Amid the surge of insecurity gripping the country in recent weeks, Buba Galadima, a member of the Board of Trustees of the New Nigeria People’s Party, stated that the government ought to focus on safeguarding schools rather than shutting them down.
During an appearance on Arise TV’s Prime Time on Monday, Galadima noted that state governments are struggling to strike a balance between shielding students from insecurity and ensuring they continue to receive the education they are entitled to.
He said, “In the first place, it is shameful to close down the schools. It’s shameful on the government, and every people in the administration and us. You cannot close down schools. What you will do is how to protect the schools.”
Galadima added that authorities should abandon reliance on physical security measures and instead embrace technology to protect citizens.
“The government should forget about physical security; we have passed that stage. We need to deploy technology to detect things even before they happen. We also need to set up special squads to deal with issues even before they spring up,” the NNPP leader stated.
His comments follow the Federal Government’s recent directive to shut down 41 unity colleges immediately, following renewed cases of student abductions in certain regions of the country.
A statement issued by the Director of Senior Secondary Education, Hajiya Binta Abdulkadir, on behalf of the Honourable Minister, explained that the closures were aimed at preventing potential security breaches in the affected schools.
Principals of the listed schools were instructed to implement the directive without delay.
