The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Mohammed Kyari, has submitted that the government is encouraging bandits and kidnappers to attack the schools by paying ransom to them.
According to him, the government while openly declaring that it doesn’t negotiate with criminals, has always been using back channels to meet with the bandits to negotiate the release of kidnapped school children.
Kyari, therefore, submitted that as long as this cycle continues, the bandits will continue to attack the schools and hold out for government ransom.
He made the submission in his convocation lecture titled, ‘Dialogue with the deaf: Education and insurgency’, at the fifth-thirteenth convocation of the Adamawa State University, Mubi.
He noted that the viable and sustainable solution is for insurgency to be totally destroyed in the country particularly in the northeast which happens to be their stronghold.
He said, “The government of Nigeria has been dialoguing with Boko Haram. No matter what claims the country is making, it cannot deny not talking to the insurgents through back channels. This is what has led to the release of some of the Chibok and Dapchi, girls.
“One of the reasons why Boko Haram and bandits have continued to attack schools is because of payment of ransoms. A lot of money has been exchanging hands, with Boko Haram, terrorists at the receiving end.
“Unfortunately, anytime there’s abduction, something happens, even though the government says it has a policy not to negotiate with terrorists.”
Meanwhile, the Federal Government on Monday called on Nigerians to be vigilant following bandit attacks on schools and abduction of students.
The Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, during an interview with Punch, noted that the government cannot provide security for all schools in the country.
He further stated that all schools in the country have been directed by the government to report any security threat to the nearest security agency.
Nwajiuba was asked what the government was doing to secure schools across the country from attacks by bandits, he said, “Eternal vigilance is the price for security. Every nation is always concerned about the consciousness of its people. The Federal Government cannot secure every house. Everybody needs to be vigilant. We have passed this message to all our schools so that anywhere they are, if there is any threat, they know the nearest security agency to contact.”
Nwajiuba also claimed that almost all schools in the country were fenced.
He noted, “Almost all the schools in Nigeria, whether private or owned by the Federal Government, are mostly all fenced, except maybe some state schools,”.
