From Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti
The Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS) in Nigeria has condemned the spate of student abductions in schools across the country, describing the phenomenon as a total war on Nigeria’s education sector.
The union called on government at all levels to solve the escalating security crisis in order to prevent the total collapse of Nigeria’s education institutions.
ASUSS, in a statement signed by its National Secretary-General, Sola Adigun, entitled : “SPATE OF ABDUCTIONS AND KIDNAPPING IN SCHOOLS ACROSS THE NATION: A CALL FOR AN HONEST NATIONAL SECURITY CONVERSATION”, which was made available to Daily Sun on Wednesday, said:
‘The Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS) Nigeria decries the current spate of kidnappings and abductions of school pupils in the country, this criminal act is nothing but a total war against the educational sector.
‘The union conveys her displeasure, frustrations about the incessant attacks on educational institutions which have brought a lot of frustrations to parents, teachers and the students. It is expedient for the government at all levels to rise to the occasion and save the educational sector from total collapse.
‘The state of insecurity in the nation has gotten to a frightening level, which calls for an urgent need for a deep national conversation on the way forward as far as securing of lives and properties in the nation is concerned.
‘This is not a time Nigeria should be grappling with this much of security challenges. Hardly is there any region in the whole nation without one security challenge or the other. It is high time we had a deep and honest conversation about the state of Nigeria’s security.
‘How will a parent/guardian who sent his/her ward to school to acquire knowledge cope with the anxiety of an impending kidnap or abduction?
‘Should things continue like this without an immediate solution, then the country is in trouble. We all know the role education plays in the liberation of a people.
‘The union assures the government of the federation and all its federating units its total support and cooperation in their quest to find a lasting solution to this problem.
‘It is such an irony that education which ought to be the escape route from our current socio-economic problems is now the target of criminals.
‘We wish to unequivocally state that ASUSS will give its supports to the government at all levels in its bid to find a lasting solution to this menace.’
