NUT Demands Release Of Chibok Girls

The Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) yesterday called for immediate release of the over 200 abducted girls of Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno
The Chairman , FCT chapter of the union,  Mr Hassan Jibir, made the call at the ‘Bring Back our Girls’’ rally staged at Zone 7 in Abuja.
The national body of the union last Wednesday in Abuja directed the closure of all schools nationwide to protest the abduction.
Jibir said that the protest was in solidarity of the families of the abducted girls in Chibok and the slain teachers.
“The abduction of the girls is very painful; the girls are the ones facing the shock of the insurgencies.
“Unfortunately, Nigerians are not happy likewise the international community.
“The protest is a way of demonstrating our position and feelings that we are demanding for the release of these girls; to have them available in schools for the teachers to teach them the curriculum that has been provided.”
He said that the protest was also in line with the international community to ensure that the girls are rescued, safe and alive.
Jibir called on the military and the international security agencies to be careful in carrying out their rescue operations in order not to lose any of the girls.
“The demand of the NUT is to ensure that the objective of the rescue mission is to bring them safe and alive,” he said.
Jibir also called on the Federal Government to ensure adequate compensation to the families of the teachers that were killed by the insurgents.
He also called on government to ensure security in the school system.
Also, Mr Labaran Garba, Assistant Secretary, NUT FCT chapter, said the protest was also to lend the chapter’s voice in condemning the abduction of the girls.
Garba said that Nigerians should not relent in their prayers for the abducted school girls, adding that the entire country and the teachers were at a crossroad.
On his part, Mallam Usman Abubakar, a teacher at L.E.A. Paipe, Lifecamp, FCT, condemned the way and manner that the girls were abducted.
“We also want to plead with the abductors to please release our girls; they are innocent and they are not in government; they are not policy makers,‘’ he said.
Some of the placards carried inscriptions like “don’t mortgage the future of our girls’’, “support government to crush Boko Haram insurgents’’.
Others are “Education is a right, Chibok girls should be brought back to school’’, “please release our students, Boko Haram leaders are educated, please don’t deceive us’’ , among others.
In Lagos, The Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) yesterday stormed the Lagos State Governor’s office, protesting the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls and the death of 173 teachers in Borno and Yobe State respectively.
Mr Segun Raheem, the state chairman of the NUT who led the protest, urged the Federal Government to intensify efforts to ensure that the girls, who were abducted by insurgents, were rescued and brought back alive.
He also appealed to the government to compensate the families of teachers who had been killed by the insurgents.
Raheem described the killing of 173 teachers in Borno and Yobe as well as the abduction of 234 girls from the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok as attacks on the education sector.
“Education is the forum for development in any country.
“It is pertinent at this time to call on the Nigerian government to bring back our girls safe and alive by demonstrating enough social responsibility,’’ he said.
Raheem also appealed that insurance cover should be provided for both students and teachers and urged all tiers of government to come together to fight the insurgents.
Responding, Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) said that the day of protest declared by the NUT was a testimony of its astuteness.
Fashola was represented by his Special Adviser on Education, Mr Fatai Olukoga, while the Commissioner for Transportation, Mr Kayode Opeifa, was also present.
He said that the interest of the teachers and pupils was of paramount interest to the government.
“The security and safety of the citizens is of paramount importance to the government.
“The safe return of the girls is of utmost importance to us,’’ he said.
Fashola promised to pass the NUT’s message to the Federal Government..