By
Philip Obaji Jr.
Hauwa,
16, is from Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State in northeastern Nigeria,
a region blighted by years of Boko Haram insurgency. She says fear is with her
daily, dictating how she lives.
"I'm
scared of walking along roads on my own because I don't want to be raped for
the second time," she told me on the day I met with families
affected by the Boko Haram insurgency in Maiduguri. Borno State as a whole has
borne the brunt of the violence that has lasted for more than five years in
northeastern Nigeria.
During four days in
late October, I was on a mission to encourage reluctant parents in Maiduguri to
send their daughters to safe schools working through traditional leaders, youth
leaders and the local media as facilitators.
In those four days, I met girls
who told me they were scared of returning to school because they fear they
could be attacked by anyone, including their male teachers. Because of their
ordeal in the hands of militants, some of whom they identified as neighbours,
they are unwilling to trust anyone.
”I
don’t know where my next attacker could come from,” a young girl told me. “I
just don’t trust anyone, not even my teachers.”
Since
the ongoing crisis, life has never been the same for kids living in the region,
as every facet of their lives has been affected by the insurgency.
Children no
longer feel safe even in their homes. They also fear going to public places
like markets, streams, farms and social gatherings for fear of being attacked
or forcibly conscripted by Boko Haram.
As
many public schools in the northeastern Nigeria are now closed, many
students now hawk wares on the streets, and some have turned to criminal
activities. The situation in the few still-open private schools is no better,
as most parents are scared of sending their children there.
The
insurgency itself has set back education in an area that is grossly
underdeveloped and with a high rate of illiteracy. Since 2012, Boko Haram has
burned more than 300 schools in the north and deprived more than
10,000 children of an education. In a particularly gory attack in
July, suspected armed Islamists killed 42 pupils and teachers and burned down a
government-owned boarding school in Mamudo village, Yobe State.
Figures released by Human Rights Watch
indicate that more than 5,000 people, mostly adults have been killed
since the insurgency began in 2009. As parents are lost in fighting, more and
more children are without families and homes.
Living
with fear of being killed, and without anyone to turn to for protection and
assistance, many orphans have joined the recruitment of armed conflict. The
militia life has become more attractive to the children, who see a
possible future of survival with their fellow soldiers.
In most cases, these
young soldiers from ages 12 to 16 come from communities where there are no
schools to attend and no jobs to work and destitute families. Every year the
number of child soldiers grows as more children are
recruited into active combat.
Moreover,
the continuous influx of Internally Displaced Persons into major towns in the
region have increased the number of beggars on the streets, a situation that forced
some of them – especially girls – into prostitution to make ends meet.
Millions
of dollars, thousands of people's efforts, and several months have all been
spent trying to secure a lasting peace in northeastern Nigeria. But these
efforts have not gone far enough. A lack of coordination, corruption in some
quarters, and insufficient access to those most in need all make achieving
well-being by children difficult, but not impossible.
For
many children in these communities, education remains their surest
way out of poverty and destitution. "I want to enjoy the life I had
before the insurgency," said Umar, 16. "I want to be able to go
to school without the threats of insurgent attacks."
Unfortunately,
the fear of Boko Haram has forced many parents to withdraw
their children from schools, and this can only add to an already
explosive mix of the large pool of uneducated and unemployed youth and
debilitating poverty.
Just
four days spent in the heart of Boko Haram insurgency made me realize that
protecting schools alone, even with the best trained military personnel,
wouldn’t be enough to encourage every child to return to the
classroom. They need a different form of home education that will help them
cripple fear and rebuild their trust in the society.
Obaji is
the founder and general coordinator for the 1 GAME Campaign which promotes basic primary
education for vulnerable children in Nigeria. He also started a
community project, Off The Streets, for street children who are
facing challenges of exclusion from school, ignorance, recruitment into
insurgent groups, neglect and abuse.
Source: http://thehill.com/
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