The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has urged the Federal Government to secure unity schools and other educational institutions in the North east rather than shut them down as that would adversely affect the students and pass wrong message to the world.
Vice President of the NLC, Comrade Issa Aremu told reporters yesterday in Kaduna that if government can apply the same security with which it secured the over 30 heads of state and governments that attended the recent centenary celebrations, they would keep the students of the federal government colleges and other schools in the region safe.
Aremu said: “Our hearts grief over the terror attack on Federal Government College, Buni Yadi, in Yobe state in which scores of students were
murdered by gunmen and scores of girl students abducted. While we understand the panic measure to hurriedly shut down five of the 80 unity schools, this government action is belated, reactionary and unhelpful to the transformation agenda in education.
“Why would government not proactively avoid the killing of these innocent students in the first instance? Why not shutdown the schools to avoid the massacre? What happens to these students’ studies? Some of the students are said to have registered for their WAEC and NECO examinations. How will they write the exams? Who will compensate them for the exams registered and not written?”
“If there is the political will, there will be many ways to secure all Nigerians. What is good for centenary celebration is even more desirable for our schools. If we could protect few dignitaries around the country during the centenary celebration, we should even be more upbeat and protect unity schools that accommodate tens of thousands of students. Good governance means security, service delivery for the greatest number of citizens not the few political elite.
“We, therefore, call on President Jonathan to be more proactive in protecting schools in the affected areas. Panic closures of schools invariably blackmail the nation to believing that education is indeed not needed. We must protect students and schools as much as we protect our political leaders.”
