A Nigerian educator in the diaspora, Fateemah Yoosuf-Ibraheem, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to take urgent and decisive steps to secure schools across the country, warning that continued attacks on students and teachers are placing the nation’s future at risk.
In an open letter addressed to the President, Yoosuf-Ibraheem, who served as an educator in Nigeria and now advocates for educational equity and linguistic inclusion abroad, said she was writing on behalf of parents, teachers and communities who live in fear each day their children set out for school.
She described the rising attacks on schools as a national emergency, noting that gunmen continue to target learning environments with devastating consequences. Her intervention follows the latest mass abduction in Niger State, where 315 people — including 303 students — were seized from St Mary’s School in Papiri, only days after 25 girls were taken from a secondary school in Kebbi State.
“These attacks are not random. They are deliberate assaults on education, on hope,” she wrote. “Your Excellency, our children deserve better than fear.”
The educator recalled the 2014 Chibok abduction, in which 276 schoolgirls were taken, with fewer than 200 accounted for more than a decade later. She warned that children across several states still face the same threat, with communities repeatedly forced into mourning and uncertainty.
Yoosuf-Ibraheem said Nigeria is not alone in facing the challenge of protecting education in conflict zones, noting that international advocacy groups have issued similar calls. She cited the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack, Save the Children, and education activist Malala Yousafzai, all of whom have previously pressed Nigerian leaders to ensure safe learning environments.
She urged the President to implement the National Policy on Safety, Security, and Violence-Free Schools in full, increase funding for security in vulnerable areas, deploy trained personnel around schools, and establish safe transportation and rapid response units.
The letter also called for a transparent national recovery plan for abducted students, created with the support of civil society and international partners; stronger community-level engagement involving parents and local leaders; and routine public reporting on progress.
“This is more than a policy. It is a legacy,” she wrote. “If our children cannot learn safely, then Nigeria cannot rise safely.”
Yoosuf-Ibraheem appealed to the President to prevent schools from becoming battlegrounds, stressing that protecting education is critical not only for security but also for the dreams and futures of young Nigerians.
“We demand safety. We demand accountability. We demand peace,” she concluded, adding that advocates will continue to push until Nigerian schools are safe for all.
The letter was signed by Fateemah Yoosuf-Ibraheem, Founder of Educom Africa.
