Senate President, Godswill Akpabio has lamented the huge number of out-of-school children in the country, saying they are likely future bandits.
One in three children are out of school (OOS) with 10.2 million at primary school level and 8.1 million children at junior secondary level, according to the latest report by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF)
Reports by the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2021 showed that three in four children aged 7-14 years cannot read with understanding or solve a simple mathematics problem.
Akpabio said the 20 million children who are out of school are potential danger that could most certainly become bandits tomorrow.
Bandits have laid siege to many Nigerian cities and highways kidnapping and robbing people of valuables, causing a different security danger never seen in the country.
Akpabio while contributing to a debate during plenary on Wednesday on the compelling need to tackle the challenge of out-of-school children in the country said these out-of-school children formed larger part of these bandits already terrorising the country.
Describing the situation as a time bomb, he said, “20 million out-of-school children is a timebomb for any country. They are potential bandits; they are a major danger. So this is a major issue. This is the cause of insecurity in the country,” Akpabio said.
Corroborating Akpabio, the Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin said, “It is a serious problem. If we leave unattended to, it is a kind of timebomb, and once it explodes, it will consume us, particularly the Northern part of this country.
“The number of children roaming our streets without going to school needs our attention. It is a serious problem. It is a problem that the solution is beyond the federal government alone or any tier of government. The re-orientation has to commence immediately so that parents should know that they need to do that.”
Also contributing, Senator Simon Lalong (APC-Plateau South) tasked President Bola Tinubu to compel state governors to address the issue of out-of-school children in their states, sequel to the huge funds being allocated to them.
Equally speaking, Senator Sani Musa (APC-Niger East) asked state governors to hold a roundtable discussion and advance measures to tackle the issue.
Senator Sani Bello (Niger-North) lamented that some children in Niger State had died because they were bitten by snakes in the bushes following lack of toilet facilities in their schools.
He said his administration had spent billions of Naira in building better schools across the state, when he was governor.
After the debate, Senator Seriake Dickson (PDP, Bayelsa West), moved a motion for a national summit on the issue.
The motion was seconded by the deputy president of the Senate, Barau Jibrin (APC, Kano North).
Senate President Godswill will closing the debate on the matter said the national summit would deliberate and iron out issues related to out of school children to ensure the security of the country.
He also said the summit would have various stakeholders including representatives of the federal, state and local governments, civil society organisations and many others in attendance.