By Muheeb Mashood
“ The journey was a bad experience for me. Our bus had earlier developed a fault before we were attacked by bandits,” Shwawanatu Salihu, a 300 level Education Biology student at Usmanu Danfodiyo University recounted her bad trip as it happened to her like a nightmare.
Shawanatu had left Sokoto in the early day of February—unknowingly that the voyage to her, would be a lifetime of torturous memory after an horrible experience among other students on their way back home for a session break.
Narrow Escape, God Deserves all Thanks
The bus conveying students from UDUS to Kaduna state was reportedly attacked by bandits in Zamfara state on Friday, 17th February 2023.
The student was faced with jeopardy as their bus was rained with gunshots from both directions by bandits.
“As we reached Tsafe village, our bus was attacked with gunshots from both sides. They kept aiming at the tires but the driver increased the speed. That’s how Allah saved us”, Shawanaatu narrated.
The incident was so horrific that Shawanatu lost consciousness for some hours before recovery. She couldn’t call any of her relatives even after lucky hours as she was unconscious. She chanted an unlimited gratitude to her ‘Savior Lord’— knowing that she escaped the beasts’ prey and battled out of the danger unharmed.
Student Tends to Quit Education
Like any other victims of the ordeal, Shawanatu is not free from the torment of the gauntlet. She faced the pressure of giving up the school for her safety, especially for her family.
“Even today I feel like I don’t want to go back to the school and even my family feel so scared after telling them,” she noted.
Idoko Sadaam Infeanyi is another student at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto who had a similar experience with Shawanatu
The 200 level student of law was in the 100 level when he encountered such an affliction. Idoko added that he had never experienced such before, not until September 2021 while in a bus enroute Kano- Sokoto in September 2021.
Speaking with The News Digest Press, Idoko noted that their driver had suspected something terrible. Suddenly, a car chasing them barricaded their bus with gunshots, leaving his heartbeat as though it would burst at that particular time.
“ Our driver foresaw several attempts by the gunshots to stop us; he rather increased the speed. God so good, it was at that time that the army on patrol came to our rescue but surprisingly, the brave-cruel souls opened fire with the government armed officers,” Idoko recounted.
“When I told my family about it, they advised me to come home because they don’t want to risk losing me. After a lot of appellation, they were convinced to believe everything is in God’s wish.”
Specialists Warn of Setback
Underlining the impact of insecurities on education in Nigeria, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) had in April 2022 said insecurity caused the closure of 11,536 schools in Nigeria since December 2020. According to UNICEF, the security challenges have affected the education of 1.3 million children in less than two years.
Frank Anya, a public affairs analyst, fears the northern region is in danger of intellectual and economic threats if the insecurity is not tackled on time.
“I think it will continue across states in the North until the government is able to rectify the situation. As for impact, expect a surge in out-of-school children as schools close, increased illiteracy rate in the region most affected and mass migration to the areas with relative security,” he said in an interview with Business Day.