Boko Haram: Borno to invest $20bn in free, compulsory education
Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State says the
state government will invest $20 billion to ensure
free and compulsory education in the state.
Shettima made this known in Abuja on Monday at
the 2017 Murtala Mohammed Memorial Lecture,
with the theme: “Humanitarian Crises and
Response in a Plural Society: What role for
leadership?”
The governor said that the plan would be backed
by legislation.
According to Shettima, plans are underway to build
new schools that will be designed to provide quality
education to children in the state, especially those
who were affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.
He disclosed that over 20,000 children orphaned by
Boko Haram and other vices in the state would be
covered in the programme.
Shettima said: “We have a moral obligation to
provide education to the vulnerable because it is
the most powerful weapon used to change the
world; it is the greatest enabler within a generation.
“If we fail to take care of these orphans, believe
me, in 15 years down the line, these orphans will
definitely take care of us.
“There is a direct collaboration between violence,
poverty and illiteracy; they provide the perfect mix
to produce the perfect mix that will consume all of
us.
“When people have little or nothing positive to
expect in their tomorrow, they will not see reasons
to preserve themselves for tomorrow and a
hopeless person in a state of lack does not mind
dying.
“Unless we wear our thinking caps as leaders, the
future is very bleak.”
Shettima called on Nigerians to shun conspiracy
theories, which had become a weapon of national
destruction, explaining that insurgency thrived with
the help of conspiracy theories.
He said: “The most critical experience and lesson I
have had and learnt has been the power of
conspiracy theories and how they undermine the
fight against insecurities and the management of
the humanitarian crises
“The Boko Haram insurgency grew from strength
to strength because of the initial conspiracy, theory
which began after the 2011 general elections.
“When we think that we should have learnt our
lessons and make our dear country focus less on
conspiracy theories, a recent development does not
show that we are learning from the dangers.
“Another conspiracy theory arose that the militants
are being funded by those who lost in the 2015
elections to destabilise the present administration.”
The governor said his administration was investing
heavily in agriculture to reposition the economy of
the state and create massive job opportunities for
the people.
He explained that the state was blessed with a
large land mass, which when well harnessed will
lead to increase in food production and boost the
economy.
Shettima said the government was planning to
reconstruct the state, rehabilitate the victims of
insurgencies and relocate them to their homes so
that they could officially to close down the
Internally Displaced Persons camps.
He said that the camps were pregnant with a lot of
challenges like child prostitution, drug abuse,
gangsters, amongst other social vices.
The governor said if the vices were allowed to exist
for the next two years, there would be bigger
problems.
In his address, the Acting President, Prof. Yemi
Osinbanjo, commended Shettima for his
commitment towards finding a lasting solution to
the crises in the North east.
He called on Nigerians to shun political and
religious detractors, who use them to instigate
violence for their selfish interests.
Osinbanjo urged leaders to use their positions
positively to foster national peace and unity.
In a remark, Aisha Mohammed-Oyebode, the Chief
Executive Officer of the Murtala Mohammed
Foundation, said the annual event was aimed at
improving the living conditions of Africans through
poverty reduction and elimination of conflicts.
She said since its inception in 2001, the foundation
had been advancing the legacies of one of Nigeria’s
heroes past, General Murtala Mohammed, whose
administration was qualified incorruptible and
discipline.
Mohammed-Oyebode said as one of the biggest
charity organisations, the foundation has reached
over two million Nigerians in the wake of various
crises.
The lecture is a convergence of both past and
current decision makers in the country.
state government will invest $20 billion to ensure
free and compulsory education in the state.
Shettima made this known in Abuja on Monday at
the 2017 Murtala Mohammed Memorial Lecture,
with the theme: “Humanitarian Crises and
Response in a Plural Society: What role for
leadership?”
The governor said that the plan would be backed
by legislation.
According to Shettima, plans are underway to build
new schools that will be designed to provide quality
education to children in the state, especially those
who were affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.
He disclosed that over 20,000 children orphaned by
Boko Haram and other vices in the state would be
covered in the programme.
Shettima said: “We have a moral obligation to
provide education to the vulnerable because it is
the most powerful weapon used to change the
world; it is the greatest enabler within a generation.
“If we fail to take care of these orphans, believe
me, in 15 years down the line, these orphans will
definitely take care of us.
“There is a direct collaboration between violence,
poverty and illiteracy; they provide the perfect mix
to produce the perfect mix that will consume all of
us.
“When people have little or nothing positive to
expect in their tomorrow, they will not see reasons
to preserve themselves for tomorrow and a
hopeless person in a state of lack does not mind
dying.
“Unless we wear our thinking caps as leaders, the
future is very bleak.”
Shettima called on Nigerians to shun conspiracy
theories, which had become a weapon of national
destruction, explaining that insurgency thrived with
the help of conspiracy theories.
He said: “The most critical experience and lesson I
have had and learnt has been the power of
conspiracy theories and how they undermine the
fight against insecurities and the management of
the humanitarian crises
“The Boko Haram insurgency grew from strength
to strength because of the initial conspiracy, theory
which began after the 2011 general elections.
“When we think that we should have learnt our
lessons and make our dear country focus less on
conspiracy theories, a recent development does not
show that we are learning from the dangers.
“Another conspiracy theory arose that the militants
are being funded by those who lost in the 2015
elections to destabilise the present administration.”
The governor said his administration was investing
heavily in agriculture to reposition the economy of
the state and create massive job opportunities for
the people.
He explained that the state was blessed with a
large land mass, which when well harnessed will
lead to increase in food production and boost the
economy.
Shettima said the government was planning to
reconstruct the state, rehabilitate the victims of
insurgencies and relocate them to their homes so
that they could officially to close down the
Internally Displaced Persons camps.
He said that the camps were pregnant with a lot of
challenges like child prostitution, drug abuse,
gangsters, amongst other social vices.
The governor said if the vices were allowed to exist
for the next two years, there would be bigger
problems.
In his address, the Acting President, Prof. Yemi
Osinbanjo, commended Shettima for his
commitment towards finding a lasting solution to
the crises in the North east.
He called on Nigerians to shun political and
religious detractors, who use them to instigate
violence for their selfish interests.
Osinbanjo urged leaders to use their positions
positively to foster national peace and unity.
In a remark, Aisha Mohammed-Oyebode, the Chief
Executive Officer of the Murtala Mohammed
Foundation, said the annual event was aimed at
improving the living conditions of Africans through
poverty reduction and elimination of conflicts.
She said since its inception in 2001, the foundation
had been advancing the legacies of one of Nigeria’s
heroes past, General Murtala Mohammed, whose
administration was qualified incorruptible and
discipline.
Mohammed-Oyebode said as one of the biggest
charity organisations, the foundation has reached
over two million Nigerians in the wake of various
crises.
The lecture is a convergence of both past and
current decision makers in the country.
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