Nigeria's Silent Emergency: The War Against Education

A teacher is a person who can make the new generation successful or unsuccessful. It is such a beautiful profession and a noble act. In Islam, we have huge respect for this profession as our Beloved Prophet was also a teacher. Recently, a wave of terror hit Nigeria's southern region, where many teachers were abducted, and several students were also kidnapped.

For a long time, this was a major concern, but this region was relatively considered safer. The central and northern regions have mostly been affected for a long time. In just 2025, more than 300 students and teachers were abducted. The reason was quite simple: easy targets and possible ransom money, along with nationwide attention as well. There are questions in our minds:

Why are schools consistently targeted?

The first thing that comes to mind is: why schools?

The answer is multilateral, starting from ransom money to control tactics. For the most basic reason, it is all about ransom money. Many kidnappings are financially motivated. Students, teachers, and school administrators are easy targets due to the least amount of security, or even no security, in rural areas. It is often guaranteed that government officials or families will pay ransom. So targeting schools for easy money is one motivation. These incidents are also highlighted in national and international media landscapes. A strong and harsh media narrative is built.

Some extremist or insurgent groups intentionally target schools to create maximum fear. These activities result in fewer students and teachers in schools, directly impacting the future of Nigeria. That will affect weaker institutions and government bodies, and increase poverty and unemployment.

What is the government's stance?

The official stance of the Government of Nigeria is pretty clear: it is a state-level emergency. The state is pursuing rescue operations and strengthening security forces. Following the recent Oyo school attack, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the political leader, stated:

“Federal and state authorities were coordinating rescue operations.”

Meanwhile, governors in southwestern states have begun reviving the “Safe School Initiative,” aimed at improving and increasing security measures and protection for educational institutions. One of the key factors is coordination with rural vigilante groups. The issues will not be resolved without proper communication.

Somewhere, the Nigerian Government admitted failures in administration. They admitted this is an aftershock of other criminal activities, like

1. Vast rural territories 
2. Porous borders 
3. Illegal arms trafficking 
4. Poverty and unemployment 
5. Multiple armed groups operating simultaneously

However, factually, these are right and tactful, and all these factors are related to one another. Unless these criminal activities are reduced, a safer educational environment is not possible.

How is this whole scenario hurting Nigeria?

The scenario in Nigeria is gradually leading towards decline. The public already holds a strong narrative against the government regarding this concern. The region is affected by kidnapping and ransom culture, while prosecutions are rare. This is a major issue in rural areas, where communities remain more exposed than urban areas. One of the key public frustrations is the recent incidents in the southern Oyo State, following years of violence in Northern Nigeria.

Civil societies and international organizations like Amnesty International have accused authorities of failing to adequately protect schools and citizens. People are losing one of their most fundamental rights. Meanwhile, one of the biggest concerns came from UNICEF reports stating that the future of a generation is at stake, where things are getting worse with every passing day.

In many ways, the school attacks are much more than just a ransom war. It is a much bigger and more impactful issue than what we are currently seeing.