NUT Makes Move To Tackle Bandits’ Attacks On Schools

The Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) has expressed sadness over the ceaseless attacks on schools and abduction of students, teachers and other school workers by armed bandits in the country, saying the situation is worrisome, regrettable and highly condemnable.

The secretary-general of NUT, Dr Mike Ene, who gave the impression in an exclusive interview with Nigerian Tribune, on Tuesday, said this development had already created negative impacts that might not go away for a long time in educational institutions and the country at large.

He revealed that the leadership of the union met last week mainly because of the security challenge facing the country and particularly schools at the primary and secondary levels, as teachers, other workers and students are no longer dwelling safely in schools and even at homes.

According to him, once a school is attacked and a student for example is abducted, the incident will automatically create fear in other students, teachers and other workers in that particular school and other schools in the neighbourhood.

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He said the situation had got to a stage where, if two students, for example, are playing and one is pursuing the other and they make noise with it, or something falls on the ground and makes a sound, people will start running.

“That is how bad to describe the current security challenge in schools in the country,” he stressed.

He explained that at the said meeting, the NUT leadership resolved to take certain steps as a union that could help curtail further attacks by bandits on schools across the 774 Local Government Areas of the country.

He said the union resolved that to embark on a strike over the insecurity situation in schools could only be a last option, but rather prefer to start engaging in aggressive school-based advocacy activities with some civil society organisations and security personnel at the grassroots level nationwide.

“This is because we found out that people in various communities need to be more enlightened and educated on their roles to prevent bandits’ attacks on schools in their localities by taking proactive steps on security issues, including not keeping silent when they see strange happenings around them, ” Dr Ene said.

He explained that while NUT truly understands that government at all levels have the responsibilities of protecting lives and property of their citizens and it also commends some governors at the regional level who formed special security squads like Amotekun in the South-West, it is obvious that government and its security agents are already overwhelmed by current security challenge in the country.

“And we don’t want the situation to degenerate further, thus our move to let people know that while the government had already established schools in their domains, they must join hands to ensure their safety and the safety of people therein,” he noted.

He said the union would involve the able young men and women who are also willing in various localities to form a synergy to perform this role by keeping an eye on schools around them.

“We also plan to reach out to the security operatives to help keep steady watch on schools especially at odd hours when most kidnappers attack schools and abduct people.

He said the union would be divided into groups to make the job faster and also to be able to reach the 36 states of the federation and the federal capital territory.

“After some time, we will do a review of the approach for improvement until normalcy is returned to all our schools nationwide,” he said.

He however urged the Federal and state governments concerned to without further delay secure safe release of all the students, teachers, other school workers and other persons in captivity of bandits across the country.