The tears have not dried.
ACROSS Nigeria, families continue to live through a nightmare that no parent should ever experience. Once again, children left their homes carrying school bags, books, and dreams of a better future, only to find themselves at the mercy of criminals.
Whether in Oyo, Kaduna, Zamfara, Niger, Katsina, or any other part of the country that has witnessed similar horrors, the story remains painfully familiar: innocent pupils disappear, communities are thrown into panic, and parents are left praying for the safe return of their children.
For the victims, the trauma is unimaginable. For their families, every passing hour feels like an eternity. Some of these children are too young to fully comprehend the danger they face.
Their only “offence” was attending school in pursuit of an education. Yet they have become casualties of a security crisis that has persisted for far too long.
Sadly, Nigerians have become accustomed to hearing reports of school abductions. The headlines come and go. Officials issue statements. Condemnations are made. Assurances are offered.
Then, before the wounds have healed, another tragedy unfolds elsewhere. This cycle of fear, outrage, and uncertainty has become one of the most disturbing realities of our time.
But there is nothing normal about children being kidnapped from schools. There is nothing acceptable about parents living in fear whenever they send their children to class.
There is nothing ordinary about communities watching educational institutions transform from centres of learning into targets for criminal gangs.
A country that cannot adequately protect its children is a country facing a profound crisis. Every child who remains in captivity represents another family plunged into anguish, another community gripped by fear, and another reminder of the work that remains undone.
Beyond the immediate victims, these attacks undermine confidence in education, discourage school attendance, and threaten the future of an entire generation.
Nigeria cannot afford to continue reacting only after tragedy strikes. The response must go beyond sympathy and condolences. It requires decisive and sustained action. Schools, particularly those in vulnerable communities, must be better protected.
Security agencies must strengthen intelligence gathering and preventive operations. Emergency response systems must be faster, more coordinated, and more effective. Most importantly, authorities at all levels must treat every abducted child with the urgency and determination they would reserve for their own sons and daughters.
The fight against school abductions is not merely a security challenge; it is a moral obligation. It is about safeguarding the hopes and aspirations of millions of Nigerian children whose futures depend on their ability to learn in safety and dignity.
We must never become comfortable with these tragedies. We must never allow repeated incidents to numb our sense of outrage.
The children who are taken are not figures in a report, statistics in a database, or fleeting subjects of news headlines. They are sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, future doctors, engineers, teachers, entrepreneurs, and leaders.
Their dreams matter. Their lives matter.
Until every Nigerian child can walk into a classroom without fear, and until every abducted pupil is safely reunited with their family, the conscience of our nation cannot truly rest.
Voice just cleared its throat.
– Kabara is a writer and public commentator. Her syndicated column, Voice, appears in News Point Nigeria newspaper on Monday. She can be reached at hafceekay01@gmail.com.