The Scourge of Out-of-School Children

Recently UNICEF bemoaned the effect of out- of- school children in Nigeria, enunciating its severity. Nigeria has about 10 million children who are not in school. I must reiterate that the severity of the problem cannot be overemphasized because the rippling effect will bring chaotic circumstances. Truth to tell, the out- of -school children scourge is like a active volcano ready to spill out disaster if nothing is done about it. It would interest you to know that the insecurity black hole we have today was created by the out- of- school children of yesteryears. Those out-of-school children are the Bello Tuji’s who have become a terror and a destructive element to the peace and stability of our nation.

The cancer of neglect is now hunting us down everywhere and that is why we must save the future and ensure that our children are educated. I have always advocated a change to Al majiri system, it must be a holistic and targeted change to incorporate children and build them on a foundation for the future. We must also improve on the socio-economic circumstances of the nation. I believe the government and the informal sector must work frantically together to be able to get solutions to these problems. We must have a mechanism of incorporating the informal sector, the market women, the artisans and other cadre of society. I believe strongly that in the next 10 years, if we can half the out- of- school children numbers then the future is assured. I also advocate for vocational training of students who cannot proceed to the university. This I believe will change the dynamics and bring help to those that have been left behind. we must act now.

Rufai Oseni, rufaioseni@gmail.com

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