By ALO 360 Editorial Board
The abduction of 47 schoolchildren and teachers from three schools in Ahoro Esinele community, Oriire local government area of Oyo State, should shake the conscience of any serious nation. Nearly two weeks after the attack, the victims remain in captivity. One of the abducted teachers has reportedly been killed. Among those still being held are children as young as two years old and a teacher with a baby.
For any country that claims to value its future, such an incident would dominate national discourse and command the full attention of the government. Yet in Nigeria, the tragedy appears to have been absorbed into the routine cycle of insecurity that has become a defining feature of national life.
The Oyo abduction raises a troubling question: What exactly is the fate of a Nigerian child?
This question goes beyond the children currently in captivity. It extends to the millions of Nigerian children growing up in an environment defined by insecurity, poverty, hunger, poor healthcare and limited access to quality education. The Nigerian child today faces dangers that should have no place in any society that claims to be developing.
Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the Oyo incident is that it demonstrates how school abductions, once largely associated with northern Nigeria, are spreading across the country. For years, many Nigerians comforted themselves with the belief that the menace was geographically confined. That illusion has now been shattered.
The response of the government has followed a familiar pattern. Condemnation. Assurances. Promises of rescue. Announcements of intelligence-led operations.
ANOTHER PROMISE
President Bola Tinubu has promised that efforts are underway to secure the release of the victims. While such assurances are necessary, Nigerians have heard them too many times before. Similar promises were made after Chibok, Dapchi, Kankara, Tegina, Kuriga and numerous other school abductions. In many cases, victims were eventually rescued. In many others, families continue to wait. Yet what remains constant is that the attacks keep happening.
The government cannot continue to measure success merely by responding after a tragedy has occurred. The primary responsibility of the state is prevention. Citizens should not have to wait for condolence messages before feeling the presence of the government.
The decision by the Oyo State Government to shut schools in affected areas may provide temporary relief, but it cannot be a long-term solution. Nigeria has experimented with school closures before. The result has never been improved security. Instead, children lose valuable learning opportunities while the underlying security challenges remain unresolved.
This approach is particularly dangerous in a country already burdened with one of the world’s highest out-of-school populations. More than 20 million Nigerian children are already outside the classroom. Shutting more schools only deepens an existing crisis.
Yet insecurity is only one aspect of the challenges confronting Nigerian children.
BEYOND INSECURITY
According to UNICEF, approximately 17 million Nigerian children under the age of five suffer from malnutrition. About six million are chronically malnourished, while two million suffer from severe acute malnutrition. These are not mere statistics. They represent millions of children whose physical and cognitive development is being permanently damaged.
Healthcare indicators are equally alarming. Nigeria records one of the highest under-five mortality rates in the world. More than 800,000 Nigerian children die before their fifth birthday every year. Many of these deaths are preventable.
Against this backdrop, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the welfare of Nigerian children is no longer receiving the urgency it deserves.
The irony is painful. While children struggle with insecurity, malnutrition and preventable diseases, political leaders across the country have shifted attention almost entirely to the 2027 elections. The nation is already witnessing campaigns, endorsements, defections, primary elections and political calculations, even as fundamental questions about the survival and wellbeing of Nigerian children remain unanswered.
Children’s Day offered another opportunity for reflection. It should have been a moment to honestly assess the condition of Nigerian children and recommit to improving their lives. Instead, the day passed with the usual speeches and symbolic celebrations, while many children remained trapped in captivity and millions more continued to battle conditions that threaten their future.
BEYOND WORDS
We believe the time has come for the government to move beyond rhetoric.
The children abducted in Oyo State must be rescued. Those responsible must be apprehended and prosecuted. School security must become a national emergency. Investments in intelligence gathering, community policing, surveillance and rapid response mechanisms must be prioritised.
At the same time, the government must address the deeper socio-economic conditions that threaten the future of Nigerian children. Poverty reduction cannot be reduced to periodic distribution of food items. Malnutrition is fundamentally linked to household income and food security. Likewise, child mortality cannot be reduced without serious investments in primary healthcare facilities, medical personnel and essential equipment.
A nation that spends more energy preparing for elections than protecting its children is setting itself on a dangerous path. The true measure of any society is not the number of political rallies it organises or the sophistication of its campaign machinery. It is the condition of its children.
The Nigerian child deserves safety, education, healthcare and hope.
Until these basic guarantees are secured, the future of Nigeria itself remains uncertain.
And so, we return to the question that should trouble every public official and every citizen alike: what is the fate of a Nigerian child?
