Don’t Shut Schools, Fight Terrorists – PDP Tells Tinubu

By James Adamu, Abuja

Nigeria’s main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has urged President Bola Tinubu’s administration not to close schools in response to a wave of mass kidnappings, warning that such a move would amount to a “surrender to terrorists.”

The party’s call came in a press briefing on Sunday, following the abduction of 25 students in Kebbi and 315 students and staff in Niger State. The PDP stated that these incidents have left a “trail of sorrows, tears, blood, fear, and deep anguish” for affected families and communities.

The PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, strongly criticised the consideration of school closures by federal and state authorities. He framed the potential policy as a capitulation to the aims of extremist groups.

“We warn that this closure, if undertaken, like many of this administration’s quick-fix approaches to serious governance issues, will amount to a complete surrender to terrorists, whose sole aim is to shut down schools and prevent children from obtaining formal education, which they declare forbidden,” Mr Ememobong stated.

He argued that closing schools would achieve the terrorists’ goal and exacerbate the educational crisis in Northern Nigeria, which is home to the majority of Nigeria’s 18.3 million out-of-school children, according to UNICEF data cited by the party.

Instead, the PDP urged the government to develop a “comprehensive plan to combat the issue, instead of resorting to a simplistic approach of closing schools in a bid to prevent further kidnappings and to score cheap political points.”

The opposition party also launched a scathing attack on the federal government’s response to the kidnappings, describing it as “lacklustre and unempathetic.” They expressed dismay that President Tinubu did not visit the affected states in person, instead choosing to “merely direct the Minister of State for Defence to relocate to Kebbi.”

The party further criticised the administration’s priorities, stating that “a juxtaposition of the contingents sent to the US Congress and the G-20 meeting with Matawalle’s lone envoy, exposes the levity with which the presidency treats this matter.”

As a solution, the PDP demanded the immediate funding and implementation of the National Policy on Safety, Security and Violence-Free Schools, which is “anchored on community intelligence and quick security response.”

Concluding with a firm ultimatum, the PDP reminded the government of its fundamental duty. “We again remind the President, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and the entire APC-led administration that the security of lives and property is the primary function of any government,” the party said.

It added that a government which is “unwilling, unable, or incapable of executing this primary role… must either ask for help (locally or internationally) or honourably resign.”