Thursday, December 4, 2014
KEYE SPEAKS:- 2015: Setting the Youth Agenda (3)
As we approach the 2015 elections, another issue of concern to all Nigerian youths is the issue of security. Security must be top on the agenda or manifesto of any serious politician or political party. Insecurity has reached it's all time peak in Nigeria as a result of the activities of the Boko Haram sect. Nigerian youths have been the most vulnerable to insurgency in the country given the increasing spate of attacks on schools particularly in Northern Nigeria.
On April 29, 2012, Boko Haram attacked Bayero University, Kano killing 16 and injuring several others. On July 6, 2013, the group attacked Government Secondary School, Mamugu, killing 29 students. On September 29, 2013, College of Agriculture in Gujba was attacked and 19 male students were killed. On February 25, 2014, fifty-nine boys were killed at the Federal Government College, Buni Yadi, Yobe State, Nigeria. The twenty-four buildings of the school were also burned down as a result of the attack. Barely three months after, precisely on April 14, 2014, Boko Haram attacked Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno and kidnapped over 200 school girls. On the evening of 1 June 2014, a bomb was set off at a football field in Mubi, Adamawa State, Nigeria. At least forty people, predominantly young people, were killed in the attack.
Most recently, precisely on November 10, 2014, at least 46 students were killed by a suicide bomber at the Government Comprehensive Senior Science Secondary School in Potiskum, Yobe state, as students waited to hear the principal’s daily address.
These are just few of the many attacks on Nigerian youths and students by the Boko Haram sect. The implication of these attacks cannot be overestimated.
The sect which initially focused on opposing Western education as it's name implies "Boko Haram" meaning "Western education is forbidden" in the Hausa language, has asked female students be withdrawn from school and married off while the education of boys be limited to strict Koranic studies only.
Academic activities in Borno and other affected states have been grounded since the sect upped their attack on secondary schools. Following the Potiskum attack, the Yobe State governor shut down schools around the area.
On July 11, 2011, University of Maiduguri closed down over Boko Haram threats. Report has it that no fewer than 85 schools had been closed down in Borno State, implying that over 120,000 students have been denied access to education. This has automatically added to the 10.5 million out of school children in Nigeria - a world record as announced last year by the UNESCO Education for All Global Monitoring Report (EAGMR).
All efforts by the Federal Government to address the issue have not yielded significant result as the bombings continue day in, day out. The state of emergency declared in the affected states has not helped in curbing the attacks. In fact there have been more attacks now than before the declaration of state of emergency.
Funds meant for the overall development of the country have been largely allotted to security at the expense of other frail sectors.
In the 2013 budget for instance, a total of N950 billon (which exceeds the N705 billion set aside for human capital development under education, water, agriculture and health sector) was provided for recurrent and service-wide votes for the security sector, which includes the Armed Forces, Police, National Security Adviser's office, and the para-military services. The 2012 and 2014 security budget also fall within this frame yet insecurity remains the order of the day.
We need to begin to ask ourselves how effective our security forces have been in the fight against the Boko Haram sect? How well has the security votes been expended on improving the lives of uniformed men? How well has it improved their living and working conditions? How well has it increased their capacity to fight crime and other insurgencies? How many guns and armours have been bought? How many surveillance cameras have been acquired?
These are questions begging for answers. These are questions that the current government and the new government post 2015 must provide answers.
...to be continued.
EWEBIYI KEYE JAMES
Social Media Consultant and Youth Activist,
Lagos, Nigeria
07064981943
Keyeewebiyi@yahoo.com
@Keyestine
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