Hon. Bamidele Salam, House of Representatives member representing Ede North/Ede South/Egbedore/Ejigbo Federal Constituency, said many leaders ignore the rising insecurity in the country because their children often attend private schools or study overseas, unlike the children of ordinary Nigerians who rely on public schools.

Speaking during plenary on Wednesday, in a video that has since gone viral, the lawmaker stressed the need for urgent measures to safeguard schools across the country.

Drawing from a Yoruba proverb, Salam said: “There is a saying among the Yoruba people that if a lion comes into a village and kills the children of the poor, there may be no noise, there may be no mourning but when the day the lion comes into the village and kills a child of the king, the whole city is turned into a graveyard.”

He argued that many public office holders are insulated from the realities faced by vulnerable families because their children are enrolled in private institutions, with some studying outside Nigeria.

“For reasons we all know most of the children of those of us who are in leadership position today attend private schools. Some of them outside of the Republic of Nigeria because we can afford it. But the children of the poor, labourers, teachers, the children of carriers of wood attend public schools and we cannot afford to close our eyes to the realities of the dangers that their children and the teachers face today in Nigeria,” he said.

The lawmaker proposed the establishment of a dedicated security structure focused on protecting educational institutions nationwide.

“And I want to suggest that part of the resolution of this motion should be the need for the federal government of Nigeria to create a special force, a special security architecture specifically designed for the school system,” Salam stated.

He noted that other countries confronted with similar threats had developed innovative strategies to secure their schools, adding that Nigeria once had a school security framework under the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps but that it lacked adequate funding.

“There was a time that the Nigeria Civil Defence organisation had a school security system and I am saying it on good authority that it was never funded for the period of its existence,” he said.

Calling for swift action, Salam maintained that protecting schools is achievable if the government can provide security for public officials and critical institutions.

“I think that it is high time that we look at this problem in a very urgent manner and provide adequate security for all schools. I disagree with those who say we cannot protect all schools.”

“If we can protect the thousands of public office holders in Nigeria, we can protect the children of the poor who attend public schools, teachers.”

Referring to the recent security incident in Oyo State, the lawmaker urged authorities to take proactive steps to reassure citizens and support affected victims.

“And on the incident that happened in Oyo state, the government needs to be more proactive, more reassuring in a manner that would not allow the problem to foster more and provide comfort to the victims of these attacks.” (PUNCH)