• Gombe flags off free children’s enrolment

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has submitted that Nigeria faces a security crisis in the future if the millions of out-of-school children are not given access to education.

The elder statesman warned that, except the government at all levels takes measures to protect the children by giving them free access to education, they would be vulnerable as a recruiting ground for insurgent groups tomorrow.

“You don’t need an oracle to know that the children you are seeing roaming the streets will become the recruiting ground for insurgency groups tomorrow. If we fail to prepare now, today’s Boko Haram will look like child’s play,” Obasanjo cautioned. He spoke in Sokoto yesterday, at the inauguration of the ultra-modern Bakhita ICT facility established by the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto.

The ex-leader recalled that his administration introduced the Universal Primary Education (UPE) scheme, which later evolved into the Universal Basic Education (UBE) programme, as part of efforts to expand learning opportunities for children.

“No matter our religion, tribe, or culture, nobody can develop their innate ability unless educated,” he said. He also urged policymakers to prepare young Nigerians for a digital future, stressing the need to go “beyond computers” to skills that will be relevant in a fast-changing global economy.

Reflecting on the country’s political history, Obasanjo credited the role of traditional leaders in promoting inclusion, recalling how the late Sultan of Sokoto supported women’s participation in elections in 1979 when they first gained the right to vote in Northern Nigeria.

He commended Bishop of Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Most Rev. Kukah, for his outspokenness, noting that the ICT facility is a model for how Nigerians of all backgrounds can come together for meaningful development.

Also speaking, the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Muhammad Abubakar III, urged Nigerians to unite against banditry, noting: “They are aimed at destabilising our normal lives.” He added, “I won’t call them bandits; rather, they are terrorists. They have, for many years, attacked and killed innocent people for no reason. Their victims do not even know why they were being killed.”

The Sultan also faulted misinformation regarding genocide killings in the northern part of the country, saying, “There is no such thing. They killed both Muslims and Christians, so where is the genocide here?”

The monarch charged the Federal Government to trace the ransoms taken by armed bandits as well as put an end to the insurgency, stating: “It has become a big business.”

Earlier, Kukah said the ICT facility, which consists of over 300 computers, laptops and internet connection, was supported by Chief Afe Babalola. He added that the facility would be a hub for students and young graduates for computer literacy, digital skills, artificial intelligence and machine learning, among other services.

ALSO yesterday, First Lady of Gombe State, Asma’u Inuwa Yahaya, flagged off free registration of children in schools in Gombe council area as part of efforts to reduce the number of uneducated kids in the state.

The Guardian reports that Gombe has no less than 787,619 out-of-school children out of the state’s four million population. Disturbed by the figure, the government, through the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), in collaboration with the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), launched an enrolment drive campaign to halve the number by 2030.

While flagging of the enrolment programme at the Gombe local area, the First Lady urged parents to cooperate for the successful implementation of the initiative by enrolling their children in school.She restated her husband’s commitment to the welfare of the child, which includes education, healthcare and nutrition.

In his speech, the Executive Chairman of Gombe State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Babaji Babadidi, said the enrolment drive was to develop a behavioural change communication system to achieve retention, completion, and transition of out-of-school children to formal education.

According to him, each Local Government Area has been given a target of enrolling not less than 20,000 pupils, with a total target of 220,000 pupils for the 11 LGAs in the state.

The Commissioner for Education, Aishatu Maigari, stated that the initiative was to bridge the gap in access to education and promote sustainable development in the state.