Govt has abandoned education, Atiku reacts to Kogi school kidnappings

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has strongly criticized the current Nigerian government, led by President Bola Tinubu, over the recent abduction of students and staff from a school in Kogi State. Abubakar asserted that the incident demonstrates the government's abandonment of the education sector and its failure to ensure national security.

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An examination hall should be a sanctuary of hope, not a crime scene. A school principal should be preparing students for the future, not negotiating with kidnappers. A NECO official should be supervising examinations, not struggling for survival in the hands of bandits. Yet this has become the grim reality under a government that has normalised insecurity.

Reacting to the attack at Government Secondary School, Odo-Ekina, where gunmen abducted the school's principal, a NECO ad-hoc official, and students taking examinations, Abubakar described the event as "both tragic and disgraceful." He emphasized that students should not have to fear for their safety while pursuing public examinations, stating, "An examination hall should be a sanctuary of hope, not a crime scene."

Abubakar linked the Kogi incident to a broader pattern of attacks on schools nationwide, warning that these institutions have become vulnerable targets due to a perceived lack of fear of the state among criminal groups. He contended that the deteriorating security situation is inseparable from the Tinubu administration's alleged neglect of education. "A government that has repeatedly made education more expensive through unprecedented increases in WAEC and NECO examination fees, neglected public schools, failed to secure learning environments and reduced education to empty campaign slogans should not be surprised that criminals now see schools as abandoned territories," he said.

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A government that has repeatedly made education more expensive through unprecedented increases in WAEC and NECO examination fees, neglected public schools, failed to secure learning environments and reduced education to empty campaign slogans should not be surprised that criminals now see schools as abandoned territories.

The former vice president argued that government policies have inflicted a "double assault" on Nigerian children by making education unaffordable and failing to guarantee safety. "First, they price poor children out of classrooms. Then they fail to protect those who remain in school. This is a double assault on the future of Nigeria. One is economic exclusion; the other is violent intimidation. Together, they amount to a systematic destruction of the dreams of an entire generation," Abubakar stated. He also questioned the government's budgeting priorities, suggesting public funds are being diverted from critical sectors like education to projects with little national value.

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First, they price poor children out of classrooms. Then they fail to protect those who remain in school. This is a double assault on the future of Nigeria. One is economic exclusion; the other is violent intimidation. Together, they amount to a systematic destruction of the dreams of an entire generation.