North must unite to tackle 18m out-of-school children – NGF chair

The Chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum, Muhammadu Yahaya, has urged his colleagues in the region to put aside political differences and adopt a common development strategy to tackle the estimated 18 million out-of-school children in the country.

Yahaya, who is also the Governor of Gombe State, warned that continued educational exclusion threatens the North’s security and future.

He said the region could no longer afford fragmented policies and individual state approaches to a crisis that required coordinated investment in basic education, infrastructure, teacher recruitment, and skills development.

The governor spoke on Saturday at the 2026 Biennial Dialogue, Lecture, Dinner, Awards, and Recognition Ceremony organised by the Barewa Old Boys’ Association, Gombe State Chapter.

The event focused on the theme, “The Scourge of Out-of-School Children in Nigeria and the Implications for National Security and National Development.”

According to Yahaya, the North accounts for a disproportionate share of the estimated 18 million children outside the formal education system, identifying poverty, insecurity, inadequate educational infrastructure, and structural inequalities as major factors behind the crisis.

He described the situation as a development emergency and a national security concern, warning that educational exclusion perpetuated poverty, undermined economic productivity, and exposed vulnerable children to criminal exploitation and extremist tendencies.

“Behind these statistics are real human stories: children whose dreams are cut short by poverty, girls denied education by circumstances beyond their control, and young boys growing up on the streets without the knowledge and skills needed to build their future,” Yahaya said.

“We must therefore recognise that the out-of-school children crisis is not merely an educational problem. It is a development emergency and a national security concern,” he added.

Yahaya maintained that security operations alone could not guarantee lasting peace without deliberate investments in education, employment opportunities, and human capital development.

He called on northern governors to develop a regional framework that would address the challenges confronting the region, rather than allowing political differences to undermine collective progress.

“Whatever it takes, we must align. The politics of government will not take us anywhere. We will continue to suffer,” he said.

The governor advocated what he described as backward integration, urging leaders to examine the region’s past educational achievements, assess its present challenges, and plan for future population growth.

Reflecting on the historical contribution of Barewa College to Nigeria’s leadership and development, Yahaya said the North needed to recreate the educational vision that produced generations of leaders.

He suggested that every northern state should consider establishing institutions modelled after Barewa College to expand access to quality education and promote unity among young people across the region.

Yahaya called for greater attention to basic education, warning against the tendency of governments to prioritise tertiary institutions while millions of children remained outside the classroom.

The NGF chairman disclosed that his administration had constructed about 400 primary schools in Gombe State and was working to improve teacher training and recruit qualified teachers.

He stressed that the challenge extended beyond enrolling children in schools to ensuring that they remained in the education system, completed their studies, and acquired relevant vocational or technical skills.

“It is not just in getting them off the streets and returning them to school. It is to ensure that they qualify and get the skills and other education that they desire,” he added.

The governor also called for stronger collaboration among state and local governments, traditional rulers, religious institutions, parents, and development partners, arguing that poverty, insecurity, and educational exclusion reinforced one another.

He urged the Barewa Old Boys’ Association to deploy its extensive network to support scholarships, mentorship, advocacy, and partnerships, cautioning that discussions and policy recommendations would amount to little without practical implementation.

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In her remarks, a former Minister of State for Education, Aishatu Dukku, said parents must bear primary responsibility for ensuring that their children received formal education, arguing that government intervention should complement rather than replace parental obligations.

Dukku said poverty and other socio-economic challenges notwithstanding, parents should not allow their children to roam the streets without access to education.

“I agree there are challenges of poverty, yes, but the responsibility is a parental issue,” she said.

She stated that parents must first be educated about their responsibilities before government interventions could effectively address the problem.

“Whether we like it or not, we must educate the parents first, let them know their responsibilities, and then the government can come in to help.

“I never agreed with the fact that out-of-school children are a government responsibility. No and no and no. It is not a government responsibility. It is a parental issue,” she said.

Dukku, however, raised concerns about the fate of graduates who remained unemployed years after completing their education, warning that the absence of economic opportunities could expose young people to extremism and drug abuse.

She disclosed that seven graduates known to her had completed their studies between five and seven years ago but remained unemployed.

The ex-minister said, “Some of them are even thinking that they should join if there is anything more than Boko Haram, they would even want to join, and some of them have resorted to drug addiction. What are we doing about that?”

Earlier, the National President of the Barewa Old Boys’ Association, Gen. Alwali Kazir (retd.), said the out-of-school children crisis was not exclusively an educational challenge but also a developmental, social, economic, and national security concern.

Kazir cautioned against portraying out-of-school children themselves as security threats, describing them instead as vulnerable children whose circumstances required urgent attention and intervention.

He called for reliable data to identify children excluded from education, improved access to basic education, safer schools, and interventions tailored to the realities of different communities.

The BOBA president also advocated collaboration among governments, traditional rulers, religious leaders, parents, civil society organisations, and development partners.

He said the association would contribute through mentorship, scholarships, advocacy, and partnerships aimed at expanding educational opportunities for disadvantaged children, urging members to translate their concern into practical action.