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Obasanjo: B’Haram will soon start recruiting out-of-school children

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, again, yesterday, raised the alarm on dangers of the increasing number of out-ofchildren in the country, warning that if the government fails to address the issue, they might soon be recruited by the Boko Haram terrorists. Obasanjo said a situation where about 14 million children who ought to be in school are roaming the streets would further worsen the insecurity challenges confronting the country.

The former president stated this while addressing participants at the presidential youth mentorship retreat held at the Youth Development Centre of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta, Ogun State. Obasanjo attributed the cause of insecurity in Nigeria to lack of proper Western education for many Nigerian children. The former president urged the Federal Government to find a lasting solution to insurgency, banditry, kidnapping and other criminal activities in the country before it gets out of hand, adding: “If you have identified what you need to do right, have you continued to do them right?

“In Nigeria, have we done basic education right? Of course, you cannot go anywhere without education but, if we have done it right, have we continued to do it right? “A situation today where we have 14 million children that should be in school that are not in school, does anybody need to be an oracle to tell you that 10 or 15 years from now, they will be will be recruited by Boko Haram?

“So, if you deal with Boko Haram by stick today, in few years’ time, the situation will be worse, because we are talking about security, it will be worse. So, if we are talking of insecurity, where should we begin? If we are talking of poverty, where should we begin? It is education.

“Somebody said if everybody is educated who will be a servant; and I said if everybody is educated then we will get a better servant than you should have gotten from those that are not educated.” The former president insisted that, the unity of the country is not negotiable, stressing that, he would continue to fight for the unity of Nigeria for the rest of his life.

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