Out-of-school children, major threat to Northern Nigeria — Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has warned that the alarming rate of out-of-school children in Northern Nigeria is a major issue of concern that must be tackled headlong by all relevant stakeholders.

Olusegun Obasanjo warned that if left to escalate, the development provides a fertile and mature ground for recruiting a new generation of Boko Haram insurgents.

The former President, therefore, raised concerns on the need for all hands to be on deck to check the menace before the region goes back to the years of emergence of the dreadful Islamic militant sect that has devastated the North-East sub-region.

Olusegun Obasanjo was speaking at the commissioning of road infrastructure projects in Bauchi State on Sunday when the State Governor, Sen Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir said that his administration has been able to reduce the number of out-of-school children by about 700,000 from the 1.5 it inherited in 2019.

The former President though commended the Governor and his administration for reducing the figure, emphasised the urgent need for collective actions to address the threat which is surging.

According to him, “The Northern region’s high number of out-of-school children creates a vast pool of potential recruits for insurgent groups, undermining national security and perpetuating cycles of poverty and inequality.”

He emphatically called for a collaborative effort by everybody in the region in order to get out of the dangerous situation, stressing that, “all hands must be on deck to tackle this challenge”.

Bala Mohammed while highlighting the achievements of his administration in the education sector, boasted that with different measures and proactive solutions, the number of out-of-school children has been reduced by half within the 5 years of his administration.

The Governor added that the fear was achieved through collaborative efforts with all the relevant agencies particularly, International Development Partners who are operating in the education sector of the state.

He assured that efforts have been intensified to ensure that the remaining out-of-school children were effectively mopped up and returned to school.

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