Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
Members of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), Edo State Chapter, on Tuesday took to the streets in protest against the abduction of teachers and pupils in Oyo and Borno states respectively, calling for urgent measures to address the growing insecurity in schools.
The teachers, who assembled in large numbers at the Teachers’ House, Ogida Quarters, Benin City, before embarking on the peaceful protest, decried government complacency over the plight of the abducted teachers and pupils who have spent more than two weeks in captivity.
They carried placards with different inscriptions, including: “Teachers’ Lives Matter”, “The Classroom Must Not Become a Battlefield”, “Bring Back Our Teachers in Oyo”, among others.
Speaking during the protest, the Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), Edo State Chapter, Comrade Lucky Imaruagheru, condemned the abduction and killing of a teacher in Orire Local Government Area of Oyo State, describing the incident as a tragic attack on the teaching profession and the nation’s education system.
He lamented the inaction of the government and added that the NUT would no longer stay aloof while their colleagues and pupils suffer in the hands of kidnappers.
His words, “We saw the kidnapping and beheading of a teacher in Oyo State, and the government has kept mute on the plight of these children, and we are not going to stay aloof.
“We cannot allow ourselves to be used as sacrificial lambs while we give our energy, our time, and our resources to make Nigeria a better country.”
Continuing, he said, “But our leaders are keeping mute. It is not acceptable to us. We teachers cannot accept that. They should rise up to their responsibilities”