By Shuaibu Usman Muhammad
Emir of Lafia, Justice Sidi Bage I (Rtd) has challenged government and parents to collaborate for more stringent measures on out-of-school children’s crisis in the country, warning against its imminent danger.
The monarch, a retired Justice of the Nigerian Supreme Court, berated those claiming that Islam had attached no relevance to modern education, insisting that the Qur’an prominently encourages education for all at all levels.
He disclosed this while delivering a remark after this year’s Eid prayer at his palace in Lafia, the Nasarawa State Capital.
The traditional ruler said poor education or its lack is a premonition of timebomb in any society, decrying rising insecurity in some parts of the country.
He called on all to cooperate with the government to stem the tide of security challenges, noting that the menace of insecurity is largely tied to poor education and economic instability.
Justice Bage, who is the Chairman of the Nasarawa State Council of Chiefs, reiterated the traditional council’s commitment to nipping the scourge in the bud.
According to him, no child of school-age should be allowed to roam the streets, calling on authorities concerned to fully domesticate and implement the nation’s Child’s Rights Act to arrest the imminent danger which out-of-school children’s crisis poses to the nation’s collective survival.
According to UNICEF, 18.3 million children are out of school in Nigeria, making the country the global leader in out-of-school children.
Northern states account for 60% of this total, underscoring the region’s disproportionate contribution to the crisis.