Insecurity: U.S Declares Support For Nigeria On Education
The United States has declared support for child education in Nigeria following the bandits attacks on educational institutions to disrupt learning.
U.S said the school environment must be conducive, saying that those raiding the institutions must be held responsible for their actions.
This was contained by U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN), Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who said America will support Nigeria in protecting children in school.
Speaking in a special virtual briefing, the envoy also discussed terrorism, COVID-19 and other challenges facing Africa as a continent.
According to her, “We have to hold people accountable and really have them punished for those kinds of acts. Schools should be places where children can go to school and learn and be happy and thrive.
“And so as part of our work with Nigerian security services, it’s also to help them be more effective and efficient in providing that kind of support and security for all Nigerians, but particularly for young children and young girls who are trying to get educated.”
On alleged human rights abuses by the military and security agencies, the envoy said: “It is an issue that we continue to work with the Nigerian Government on.
“We have called the government out when we have seen violations being committed, but we also, at the same time, try to provide assistance and train and equip law enforcement and other professionals to address some of these issues and to address shortcomings that they may have.
“So, we’re looking at programs that focus on building capacity for the security services that focus on providing support to the people.
“I was reminded today (yesterday) that when I was asked early in my tenure what keeps me awake at night, and on that day that I was asked that question, Nigerian children had been kidnapped from a school. And again, that is something that continues to happen in Nigeria.
“It’s something that we all have to work to address,” the U.S. official stated.
