ZION B-BC NEWSLETTER. A Publication of the Zion Faith Bible-Believing Church, Kpeyegyi, Abuja Nigeria. [VOL. 4. NO 110. 20 September, 2015.} “…ONLY The Truth, Will Set You Free! (John.8:32).
INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS PRIORTIZE EDUCATION TO KILL BOKO HARAM DOCTRINE!
The prolonged onslaught of Boko Haram terrorists on the Nigerian nation though had devastated the economy and had caused great damage to the social welfare psyche of the population, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), have, through much pain and challenges, come to realize that Western education was more profitable than illiteracy! Adult IDPs from the North East States theatre of war, numbering more than 1.5 million, and scattered in several camps across the nation, in the period of over five years of atrocities (2009-2015), have, with the assistance of their host governments, organised basic education of pre-primary and primary, including secondary schooling attachments in already existing institutions for their young ones whom they have envisaged would only fit into an emerging “Change” Nigerian nation of the 21 Century Nigeria with sound education instead of the false doctrine of Boko Haram which abhor Western education! If at a tender age, a child lost the parental obligation to be instructed to comprehend the benefits of good morals and also uneducated to appreciate the necessity for human societies and institutions to develop, progress and dwell in unity, peace and harmony, that child is deemed to have been robbed of the basic foundation of godly living.
The divine instruction is for parents to train or dedicate children to proper and acceptable societal norms, so that when they mature in age, would not turn from such vital basic education.[ Read, Proverbs. 22: 6].
In addition, it is also mandatory for good governments, to provide at least free, qualitative and compulsory primary and secondary education for the up-coming generation of youths in order to avoid restiveness and ensure stability and success in administration.
The World Day for Social Injustice is marked annually in February, to remind leaders and all people in position of authority of the urgent need to ensure social justice in all facets of life a doctrine that is embraced and acknowledged by Civil Society Groups,[CSG], Non Governmental Organisations[NGO] and governments of the federation in view of the escalating brutality of the Boko Haram insurgency, which has taken a very frightening dimension in the incessant cold blooded murder of innocent school children in the North Eastern Geo-Political Zone.
This terrorist group, embarked on a new strategy of killing school children in June 2013 and have persisted as a way of saying, “….if we hadn’t the opportunity of education, they should not!” Twice in June 2013, these insurgents invaded boarding schools in Bornu State, murdered several school children in their sleep and on Tuesday 25 February 2014, besieged, yet, another boarding school in Yobe State and killed about 50 innocent secondary school students…. in all, over 100 souls have met untimely deaths apart from the over 250 kidnapped Chibok Secondary school girls whose fate remain unknown!
We must agree that social injustices like, lack of the basic necessities of life, food, clothing, shelter, good basic education, the unacceptable situations of poverty, human degradation in all forms, tribalism, nepotism, marginalisation, exploitation and insecurity are all MAN- MADE!
The emerging Northern Nigeria politicians until the “Change” All Progressives Congress (APC), Government emerged in May 2015, did not help matters in that instead of massively educating their youths, they capitalised on religious antecedents to lure them into employment as body guards to perpetrate political crimes of ballot box snatching, thuggery and all manner of intimidation of opponents, during political campaigns and elections only to dump them when they were no longer useful!
Between 1999 and 2007, a period of eight years, the two-term Governor of Bornu State, despoiled the youths in this manner and thus birthed the nucleus of the hydra-headed insurgency that is presently troubling not only that region, but the entire nation
When an amnesty channel for dialogue with the Boko Haram was initiated by the Federal Government between 2012- 2013, the insurgents bluntly refused financial inducements as bases for cessation of atrocities unlike the case with the Niger Delta militants, which was initiated by the Late President, Umaru Yar’Adua in 2008.
