By Opeyemi Quadri 
The latest closure of public schools in Kebbi, Taraba, Plateau, Niger States and other Northern states – including more than 40 Federal Unity Colleges – is a sad reminder that the horror of Chibok kidnap has returned to expose the fragility of Nigeria’s security architecture. Although the Federal Ministry of Education hurriedly debunked reports of the shutdown of unity schools, the contradiction only reflects a government that appears disoriented and unsure of how to secure the nation’s schools.
In April 2014, Nigeria woke up to the abduction of at least 276 girls from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State. That tragedy led to the closure of schools across Borno and neighbouring states, as many feared attacks by the outlawed terror group.
The avoidable Chibok abduction highlighted not only government failure but the drift towards state weakness. Since then, school attacks have become a recurring nightmare. Leah Sharibu, kidnapped alongside her classmates from Government Girls Science Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State, in 2018, remains in captivity. At least 14 school invasions have occurred since the Chibok and Dapchi attacks.
One of the measures introduced after Chibok was the Safe Schools Initiative, with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) mandated to protect school premises. That policy has clearly failed. Instead, government’s most consistent response has been to shut schools, allowing terrorists unhindered access to communities. Armed groups routinely enter school compounds with buses and motorbikes, abduct hundreds of students and disappear into the forests. It is a shameful reality for a country that prides itself on sovereignty.
Barely a month after the Chibok abduction, the Borno State government shut all high schools, closing more than 80 schools and keeping over 119,000 students at home. This worsened education outcomes in a state already battling Nigeria’s lowest literacy rates. Yobe and Adamawa followed the same path, effectively allowing Boko Haram – whose ideology rejects Western education – to dictate the school calendar.
By 2021, terrorists had become so emboldened that they operated with near impunity across the North. In Niger State alone, they carried out six school abductions, including the kidnapping of 27 students and teachers of Government Science College, Kagara. Days later, they stormed Government Girls Science Secondary School, Jangebe, Zamfara, taking more than 300 schoolgirls. The following month, they abducted 39 students at the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka, Kaduna State, and rounded off the year with more attacks in Niger, Kebbi and Kaduna. For parents, 2021 was a year of terror.
In every incident, schools were shut, deepening an already dire education crisis in a region where average secondary school enrolment is barely 5%, especially in the North-East.
Closing schools may seem an “extreme measure,” but what proactive steps is the government taking to protect lives, property and learning spaces? The pattern is predictable: after each abduction, Abuja issues familiar rhetoric – “they will face the full wrath of the law” – followed by directives for defence chiefs to relocate to affected states. Within weeks, everything returns to the old cycle of ineptitude. This must stop.
There must be transparency in defence spending. Soldiers on the frontlines must receive their allowances promptly, and their welfare should be a priority. Persistent social media reports suggesting that field commanders require clearance from Abuja before engaging terrorists must be addressed. Nigerians deserve clarity.
The President’s role as Commander-in-Chief is not ceremonial. It carries a constitutional duty to protect lives, secure schools and ensure no part of Nigeria falls under the control of terror groups as we currently have. Time is running out.
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Editorial Staff