In a compelling plea to the federal government, Bamidele Salam, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts, has called for immediate and comprehensive security measures to be implemented across the nation’s schools.
This impassioned request was made during the 2023 National Children’s Leadership Conference held in Abuja on Monday, commemorating the 2023 Universal Children’s Day.
Salam, expressing deep concern over the security challenges prevailing in the country, emphasized the pressing need for heightened security to protect students from the increasing threats posed by bandits, insurgents, and other criminal elements.
Addressing the gathering, he highlighted the alarming consequence of inadequate security in schools— a surge in the number of out-of-school children.
“It is not cheering news that Africa’s largest economy, the biggest nation in the black world, has a number of out-of-school children that is the highest in all the countries in the world,” remarked Salam.
He went on to reveal a staggering statistic: Nigeria currently harbors 13.5 million out-of-school children, emphasising that such a high number poses a severe impediment to the nation’s development and growth.
“We should be able to proffer solutions to this problem in a manner that will be sustainable to ensure that all stakeholders—government, civil society, communities, and religious bodies—put hands together to make sure that we take off the children from the streets,” urged Salam.
He stressed that lack of access to education remains a primary cause of poverty and underdevelopment in any country.
The event, organised by The Children of Africa Leadership and Values Development Initiative (CALDEV), carried the theme “Rebuilding Nigerians Through Investment in Children’s Education, Welfare, and Security.”
It served as a platform for discussions on strategies to address the escalating crisis of out-of-school children and the essential role of education in the overall development of the nation.
