when they are arrested and handed over to the law enforcement agencies, after a brief period you’ll see them released, because their sponsors would put pressure and they will be released. So the whole thing continues.”

School closures will increase number of out-of-school children

Coordinator of the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG), Comrade Jamilu Aliyu Charanchi, said it was unfortunate that the only strategy of proactive measures that the authorities at both federal and states could come out with was to close down schools because of bandits. He stated that the action shows that there is no hope for the country, adding that the authorities have failed woefully in protecting lives and property of its citizens.

“I see no reason why a tout or bandit who decided not to go to school, will pressure the government to the extent that the only option that the government has was just to shut down schools.

“It is unfortunate that they are closing these schools in a region that has the highest number of out-of-school children. If you are talking about highest number of out-of-school children, you are talking about northern Nigeria. And in northern Nigeria particularly, you are talking about Northwest and Northeast. And these are mostly the areas that have been affected by this school closure.

“It is very unfortunate, it is disheartening, it is worrisome, and I don’t see it as any solution. The government is telling the people that it cannot protect the lives and property of its citizens.

“People should find another means of protecting themselves. If you want to go to school, you find another means. You either go to the city, where at least you have a little protection, or you just decide that your children will not go to school. Most of the students today will not go back to that school again because they have no means of protecting themselves and the government has failed woefully to protect them. The number of out-of-school children will be increasing constantly in the northern part of the country.

“There is no doubt about it; the government has surrendered to the bandits. If they don’t have any other means to protect the students at their various schools, then the government has surrendered to the bandits. That is what is happening.

“It is very unfortunate. You have seen a video clip that is trending, where the leader of the bandits was telling the kidnapped schoolgirls from Kebbi that there was no army, no DSS, no police rescued you; that we decided to release you people to rejoin with your parents because of a deal that we have struck with the government.

“It is very unfortunate that the bandits can even dictate to the government what they want. They will dictate that you have to do this and that before they release the children. No one is safe in Northern Nigeria and people are suffering. From all indications, the government has failed to protect the people and the government has no any other means of protecting its citizens.

“Going forward, the government needs to be serious about this issue, which is the reality of the matter. Whatever the political calculation that the government is doing that prevents it from protecting the lives and property of the people should be abolished. The government needs to realize that they can only govern this country when there are people in the country; they cannot govern empty spaces. Moreover, the people living in various communities should explore another means of protecting themselves, such as vigilantes and other things. That’s the only option, and people should be vigilant and security conscious wherever you are moving in this country.

“There is an indication of foreign interference in what is happening now in Nigeria, particularly in the north. We are seeing that the United Nations or the United States of America or the Trump government wants to justify that there is Christian genocide, which they are talking about. We have seen how the Niger State governor, and the Commissioner of Police in that state and also the leaders of that school are denying the figures, while the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) chairman in that area was also affirming the figures. “So, we suspect that there is something hidden in this recent abduction because it was last year that we witnessed the mass abduction of students from secondary school and primary school in Koriga, Kaduna State. Then, suddenly we are witnessing mass abductions from various places. It was Zamfara initially; later, Kebbi; and then Niger. A Brigadier General also went down within a twinkle of an eye. All these are happening in the northern part of the country, and the government doesn’t seem to be in control; they are not doing anything or they cannot do anything.

“On the way forward, if the government is serious, it should deploy all the service chiefs to these hotline areas. All the commissioned officers living in the barracks should go to the battlefield. The government must have a common framework.

“On the war against these bandits, the Zamfara is doing it their own ways, the federal government is doing it on their own, and Kebbi is doing it differently. They must have a unified strategy, which they would apply throughout the northern part of the country. They must have a common approach to fight these bandits in the northern part of the country. They must have a common blueprint for this fight with the bandits.

“But if these states will be fighting it differently, the bandits would be moving from one state to the other. We are seeing what is happening in Kano today.

“Kano has never witnessed anything like attack or banditry or kidnapping, but today they are experiencing it, as a result of so-called negotiation or peace deal with the bandits in Katsina State. All the stakeholders must come on board. They should have a unified means of fighting this kidnapping and banditry in the north. More so, they should be very serious about it.

“There should be a state of emergency on our borders. Whoever that is coming in, they should know where you are coming from and where you are going. I don’t see the reason the federal government would leave only the army or the police with this fight; all other security forces, Immigration, Customs, civil defence , NDLEA should be involved in this fight.”

Northern govs overwhelmed by Boko Haram – MUT

President General, Mzough U Tiv (MUT) Worldwide, Chief Iorbee Ihagh, expressed worries that terrorists have overpowered governments in some parts of the country.

According to him, closing of schools by northern governors was a manifestation of how powerless the government has become in the face of the incessant insecurity.

He urged the federal government to rise to its responsibilities of protecting lives and property rather than working to secure re-election come 2027.

Ihagh, a retired Comptroller of Prisons, said: “The governors of the North are saying that Boko Haram, herdsmen and other terrorist groups have overpowered them and the schools are not safe. That is why they are closing the schools so that the children will not be abducted any longer. It’s really bad and the federal government is not saying anything.

“Citizens are being killed on daily basis and by keeping quiet, does it mean the government has hands in it? Because any crisis that lasts more than three days, it means the government has hands in it or has knowledge of it. They know all the people causing crisis in Nigeria. Why are they not arresting them?

“The closure of schools simply means they have surrendered to bandits and terrorists. The terrorists have more sophisticated weapons and sometimes they say it’s the government of Nigeria that buys these arms for them.

“Officials of Nigerian Government have hands in these things and they don’t want it to end. They are in the government of Tinubu and they are working against the government. They should be arrested and put where they belong.

“In Nigeria, a Brigadier General was killed and up till now, no one has been arrested and the government is carrying on as though it’s nothing. Tinubu should work to protect lives and property rather than working to be reelected in 2027.

“I think he is afraid of doing the right thing because he is scared that the northerners would not vote for him and whatever he does, northerners have taken the decision already not to vote for him.”

MUT President General expressed worry over the ever growing number of out of school children in the country saying children have a lot to lose when they don’t go to school.

While acknowledging Benue state as the most educated state in the North, Ihagh noted painfully that “but our children can no longer go to school, they are all in IDP camps. Yet the herdsmen go there to kill them; they kill old women, pregnant women eight months, seven months and we are just watching.”

He called on the federal government to deploy all the security apparatus – the Army, Navy and Air Force, to all the troubled states to flush out all the terrorists and herdsmen, let them go back to the original states they belong to.

“It’s obvious and a very bad development that governors in the north are overwhelmed by Boko Haram, herdsmen and others. The government needs to express their political will to fight insecurity in deed,” he noted. (The Sun)