Nigerian govt more responsible for out-of-school children than Boko Haram terrorists —US group

The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) estimates that there are over 15 million children in Nigeria who are not enrolled in school, and the US-Nigeria Law Group claims that the Nigerian government bears a greater share of the blame for this statistic.

The Washington-based organisation emphasised that while the government was quick to attribute the problem to Boko Haram terrorists because of their opposition to western education, the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration had actually done worse because it was “needlessly exacerbating dubious distinction as having most out-of-school population.”
In a statement released on Friday, the US Law Group claimed that in the midst of a severe economic crisis that has caused many parents to pull their children out of school, the government has been shirking its responsibility to provide security for students and instructors.

“As it stands, the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government is now responsible for more students currently out of school than even Boko Haram, the terror group that has sought to stamp out western education.

“Nigeria has the unenviable distinction of having the most out-of-school children at over 15 million.

“Rather than addressing this travesty, the government of the day has added university students to the mix and now even military students in what can be seen as an almajirinization or Boko haramization of the Nigerian educational space.

“To add insult to injury, the Buhari administration has reportedly released over 100 terrorists from prison and sent them for “de radicalization” training recently while simultaneously withdrawing soldiers, who helped capture them, from school.

“Buhari who has benefited his entire life from being funded and educated by the Nigerian government even in foreign military institutions, is handing over a shameful legacy to soldiers of today than he himself received,” part of the group’s statement reads