Nigeria’s kidnapping “industry” could hurt economy as school dropout rate surges

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Kidnapping has become a lucrative “industry” in Nigeria that ranks among the top African countries with a high level of debt. And schools are easy targets for such crimes. This has led to apprehensions that school dropouts could further rise.</p>
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On June 18, the eight year old Fatima Mustafa was “brutally abducted by gun-toting men at her school in Kebbi State, where she has been studying in the last six years,” a <a href="https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/stories/northern-nigeria-attacks-schools-threaten-childrens-right-education">UNICEF report</a> said.</p>
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“What hurts me and my wife most is that Fatima was abducted on the last day of term, just when school was about to close, and we were already expecting her arrival home,” Ibrahim Mustafa was quoted as saying.</p>
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When his wife got the news, she fainted “She’s been in and out of hospital since then. She does not eat. All she asks me every day is, when is her only child coming home? I wish I had an answer,” he said.</p>
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Fatima is among the thousands who have been abducted.</p>
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Uncertainty among the locals has been rising as such activities have become rampant. While poverty and unemployment have led to increased instances of kidnapping, this is creating a vicious cycle, such crimes would have an adverse impact on socio-economic dynamics of the country.</p>
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An analyst said that the country’s economic development could be impacted in the long run. “When lawlessness increases and children start dropping out of schools, it is a very dangerous situation..this will lead to socio-economic distortion,” he said.</p>
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A <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/16/africa/nigeria-kidnappings-million-children-miss-school-intl/index.html">CNN report</a> said that many schoolchildren who were abducted at gunpoint at a school in Nigeria's north-central Niger State have been freed and handed over to their families but only after their parents paid a ransom of $140,000. Not just that the kidnappers were even given motorbikes in ransom, the school headmaster said.</p>
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Despite education being free in the country, a UNICEF report said that only 61 per cent of 6-11 year-olds regularly attend primary school and only 35.6 percent of children aged 36-59 months receive early childhood education.</p>
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Reports said that authorities have done little to address the issue.</p>
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“Insecurity also led to school closures in Nigeria. Several northwestern states have tried to curb the spate of abductions by banning the sale of fuel in jerry cans and the transport of firewood in trucks in order to disrupt gangs who travel by motorbike and camp in remote places,” CNN said.</p>
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While the government has been taking action, it has failed to create any impact.</p>
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While such activities need to be addressed, It is not something we can finish within a year. It's a gradual process,” Abuja-based security and intelligence expert Rabiu Adamu told <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/nigerian-kidnappings-reach-crisis-point/a-56818981">DW</a>. He also said that a dialogue is key to address this issue. In the event that peace talks fail, a radical approach may be the only recourse left, he said.</p>