The Southern
Kaduna Youths and Students Forum
(SKYSFOM) has accused Mr. Nasir El-Rufai, governor of Kaduna state, of
plotting to stifle the educational
advancement of the people of Southern Kaduna
and the institutions located within the zone. The group made the allegation in
a statement issued after a press conference it addressed in Kafanchan.
Signed by
its National President, Mr. Galadima Jesse, the statement said the execution of
the governor's plot was recently evidenced by a state-sanctioned disruption of
a press conference it organized to plead for the re-opening of tertiary
institutions in the zone.
SKYSFOM said
the aborted press conference, slated for 12 June, was stormed by heavily armed
policemen, who barricaded the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) Secretariat.
According to
SKYSFOM, Mr. El-Rufai has behaved inhumanely to Southern Kaduna students
through the closure of the College of Education, Gidan Waya; the Kafanchan
Campus of the Kaduna State University (KASU) and the School of Nursing,
Kafanchan.
"These
schools were closed down since December 2016 and up to now, they remain closed.
In fact, the Kafanchan Campus of the Kaduna State University was closed down on
the 19 December, 2016, and has remained closed since," said SKYSFOM. The
group noted that academic activities had been paralyzed at the College of
Education since last October because of the government's failure to promptly
tackle herdsmen's attacks on communities close to the school. The government
attributed the closure of the institutions to insecurity, a reason described
by SKYSFOM as ridiculous and
constituting an indictment of the
government.
"Assuming
that the excuse of insecurity is valid, then how come all other schools –
private and public, state institutions, state agencies, markets and so many
other institutions and facilities have been open all this while? Doesn’t the
continued closure of the three tertiary institutions indict the Government that
it has been unable to secure it citizens?" SKYSFOM asked.
The group
also asked Mr. El-Rufai to explain why the University of Maiduguri in Borno
State, which has been persistently attacked and bombed, remains open while the
yet to be attacked tertiary institutions in Southern Kaduna should be closed
for almost a year.
"Is the
governor still trying to give a wrong impression to the outside world that
Southern Kaduna is still in crisis when peace has returned to the zone? Which
is more difficult: To reopen the
Kafanchan Campus of KASU and continue with normal lectures or transfer the
students to the main campus in Kaduna, as the governor is trying to do? We say
no to that," stated SKSFOM.
It described
as ironic Mr. El-Rufai's enrollment for a PhD in a Dutch university at a time
he has shut tertiary institutions in Southern Kaduna. The group said it was
possible for the governor to close the institutions because none of his
children attends any of the closed schools. It described the governor's action
as a crime against humanity.
"This
is a serious crime against humanity that the governor is guilty of and we make
bold to say that we, the students, will lawfully and legally resist him.
Consequently, we demand the immediate reopening of the tertiary schools in
Kafanchan so that our members can go back and continue with their studies
because this same governor has told the world that normalcy has returned to
Southern Kaduna," said SKYSFOM.
The forum
also called on its members in the impacted institutions to remain steadfast,
saying it will not rest until the schools are re-opened. It added that it is
organizing educational programs to engage the minds of its members during the period
of the closure. It also reiterated that the three-week ultimatum served the
governor on 12 June still stands.
Saharareporters
Saharareporters
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