Monday, November 10, 2014

Nigeria’s “Safe School Initiative Project”: A poorly conceived lame duck idea!

by Eze Eluchie

As part of its response to the several cases of mass killings and mass abductions of students in educational institutions across Nigeria North East zone, the Nigerian Government has in a move which defies logic and common sense, embarked on a novel plan to relocate students from such war-torn areas to other parts of Nigeria where Boko Haram is not perceived as ‘strong’ to enable the children, who are willing, to continue with their education.

Who in heavens name conceived the so-called ‘Safe Schools Initiative’ Project?  Was it ex-British Prime Minister Gordon Brown or Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala?

You want to provide a ‘safe school’ in a war-torn environment?

Whatever happened to efforts to end hostilities as soon as possible?

The perfidy has been upped by moves to send students in the war-torn areas to schools outside their native environments, where the war has, as at yet, not extended to? Really?

And what happens if Boko Haram activities overrun the various ‘unity schools’ to which these children are transferred? You relocate them to yet other schools in other locations? Certainly, this idea is worthy of not just a Global Prize but also an Inter-Galaxy or Inter-Planetary Prize@#%

Relocating these children without taking into consideration the welfare and upkeep of their parents and other family members exposes a fatal flaw in the thought process of those who conceived the ‘safe school initiative’ project. Is the main idea merely to appear to be supporting ‘formal education’? Even where such efforts are at the detriment of the youngsters’ emotional, psychological and social development?

As this piece was about being published, news of a deadly bomb blast targeted at students who were convening for daily morning assembly at the boys-only Government Comprehensive Senior Science Secondary School in Potiskum, Yobe state, North Eastern Nigeria surfaced - already, the death toll has surpassed 50 (students) with over 70 injured. Perhaps we have one more group of students to relocate under the ‘safe school initiative’ project.  But for how long will this continue?

Have these guys thought about a SAFE SOCIETY PROJECT?




Picture: Corpses of some of the 59 students killed by Boko Haram terrorists at the Government Secondary School, Bunu Yadi, Yobe State. . 



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