By Vincent Egunyanga
Former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday said the over 20 million out-of-school children in the country are only being prepared for recruitment into Boko Haram and banditry in the next 10 to 15 years.
He lamented that the growing number of out-of-school children poses a significant future security risk for the nation.
Obasanjo stated this yesterday in Bauchi during the unveiling of some projects executed by Governor Bala Mohammed.
This came as education experts lamented that the N1.5trn budgeted for education in 2024 represents a meagre 6.39 percent, compared to the 15 and 20 percent recommended by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
According to Obasanjo, for an estimated population of 230 million, it is alarming that 20 million children are out of school in Nigeria.
He said, “Let me emphasise what we want to do: human capacity building. Education and human capacity building are critical. The World Bank says we have over 20 million children who should be in school who are not, for a population of about 230 million.
“So, that is 10 per cent of our population that should be in school that are not. Governor, your royal highnesses, brothers and sisters that is recruitment for future Boko Haram; nobody needs to tell us that.”
He said that not equipping the children to develop their innate ability and capacity leaves them for Boko Haram and bandits to exploit.
“Apart from being that 10 per cent of our population are not being equipped to develop their innate ability and capacity to be able to serve themselves, their family, their community, we are also preparing them to be recruited in 10 to 15 years for whatever form of Boko Haram it will be that time, whatever form of banditry it will be.”
*Only N1.5trn, representing 6.39% budgeted for education in 2024
Meanwhile, experts, the government, and families nationwide are worried about our society’s high rate of out-of-school children.
Despite the budgetary allocations made by various governments—federal, state, and local—to education in the country, the number of out-of-school children has continued to grow.
Under President Shehu Shagari’s regime, the budget for Nomadic Education was enormous, reaching billions of naira.
Even though the South-West states of Lagos, Oyo, Ondo, and Ogun had free Education programmes under the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) headed by the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, all the efforts collapsed when the military overthrew the government, ending the Second Republic.
*Budgetary allocations and aftermath
In Nigeria’s last three annual budgets, the Federal Government had budgeted billions of naira for education.
In 2023, the Federal Government budgeted N2.05trn for the educational sector, which was only 10 per cent of the total budget for that year.
The amount included N470bn for revitalisation and salary enhancement in the tertiary institutions.
In 2024, the Federal Government budgeted N1.54trn for the same sector, representing only 6.39 per cent.
A budget breakdown showed N1.54trn for the Federal Ministry of Education, including N50 billion for student loans.
Of this amount, N330bn, or 23 percent, was for capital projects, while N1.04trn, or 77 percent, was for salaries and overhead costs. The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), strictly for grassroots education, got N251.5bn.
Though the UBEC Act 2004 stipulates free and compulsory primary education for young Nigerians, it has become ineffective because of the deplorable state of the Infrastructure, the shortage of teachers, low remuneration, and the hike in fees in higher schools, among other issues.
The budgetary allocations to education are still very low, considering that the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) recommended that Nigeria spend between 15 and 20 percent of its annual budget on education for it to have any impact.
*Expert opinions
The Dean of Social Science, Nile University in Abuja, Prof May Nwoye, advised the National Assembly to pass free and compulsory education legislation, especially at the country’s primary and secondary school levels.
According to her, governments need to be more serious about education and not just build schools and ‘play politics’ with them.
She said the political class has only been playing lip service to education because, according to her, “They exploit the uneducated and use them as thugs during elections.”
Similarly, Prof Emmanuel Nwanze, a former vice-chancellor of the University of Benin, said, “When you consider what is happening now, a generation is lost.”
He added, “The policy of saying you can’t enter the university until you are 18 years old will worsen the situation in the country.”
Such a policy, he said, if implemented, will disparage gifted children.
*Wike tasks UBEC
Meanwhile, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has taken the UBEC to task over the increasing number of out-of-school children in the country, calling on the agency to intensify efforts to reverse the trend.
The FCT Minister gave the charge when he received a delegation from UBEC, led by the Executive Secretary, Hamid Bobboyi, on a courtesy visit to his office.
The minister recalled that the Almajiri school system was introduced during his tenure as the Minister of State for Education, in partnership with UBEC, to address the challenges of out-of-school children in the country.
Wike, therefore, called for more efforts from the Commission to improve the worrisome situation.
The minister, who also stated that the country’s security challenges could not be addressed without reducing the number of out-of-school children, further called on other states to complement UBEC’s efforts in bringing children back to school.
The FCT minister said, “All of us know the problems of girls’ education and out-of-school children. I don’t know what you are doing about our children roaming the streets. It is the function of UBEC.
“When we were in education, we started the Almajiri schools. The only state I never visited in the Northern states was Yobe.
”I visited virtually all the states in the North, South-West, South-South, and the South-East, where more boys are dropping out. We tried to see what we could do.
“In the North, we talk about Almajiri and the girl child education, and I know that through UBEC, we were able to build many schools. We were able to buy clothing and sandals and feed them.
“I don’t know what it is now because the number has tripled. It’s so annoying. I do know that you are doing your best, but I do know that the states, too, need to complement your efforts. So many states do not want to pay the counterpart funding, which is unfortunate.”
He added, “The insecurity we discuss today can never be resolved if we don’t bring these children back to school.”
Wike, who noted that the increasing influx of people in the FCT from other parts of the country also contributed to the number of out-of-school children in the nation’s capital, said the FCT Administration (FCTA) was doing its best to address the situation.
He acknowledged the vital role of the UBEC in providing qualitative education in the country and pledged the FCTA’s continued support of the Commission’s activities.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary of UBEC, Hamid Bobboyi, acknowledged the development strides recorded within the education subsector in the FCT under the current FCT Administration, especially the renovation and construction of schools and support for other education activities.
The Executive Secretary also commended the innovative school initiatives in the FCT, which, he said, encouraged a more modern way of teaching, and pledged the Commission’s readiness to collaborate with the FCT to move the education sector forward.
*Milestones
It would be recalled that the former President Muhammadu Buhari administration introduced school feeding programmes to encourage children of school age to go to school. However, analysts say the program was bogged down by massive corruption.
A visit to some schools in Abuja, like the Government Secondary School, Garki showed that many students did not return when the schools resumed.
The school principal, Ochiji Sadeeq, simply referred us to the Secondary School Education Board regarding the number of students who didn’t return to school and the reasons for their absence.
It was also discovered that the situation is worse in private schools, as more families have withdrawn their children and wards from school.
According to some parents who spoke anonymously, this is due to high school fees and insecurity.
