Nigerian Schools Face Shutdown Over Ongoing Crisis

According to its own acknowledgement, the report failed to address the main areas of the Boko Haram uprising, specifically the BAY States of Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe. It also did not adequately highlight the banditry occurring in Plateau State, where, by April 2025, sixty-four communities had been forced to flee. Furthermore, the report offered no insight into the devastation caused by insurgents in Taraba State. Nevertheless, a front-page article in a national newspaper on Thursday, October 2, 2025, spotlighted the troubling condition of the education sector in Northern Nigeria, which is increasingly under threat from insecurity.

Entitled “Insecurity: Over 180 Schools Shut in North”, the article outlines how insecurity has led to the closure of at least 188 public schools (both primary and secondary) in Northern Nigeria. The distribution of these closures is as follows: six in Kaduna State, six in Sokoto State, 30 in Niger State, 52 in Katsina State, and 55 in Benue State.

While the narrative may not provide a complete or detailed view, it certainly presents valuable insights. These revelations are profoundly concerning. Even during periods when the North was not engulfed in insurgency, it lagged significantly behind the South. It had an alarmingly large number of children out of school and was recognised as the poverty capital of the world until the recent conflict in Sudan. According to the UN, if the South of Nigeria were to remain stagnant, it would take the North an additional 50 years to catch up. The situation has worsened with the ongoing issues of insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, and genocidal violence, resulting in a vast disparity.

Even before the rise of insurgency and banditry, Nigeria was noted for having one of the highest rates of out-of-school children globally, with UNICEF estimating between 10 and 20 million. A majority of these children were located in the North.

The newspaper article, vividly illustrated with impactful images, reveals that Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the North are frequently housed in primary and secondary schools. By occupying these schools, the IDPs inadvertently displace the learners/students enrolled in them. In only a few situations are these displaced learners/students provided with any educational support.

The displacement of these learners/students is likely to further exacerbate the number of out-of-school children in the troubled Northern states. Given the link between insufficient educational access and widespread poverty, the ongoing insurgency and banditry in these regions will only exacerbate and prolong the severe poverty present in the North. During this critical time, the Northern governments mustn’t falter or lose resolve.

Rather, they should be encouraged to adopt innovative and unconventional solutions. Immediate assessments should be conducted to identify learners/students displaced by the IDP camps, as well as those who arrived alongside the IDPs. Tents equipped with plastic chairs and whiteboards should be set up in each IDP camp, and teachers should be assigned to educate these students. This way, they will not fall behind and will have the opportunity to keep pace with their peers in safer areas.

This strategy, however, should be regarded as a temporary solution. In the long term, communities and schools ravaged by insurgents need to be rebuilt, following the direct resolution of the heinous acts of insurgency, banditry, and genocidal violence, with coordinated efforts from the governors and the president.

Over the last twenty years, we have seen that rising insecurity affects not only education and economic stability but also food security. Effective learning cannot occur in an unstable environment. Likewise, farming, which could have productively engaged millions of Nigerians, leading to plentiful harvests and reduced food costs, is also hindered.

Additionally, serious investment cannot flourish in an environment riddled with violence because no prudent investor will commit their hard-earned resources to an insecure and uncertain area. As I have consistently emphasised, the Federal Government must prioritise security. It should recognise that insecurity in any region impacts the entire nation. Given the legal framework that restricts governors to the status of glorified chief security officers, the ultimate responsibility lies with the president.

The President, as the Commander-in-Chief, must regard the entire nation as his audience and be ready to assist and safeguard every region of the country impartially. It is, to say the least, inappropriate and humiliating for governors, who are under siege from bandits and insurgents, to rush to the Aso Rock Villa, accompanied by their elders, seeking assistance. This scenario echoes the worst forms of feudalism. As Commander-in-Chief, the President should direct our security forces to conduct regular evaluations and assessments of their tactics. If any strategy seems to be falling short or ineffective, they should swiftly reconsider and devise alternative approaches. The insurgents have demonstrated remarkable agility and coordination in inflicting death and destruction upon Nigerians.

Our security forces, boasting a track record of successes in various local and international conflict zones, should be even more skilled and resourceful. For example, if incremental engagements with the terrorists aren’t yielding results, shouldn’t we contemplate a troop surge and a direct confrontation that can overwhelm and eradicate these insurgents decisively? Most importantly, should the battle against terrorism be a never-ending struggle?

Why can’t we provide our security agencies with all the necessary resources and establish a realistic and achievable deadline for its conclusion? As long as this conflict drags on without a clear resolution, the country will continue to endure trauma and sorrow in terms of loss of life, children not in school, widespread poverty, a tarnished reputation, and total devastation.