Closing Schools Due To Insurgency Will Worsen Education – PDP

By Ayodele Oni

In the face of escalating insurgency in the country, which has resulted in the abduction of not less than 400 school pupils within a week, the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) has given President Bola Tinubu  options to pick one.

The party stated that Tinubu should resign voluntarily as president, seek domestic or foreign assistance to tackle the incident.

PDP expressed disappointment over the surge in mass abductions in the North, alleging that the administration is effectively yielding ground to terrorists by contemplating the closure of schools.

In a statement on Sunday the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, said Nigerians had endured a harrowing week marked by multiple kidnappings, including the abduction of 25 students in Kebbi State and 315 students and staff in Niger State.

It said the incidents had plunged families and communities into “sorrows, tears, blood, fear, and deep anguish,” while the Federal Government had failed to provide clear guidance.

The statement pointed out that the party was aware that some affected states had already shut schools and that the Federal Government was considering a similar move.

It warned that such action would amount to “a complete surrender to terrorists,” that aim to halt formal education by shutting learning centres, which insurgents deem forbidden.

According to the party, closing schools would hand terrorists the victory they seek.

The PDP urged the government to produce a comprehensive security plan rather than relying on what it called a “quick-fix” strategy aimed at scoring political points.

It cautioned that shutting schools would further worsen education in the North, which already hosts the majority of Nigeria’s 18.3 million out-of-school children — 10.2 million at primary level and 8.1 million at secondary level — according to UNICEF.

The statement stated that the wave of coordinated attacks within a single week underscored “the alarming insecurity that has become the contemporary lived experience” under the APC-led government of Bola Tinubu.

It also took a swipe at the administration’s “lacklustre and unempathetic” reactions to crises.

The party criticised the President for failing to visit Kebbi and Niger States to console parents and boost the morale of security personnel, noting that he instead directed the Minister of State for Defence to relocate to Kebbi.

It pointed out that while large delegations were dispatched to engagements such as the US Congress and the G-20 meeting, only a single representative was sent in response to the abductions — a move it described as “insensitive” and dismissive of the severity of the situation.

The PDP called on the Federal Government to urgently fund and implement the National Policy on Safety, Security and Violence-Free Schools, which focuses on community intelligence and swift security responses to pre-empt and repel attacks.

It warned that unchecked insecurity in schools would further discourage learning, especially in the North.

The party reaffirmed that protection of lives and property is the foremost duty of government, and that any administration that is “unwilling, unable, or incapable” of performing this function must either seek domestic or international help or “honourably resign.”