Jesse Ese, Yenagoa

A call has been made to the Nigerian Government to work towards the speedy release of the abducted Chibok girls in Borno State by the Boko Haram sect and also demonstrate enough social responsibility and concern to guarantee security of lives and properties.
The Bayelsa State Chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), who made this call last Thursday in Yenagoa, noted that security of lives in the school system and guaranteeing of of conducive and peaceful learning environment is the first emergency need of the education system.
In his public presentation, the state chairman of the NUT, Alhaji Ogola Brandla, stated that it is very pertinent to take insurance cover for both students and teachers in the vulnerable political environment of the country.
Alhaji Ogola also said that education should be publicly declared as fundamental human rights and its abridgement should be criminalized.
He also called on the federal and respective state governments to exhibit true concern to the families of the 173 teachers who lost their lives to barbaric acts of terror by paying them adequate compensation to help reduce their plight.
He described the abduction of the Chibok girls as a hindrance towards the actualization of making education available to all by the year 2015.
As a result of the ‘Bring Back Our Girls’ campaign in Yenagoa last Thursday, all public schools in the state capital were closed.
The Bayelsa Chapter of the NUT also commiserated with the families of their late colleagues and prayed that God should grant them fortitude to bear the loss of their loved ones.