If they disagreed then what makes President Buhari think they would negotiate now if not only to by time and regroup for more onslaughts? Never will Nigeria negotiate amnesty, peace or clemency with monstrous felons who mindlessly killed, slaughtered, decapitated and maimed almost ONE MILLION innocent Nigerians in cold blood in this long-drawn and unwarranted war of attrition because this is the divinely appointed time to tighten the noose around their neck and exterminate once and for all violence from our nation! It is instructive to note that the year 2015 is the globally designated year by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNICEF), for every child in Sub-Saharan Africa, where only one of every five children have advantage of early education, to be enrolled in school. According to UNICEF data, some 57 million children of primary school age around the world do not attend school, more than half of these live in sub-Saharan Africa, with 20% domiciled in South and West Africa. It is also on record that 54% of out of school children in this region are girls.In the year 2000, at the World Education Forum, in Dakar, the International Community adopted the Education for All Global Action Plan 2015 was set as target date for achieving the goals, the same date as for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), launched in the same year. One decade after, in 2010, sixty-nine million young people of secondary school age (10-16 years), did not attend secondary school while some 774 million young people (over 15 years of age) and adults –mostly women – could not read and write! Socially disadvantaged groups and people domiciled in conflict regions who were severely hampered found access to education highly difficult and mostly impossible! In spite of the 2015 deadline, not a single goal could be identified globally between years 2000 - 2014 despite all advances and efforts by donor countries/governments because domestic funds were not generously appropriated to primary education while more attention was given to tertiary in sub-Saharan Africa! Is it not very clear from the foregoing analysis that the illiterate youths and school drop-outs are the global militants/terrorists of various categories found among the rank and file of Boko Haram, Al Qaeda, Al Shabab and ISIS of the 21 Century? In Nigeria, it is believed that about 10million children of primary school age – mostly girls – are not in school due to several factors ranging from diverse cultures, ethnic considerations and religion – most especially in the Northern parts. How much did the last administration appropriate for Education in the 2015 Budget if not the usual paltry 4-5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), in spite of millions of monies from foreign donor countries? Was it not in Nigeria that Education appropriations were diverted to road construction projects at the detriment of school pupils and students while the Federal Minister involved in the aberration was not even queried? We thank God that IDPs and the affected governments of the North East States, have now placed greater emphasis on the education of their youths having come to grips with the bitter truth that the Boko Harams of today were the uneducated, uncouth and illiterate street children of yesterday! *We support the Safe School Initiative which was launched at the World Economic Forum on Africa in Nigeria in November 2014, by Nigerian business leaders, working with the United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education, Mr Gordon Brown, the Global Business Coalition and a World at School.
The Initiative was launched with an initial $10million US dollars in response to the growing number of attacks on the right to education in the North East States and in solidarity, the Federal government agreed to match the amount with an additional $10million, in a meeting between former President Jonathan and the UN Special Envoy for Global Education.
One hundred ($100million US dollars), is set target for the SSI to which more funds would be raised according to the Envoy who promised his assistance.
This joint effort on the protection of the right to learn in Nigeria is based on best practices from global standards which emphasizes that Safe Schools must be prioritized for continuity in education, even in HIGH RISK AREAS!
*We appreciate the fact that sufficient funds have been made available according to the Finance Minister, who expressed the hope that SSI will re-kindle the needed motivation for parents and children whose sense of safety had been shattered by the violence.
Students under the voluntary programme would enjoy full scholarships covering books and boarding from Junior Secondary School I, to Senior Secondary 3, at the 32 Federal Unity Schools across the country. Funds will also be made to parents who would visit their wards occasionally.
The SSI is a very laudable project which deserves necessary precautionary security measures since the entire North East schools could not re-locate to other parts of Nigeria. President Buhari should as a matter of urgent necessity instruct the Minister of Education to be appointed to give priority attention to SSI as our brethren return to their homeland in a short while! WE MUST BE OUR BROTHERS KEEPERS! Please look forward to more divine revelation in the next edition of Zion B-BC Newsletter as you share this with friends and remain blessed in the Lord. [For weekly access, to this newsletter, log on to: facebook.com/zionfaithbible.believingchurch or http://www.zfbbc1.blogspot.com, https://www.google.com/+zionfaithbiblebelievingchurch .
If you have not accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour, don’t miss this great opportunity as you pray this prayer: Lord Jesus; I confess that I am a sinner who needs to be saved through the grace of the New Testament of your Blood, shed on the Cross at Calvary; I renounce every sin in my life and accept you as my Lord and Saviour. Please forgive me and write my name in the Book of Life. Amen.
If you prayed this prayer, you have been admitted into the family of sons and daughters of God, who are born-again. Congratulations.
I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon, Resident Pastor and Editor.08130669886, 08098194390.g-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment