Nigeria’s 14 million out-of-school children are potential Boko Haram recruits, former President Olusegun Obasanjo said yesterday.
He spoke during the presidential youth mentorship retreat at the Youth Development Centre, Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
Obasanjo said: “A situation today where we have 14 million children that are not in school, does anybody need to be an oracle to tell that 10 years or 15 years from now, those will be where you will recruit pure Boko Haram?
“So, if you deal with Boko Haram by stick today, in few years the situation will be worst because we are talking about security, it will be worst.
“So, if we are talking of insecurity, where should we begin? If we are talking of poverty where should we begin? It is education.
”Somebody said if everybody is educated who will be a servant and I said if everybody is educated then we will get a better servant than you should have gotten from those that are not educated.”
