By Lawan Musa Danlami ( Baba Lawan)
November,22 2025
When the federal government closes public schools as a response to insecurity, it may appear to be a protective measure. Yet in reality, it is a grave miscalculation—one that deepens inequality, weakens national resilience, and reinforces the very insecurity it seeks to defeat. This form of “security policy” disproportionately harms the children of the poor while preserving the comfort of the privileged. It reflects what the late Kenyan intellectual Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o described as “the politics of selective vulnerability”—a system where the strong shield themselves while the weak pay the price of national crises.
Nigeria is now living through that tragic paradox.
A Government Retreating Instead of Governing
Security threats in Nigeria—whether from insurgents, bandits, or kidnappers—are real and devastating. Yet the closure of federal schools signals not protection but abdication. It is a confession of state weakness. Renowned security scholar Barry Buzan argues that “the state collapses first in its inability to secure human life before it collapses politically.” Closing schools is the first sign of such collapse: a retreat from state responsibility and a quiet concession that non-state actors dictate national policy.
Rather than strengthening school security architecture, improving intelligence gathering, and deploying trained personnel, the government opts for the easiest—but most damaging—response: shutdown.
The Poor Pay the Price, the Elite Move Forward
Education has long been described by economist Amartya Sen as “the greatest tool of human freedom.” When federal schools close, it is this freedom that is taken from the poor.
The elite remain unaffected. They have choices—private academies with fortified security, international schools insulated from Nigeria’s instability, and foreign classrooms abroad. Their children’s learning continues uninterrupted.
Meanwhile, the children of farmers, traders, civil servants, drivers, and artisans sit idle at home, swallowing uncertainty.
Sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital becomes painfully evident here: the privileged maintain generational advantage, while the poor are structurally excluded. Every school closure widens the gap. Every lost term weakens upward mobility. Every lost pupil strengthens the cycle of generational poverty.
Fear of the “Unseen Enemy” and the Psychology of Abandonment
The fear that drives school closures is tied to the threat of attacks by an unseen, unpredictable enemy. But as Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai has repeatedly emphasized, “closing the school doors is exactly what terrorists want.” It sends a dangerous psychological signal—that violence works.
When schools close, children internalize fear; communities lose morale; teachers abandon the profession. Education becomes synonymous with danger. According to UNESCO’s Education Under Attack report, fear-induced shutdowns have long-term psychological consequences, including school avoidance and academic decline. Nigeria risks embedding such trauma into an entire generation.
The Long-Term Consequences: A Generational Catastrophe
The impact of school closures extends far beyond temporary disruption. Scholars such as Prof. Paul Collier and Prof. Ibrahim Gambari have warned that societies with widening educational inequality experience:
Higher unemployment
Increased criminal recruitment
Deepened poverty
Weak civic culture
Lower productivity
Reduced national cohesion
The Brookings Institution’s study on learning poverty has shown that every additional month outside school reduces lifetime earnings for children, increases early marriage risk for girls, and fuels youth vulnerability to radicalization.
Nigeria already has one of the world’s highest populations of out-of-school children. School closures accelerate this crisis into a national emergency.
Intellectual Perspectives: Security Through Education, Not Against It
Many global thinkers have stressed that education is one of the strongest forms of long-term security.
Nelson Mandela argued: “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.”
UNESCO asserts that education reduces the likelihood of conflict by fostering social cohesion.
Prof. Ali Mazrui noted that societies that fail to educate the masses inevitably breed instability.
Abdul-Ghani Al-Nabulsi, an Islamic intellectual, emphasized that communities collapse when ignorance becomes normalized.
British education theorist Michael Fullan warned that educational disruption is “a predictor of future national weakness.”
These scholars agree: a society that abandons education becomes fertile ground for insecurity.
Thus, closing federal schools to fight insecurity is not just ineffective—it is contradictory. Education is part of the solution, not part of the problem.
Policy Alternatives That Protect, Not Punish
If the state is serious about protecting education, experts recommend proactive, not punitive measures:
Establish Safe School Units with dedicated trained personnel
Invest in CCTV networks, perimeter technology, and rapid-response systems
Strengthen community intelligence networks
Introduce school-based early-warning systems and evacuation drills
Provide psychological support to students in high-risk regions
Improve state–local cooperation in school security planning
Involve traditional rulers and community leaders as safety partners
These strategies are sustainable. School closures are not.
Conclusion: Education Must Never Be a Casualty of Insecurity
A nation that closes schools because it cannot protect them is a nation surrendering its future. It widens inequality, empowers criminals, and betrays the sacrifices of the poor.
Education is not optional—it is foundational.
Security is not an excuse for abandonment—it is a responsibility.
As intellectuals from Mandela to Mazrui, Sen to Yousafzai, UNESCO to Brookings, have consistently emphasized: a society that deprives its poor of education is building insecurity, not defeating it.
Nigeria must choose a different path—one where classrooms remain open, safe, and sacred.
Because when the school doors close, the nation’s future closes with them.
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Opinion