How insecurity hampers education in Northwest Nigeria

“Being kidnapped puts the victim in a really bad situation. I was put in an uncomfortable place where I was tied and blindfolded without food or water,” said Ismailia Attahiru, a 26-year-old student of Forestry at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto State (UDUS). 

Mr Attahiru, who hails from Shinaka, a village in the Goronyo Local Government of Sokoto State, was kidnapped by bandits in October 2022 while sleeping in his room.

He said “they came during the night when I was sleeping, they woke me up, took my phones and other things they met at my house at Shinaka village then forced me out with some other people on their bikes.

“They keep hitting me repeatedly with different insults, threatening us with different things and reiterating that they want the ransom they demanded from my family and other captives.”

”Wallahi, I spent eleven days with five other victims. There is no food or water in the first moments until we’re almost died before they gave us food to eat. We didn’t brush, take baths or change clothes,” he recalled.

Nigeria’s insecurity is a nightmare

Following the rise of insecurity in the country, many Nigerian students, especially those in Northwest Nigeria, have fallen victim to attacks and kidnapping. 

According to the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2023 report, Nigeria has been ranked eighth on the list of the worst-hit countries with insecurity. The ranking, however, seems progressive after the government moved two places away from its sixth position in the 2022 ratings.

The implication of insecurity in Northern Nigeria, is that it increased the number of drop outs and out-of-school children in the geo-political zone. For some, it means a pause in their academic pursuits.

A study titled “I Am A Bandit: A Decade of Research in Zamfara Bandit’s Den” by Dr Murtal A. Rufai, a historian and lecturer at UDUS, revealed that there are 120 gangs of bandits operating in six northern states. 

“A large part of what they collect as ransoms and a substantial part of the animals they rustle are either sold to get money or exchanged for weapons. It will be hard for people to understand that bandits are sophisticated money launderers,” said the researcher, who had a one-on-one interaction with some of them earlier.

Corroborating his claim, Mr Attahiru said: “I wasn’t sure if I would survive when I was with them because they have many sophisticated weapons – weapons of mass destruction. It is such a moment in my life that I can’t explain. One can only understand it if one witnessed it; you’ll only think of how to get out of the situation if Allah helps you.”

“Academically distracted, emotionally drained” – Victim 

“I was academically distracted and disturbed. I didn’t have an option but to defer the session in the school. Where will I have the money to pay for my school fees after the huge ransom paid by families?” he asked rhetorically with a sorrowful voice. 

Mr Attahiru did not only suffer emotionally trauma, but is financially indebted to his family who spent so much to get him out of abduction.

“I have to look after the family that saved me too. This means that I stopped my education and returned to my village for farm work to make money. That’s why I am still in the school as an undergraduate student. If not, I should have graduated before this time.”

“After their (bandits) threats, my parents and relatives had to look for all the possible means of getting me released from them. We paid a sum of 1.5 million naira in cash before I was dropped off on the road leading to my house in the night.” he recounted.

With 133 million Nigerians living in extreme poverty, it becomes hard for a student from an average family to pay the hefty ransoms often demanded by the kidnappers. After such amounts are paid, families are left in debt.

Mr Attahiru was not the only victim. Filled with the joy of defending his final year project as a student of Agriculture Extension at Danfodiyyo University, Junaidu Talhatu did not imagine that he would not arrive home safely as he journeyed back home in April this year for the Eid-al-Fitr festival. 

“I Might Miss NYSC”

“Until now, I haven’t completed my project to be qualified for my degree, and the implication is that I will not be part of those who would be mobilized for the mandatory National Youth Service Corps,” he noted sadly.

Mr Talhatu, who hails from the Shinkafi Local Government area of Zamfara State, said that his festive mood disappeared after he was attacked along with other student passengers in a commercial bus to his home state. 

“They were more than 50 and operated with face masks throughout with full arms. They stopped our vehicle and asked us to come down, threatening they would kill anyone who refused their orders. Initially, those who refused were beaten mercilessly. They collected our phones and told us to mount the motorcycles they came with.”

“We were asked to call our relatives to negotiate our ransom. My parents paid them in millions, I can’t say what they asked, but I’m sure it was much. Since it was during Ramadan, the only food they gave us was denkeli da awara (potatoes and soybeans) to break the fasting.”

