Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — Former Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has warned that the latest mass abduction of pupils and teachers in Niger State poses a direct threat to Nigeria’s long-term economic security, saying persistent school attacks are undermining the country’s future workforce and investment prospects.
Speaking in reaction to the kidnapping of 315 pupils and teachers at St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in Papiri, Niger State, Amaechi said the targeting of schools is deepening fear, driving children out of classes, and weakening the human capital base required for national growth.
Within hours of the world marking World Children’s Day, gunmen stormed the two schools, abducted pupils and teachers, and shot a security officer. Amaechi said the emotional and economic cost of such attacks is devastating.
“I pray for the speedy recovery of the security officer, the safe return of every child and teacher that has been abducted, and the healing of the families whose sense of safety has been shattered,” he said.
He called attention to a trend of repeated assaults on learning centres, noting that the incident came in the same week as the kidnapping of young girls in Maga, Kebbi State. According to him, unchecked insecurity is eroding education, productivity, and investor confidence.
“This incident shows a systemic pattern of violence that is targeting schools, places of worship, farms, and highways,” Amaechi said.
He criticised the absence of Nigeria’s top security chiefs during the crisis, warning that leadership gaps worsen economic uncertainty.
“International cooperation is important, but when children are being abducted from schools, it is not enough to issue statements after the fact. Nigerians want to see visible, coordinated, decisive, and proactive action.”
Citing UNICEF data, he warned that Nigeria’s position as home to more than 18 million out-of-school children has far-reaching economic consequences.
“Each attack on a school does not only increase that number, it deepens the fear that learning is unsafe and the future is uncertain,” he said. “These incidents damage not only today’s education, but tomorrow’s workforce, tomorrow’s economy, and tomorrow’s peace.”
Amaechi also faulted the Federal Government for abandoning the Safe Schools Declaration, a programme backed with an initial N16 billion allocation in 2022. He argued that failure to secure schools threatens national productivity and sustainable development.
“We cannot claim to be serious about protecting schools while abandoning a critical national structure designed to do exactly that,” he said.
He urged the government to activate high-level emergency coordination mechanisms, insisting that the growing insecurity demands urgent national leadership.
“The National Council of State exists for times like this. If we will not use such an instrument now, when will we?”
The former minister added that political power must translate into citizen protection, saying the country cannot build a viable economy without securing its youngest population.
“If it is anyone’s turn, then it is also the turn of Nigerian children to be protected. The right to lead cannot be separated from the duty to protect,” he said.
“Mandates are not upheld by chants or slogans; they are upheld by the safety and trust of the citizens, starting with the youngest and most vulnerable amongst us.”
Amaechi further stressed that insecurity cannot be defeated through military responses alone, insisting that economic deprivation fuels violence.
“If people cannot make legitimate income, they will create illegitimate ones,” he said.
“Security is not only about operations, it is about opportunity, dignity and trust in the state.”
He concluded by saying Nigeria possesses the intelligence and institutional capacity to curb the attacks, but leadership must demonstrate the resolve to deploy them effectively.
“Nigeria still has the institutions, the intelligence and the human capacity to protect itself. The real question is whether leadership is ready to use them with the urgency, discipline and courage this moment demands.”
