It’s a little over two years since the militant group, Boko Haram attacked the Federal Government College in Buni Yadi.
The ashes from the burnt furniture and debris from the fallen buildings are a reminder of the gruesome event in February 2014. The militants killed over 40 students while they slept and destroyed classrooms, offices, laboratories and dormitories.
Prior to this attack, the same militants had carried out an attack at an agricultural college in Gujba, killing 40 students.
The Buni Yadi students prompted public officials to shutdown the schools. To this day, schools in the region are still closed. Parents who can afford have sent their children to study in other parts of the country. The low income earners, however do not have that luxury.
The attacks only served to worsen the welfare situation in the region.
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In a 2015 report published by the Africa Health, Human and Social Development Information Service, for individuals above the age of six, 52.4% of males and 61.1% of females have received no formal education in the northeast region of Nigeria.
Schools in the commercial and urban centres have reopened. However, rural based schools are faced with far greater difficulties. The Boko Haram rebels still operate in the wilderness of rural areas.
The security situation is still of concern to the residents of Buni Yadi. The general consensus is it’s still not safe for residents to send their children back to school. Boko Haram militants are still lurking in the bushes.
The bush outside Buni Yadi leads to Sambisa forest, a former game reserve in Borno which Boko Haram has turned into its stronghold.
Soldiers and civilian vigilantes patrol Buni Yadi’s dusty, potholed streets in pick-up trucks. “We are always on alert,” said one vigilante at a checkpoint, holding a hunting rifle in one hand and a machete in the other.
“We have pushed Boko Haram out but we are not relaxing our vigilance.”
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Read more at: The Vanguard Nigeria