We Call for the Release of Abducted School Children

#BringBackOurGirls

The Education Rights Campaign (ERC) wish to restate our solidarity with mothers, fathers and relatives of the abducted Chibok school-girls and further demand the unconditional release of our girls from the hands of the Boko Haram sect that has been tormenting the country..

We sympathize with the families of these girls and assure them of our continuous support in this trying time. We will not relent in constantly pressurizing our government by putting them on their toes till these girls are brought back.

The Boko Haram insurgency has dealt a heavy blow on our education sector in the Northeast. We cannot forget so easily the causalities in the sector including:

(a) 6 July 2013: Yobe School 42 people killed

(b) 29 September 2013: College of Agric Gujba with 40 male students killed

(c) 25 February, 2014: Federal Government College, Burni Yadi: 29 students killed

(d) 14 April, 2014: Chibok kidnapping: about 234 school-girls are still missing amongst others.

The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) recently stated that it has lost 171 teachers in Borno and Yobe alone since the insurgency’s attack on our education sector. We also have a large figure of educational infrastructures that have been destroyed across the states. Despite our numerous calls for a ‘free, functional and democratically-managed education’ the Nigerian government has constantly ignored our calls.

Nonetheless, we remain resolute in our call for a ‘Free and Quality Education’ in our nation just as we would continuously call for a socialist approach in tackling our societal problems including insurgencies as this and only this can take us out of the shackles of stagnation in the development of the nation which aided the growth of these insurgencies.

It is unfortunate that the Nigerian government and  different sections of the rotten ruling elite have waited this long before realizing the need to put self-serving politics aside and seek ways of tackling the Boko Haram insurgency.

We also strongly condemn the continuous repressive measures of a government which has failed to protect its citizens from armed militants but now begin to use force to suppress the peaceful gathering and rally of citizens at ‘Unity Fountain, Abuja’ and other places in solidarity with other concerned people of the world requesting the return of the abducted children.

We demand that the government of Nigeria should go extra miles in protecting the lives of citizens and in particular students who against all odd and despite the hurdles of getting educated still strive hard to ensure they get educated. Their morale should not be killed by the ineptitude of government towards protecting them.

‘Tola ‘Femi Ogunleye

A member of the Education Rights Campaign (ERC) from

Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH).