Despite data gathered from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) which reported more than 4,556 fatalities and 7,086 abductions between 29 May 2023 and 22 May 2024, Shehu Sani, a former Senator, has said that the security issues in northern Nigeria were more severe under ex-President Muhammadu Buhari compared to Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Senator Sani made this statement at the 40th anniversary and reunion of the ’84’ set of Kagara Old Boys Association, which consists of former students of Government Science College, Kagara, located in Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State.
The event took place at Ahmadu Bahago Secondary School in Minna.
Sani mentioned that the reunion aimed to allow the alumni to reminisce and discuss strategies for reopening the school.
He emphasized that the security challenges could be fully resolved if the government demonstrates the necessary commitment.
Government Science College Kagara has been closed since bandits invaded the school and abducted several students in 2021.
“The security challenges would be over in the whole country because what we have now is better than the one we had during the Buhari administration. There are every evidence that many of the top terrorists have been eliminated by our security forces. And if you compare what we are having today to what we have had yesterday, it is still the best.”
“Under Buhari administration, we had aeries of attacks on schools including attacks on Green Field University, Kaduna, Bathel Batist school, Kaduna, Government Science College, Kagara, Federal Government Girls’ College, Yauri, Federal School of agricultural Mechanisation, Mando, Government Secondary school, Kankara, Government Secondary school, Jangibe, all under Buhari administration. So, we are hopeful that things would be better”, he said.
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Sani expressed his support for the temporary relocation of Government Science College, Kagara, as recommended by the Niger State Government.
However, he emphasized that the school should be returned to Kagara as soon as the security situation in the area improves.
“It is unfortunate that the schools that produced some of the best hands in the history of this country are today the ruins of what they used to be. We must tell ourselves the fundamental truth that as long as we don’t provide education for our own young ones, we would be creating a force that we would not be able to contain in future.
“Northern Nigeria must take education seriously; we lag behind in education; we have the highest number of out of school children today. The activities of bandits and terrorists have destroyed the education fabrics and basis of northern Nigeria.
“The school we used to call our own has been deserted because bandits have once attacked the school and took hostage of students and some teachers,” he said.
Also, the Chairman of the Association, Ja’afar Tukur, a Deputy Controller of Customs, represented by Dr. Philip Audu Ibrahim, the Treasurer of the ’84’ set of the association, expressed the old students’ dissatisfaction with the deplorable state of the College.
He urged the federal and state governments to collaboratively address the issues of banditry and insurgency.
“No any sane person will be happy with the current state of Government Science College, Kagara. It’s an issue of insurgency. You know that Kagara forms boundary between Kaduna, Katsina and it is the route through which bandits come into Niger State. And we are not happy with the condition of that school.”
“For the past 10 years, we have been responsible for infrastructure of that school a group of old boys but what is happening in Kagara today is beyond us as old students. The state and federal governments should take decisive action to address the issue of banditry and insurgency in that location,” he said.
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