Speaking further, Mr Talhatu said it pained that the bandits “operate as if they were doing what is right”. He claimed he was taken aback when they were told to “inform the security agencies if we wish to as they are not afraid of them.” When asked why he thought they made this statement, he muttered: “They know that the securities will not come to them.”

Expert weighs in; shares measures to curb insecurity

In an interview with Mallam Ibrahim Baba Shatamabaya, a lecturer at the Department of Political Science at UDUS, he told Campus Reporter that students from low-income families would find it hard to continue their education after paying big money as ransoms to kidnappers. 

“Some students who depend on menial jobs like farming and other such activities for their sustenance would find it difficult to cope as most of them had to drop out of school,” he opined.

“For many students, travelling from their schools to their states is always a threat, exposing them to the preying hands of these criminal elements. Most schools can only accommodate some of their students due shortage of hostels leading to the emergence of private settlements outside most school campuses; these settlements are mainly vulnerable to unsuspecting hoodlums.

“Even within the campuses, kidnappers have at various times invaded many schools to whisk away students and demand ransom. These and many more dimensions of the security challenges in Nigeria’s Northwest have espoused negative psychological effects on the students who, knowing they are vulnerable, could not adequately concentrate on their studies,” Shatambaya added. 

In addressing the “security debacle”, the lecturer urged the Nigerian government to redesign its security system. 

“Emphasis has to be placed on technology-driven security approaches like community policing initiatives for intelligence gathering by prioritizing the critical roles of traditional rulers in this regard. Fourth, scholars with expertise in security management should be accorded a place in the security architecture of the Nigerian state,” he concluded. 

Students Are Living In The Fear of Being Kidnapped

Ajanaku Fareedah Iyawero, a 300-level student of Economics in UDUS and an indigene of Osun state, expressed her fears of getting kidnapped.

“My parents don’t want me to school in the Northwest because of the fear of Boko-Haram.

“Every time I wanted to travel back to Sokoto by road, my heart would shake. My parents would even accompany me to the park, ensuring that the bus takes off in their presence with tears and fear of whether or not I will come back to them. I don’t usually travel back home until the end of the session to avoid getting kidnapped,” she said. 

Also, Mufutau Musbahudeen Tukur, a 100-level student of English Education at UDUS, who hails from Kwara State, shares the same fear as Fareedah.

“I waited for the past three years before I got admission to study at Sokoto State University. I wouldn’t have come here because of the insecurity issue that is very rampant in the North, but I don’t have any option. 

“The first time I came here (Sokoto), my daddy came with me so I won’t be afraid. He spent two weeks with me before returning to Kwara State,” he claimed. Tukur noted that he would not return home at the end of the session because of fear. 

Abdulrafiu Temitope Maryam, a final year student of Modern European Language at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, from Oyo State, expressed her fears of being kidnapped.

“A week, whenever I want to travel to Sokoto, I have a special prayer to do and special fasting to observe. This is the only way to escape from the bandits. 

“Also, I don’t sleep in the vehicle even when others are sleeping. I always ensure that I look around the motor while moving. It is always very tense, and I travel to school.

“Whenever I am reading in the school, I don’t go to night class, not because I don’t want to go but because I am afraid of getting kidnapped,” she narrated.

Implications of Insecurity 

“The main implication of bandit attacks on schools is that more children are dropping out in northern Nigeria, which already has low school attendance and inadequate schools. Because of the threat of an attack, some local parents have decided to keep their children home from school. This would result in a generation of young people being deprived of education and opportunities,” Imrana Alhaji Buba, a security expert, told Campus Reporter. 

Buba, who is a PhD researcher with a focus on the dynamics of Nigeria’s political violence at the Department of Political Science, University of Oslo, Norway, added that some victims “have also developed mental health issues due to their traumatic experiences, which may have long-term consequences for their personal and professional development”. 

The researcher explained, “We are to blame the government for failing to take precautionary measures or close schools early enough to protect students. Most of the schools targeted are far from urban areas, and residents complained about the security situation before the attacks.”

This story was funded by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) under the Campus Reporter project.