Editorial note: This article reflects the situation and public mood following the February 2014 attack on Federal Government College, Buni Yadi. Initial reports placed the number of students killed at over 40, but later reports confirmed that 59 boys lost their lives. Although written in response to that particular tragedy, its concerns about attacks on schools and the value placed on young lives remain relevant.
Another Attack on Students
Too early, too soon, the nation was again thrown into mourning over the killing of innocent students in the troubled North-East of the country.
Dozens of students were reportedly killed in the latest savage attack on schools in the region.
Although no group immediately claimed responsibility for the incident, the attack bore the hallmarks of the dreaded Boko Haram group operating freely in the region. The group had been blamed for similar attacks in the past, often leading to the closure of schools in the affected states.
Like in previous attacks, the students were attacked and killed as they slept in their dormitories during an overnight raid on their school—Federal Government College, Buni Yadi, Yobe State.
Some were shot, while others were burnt alive as the school buildings were set on fire. Later reports confirmed that 59 boys were killed.
Condemnation Without Enough Action
Unlike in many civilised nations, where the resources of the state would be mobilised to find and prosecute the perpetrators of such an attack, our politicians gave the usual knee-jerk response.
They condemned the act and issued statement after statement in a familiar fashion. Yet little or no visible action was taken to prevent another attack a few months later or bring the perpetrators to justice.
Condemnation had become predictable. What remained missing was effective action.
Politics While Families Mourned
As the families of the victims mourned their loss and prepared to bury their children, leading members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, including the Nigerian president, were preparing for political activities elsewhere in the country.
The contrast was disturbing.
While the House of Representatives observed a day of mourning over the attack, President Goodluck Jonathan and other PDP leaders attended the party’s North-West rally in Kaduna.
How insensitive and selfish could our leaders be? How little value was attached to the blood of our dying dreams?
No national day of mourning was declared to reflect on and grieve over this monumental loss of life. Nor had one been declared for the victims of other recent Boko Haram attacks.
Instead, the tragedy was followed by political blame-trading as the 2015 general election approached. Once again, politicians appeared more interested in escaping responsibility and scoring political points than in confronting the real problem.
The Ugly Generation
These men—the ugly generation—would not leave the stage, yet they would not allow the beautiful ones to live.
They were trading the country’s future for the gains of the present—or, more accurately, for the gains of their pockets.
The country still did not have a substantive Minister of Education, only a supervising minister. ASUP and COEASU strikes were ongoing, while many schools in Boko Haram-affected states remained under lock and key.
Yet the president was on a political tour in an attempt to win the next general election.
To the political class, winning elections appeared more important than keeping young people in school, protecting the lives of schoolchildren and creating jobs for the large number of unemployed graduates.
A Future Worth Worrying About
Things might not have been completely hopeless, but they were certainly worrying.
It would have been insane not to worry about the future when a substantial number of higher institutions were closed by striking lecturers and secondary-school students were being killed in their sleep.
More than ever, our education system needed a Moses—not luck any longer.
Update: The Beautiful Ones Are Still at Risk
The Buni Yadi attack was not the last major attack on Nigerian schoolchildren.
In the decade following the Chibok abductions, verified reports recorded more than 1,680 children abducted in conflict-related violence, 180 children killed in attacks on schools and more than 70 attacks on educational institutions.
Insecurity has continued to force the closure of schools and discourage parents from allowing their children to attend classes. UNICEF reported that 113 schools in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states were closed because of insecurity during 2022 and 2023 alone.
The beautiful ones are still dying, being abducted or being denied an education because their schools are unsafe.
The tragedy of Buni Yadi should therefore not be remembered only as an event of February 2014. It should remain a warning that a nation that cannot protect its children in their classrooms and dormitories is endangering its own future.
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