SIMONKOLAWOLELIVE! simon.kolawole@thisdaylive.com, sms: 0805 500 1961
The nationwide protest organised by the National Union of Teachers (NUT) over the Ogbomoso school abductions is a welcome development. And for many reasons. For one, newspapers are giving the abductions more front-page treatment. In a country perpetually consumed by politics, where electioneering is what we live for, the diversion of media focus to the burning issue is timely and necessary. It is expedient to put the issue of school kidnappings — and insecurity in general — on the front burner. Kidnappings happen regularly in the north such that they get scant media attention, maybe because many think “it is their problem”. Ogbomoso is closer to home for some people.
I am quietly hoping that the Ogbomoso abductions will, at last, get everybody on the same page. By “everybody”, I refer to leaders, commentators and ordinary Nigerians. By “same page”, I mean recognising that we are faced with a threat that affects everybody, regardless of religion and region. We love to politicise things in Nigeria. The APC weaponised the Chibok abductions of 2014 against President Goodluck Jonathan ahead of the 2015 elections. And now, the Ogbomoso incident is an opportunity for the opposition ahead of 2027. We have been politicising insecurity since the days of President Olusegun Obasanjo but what is our gain? Maybe we now need to cast politics aside.
