By Princess Joy Omagha Idam
Your Excellency,
Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru, Governor of Ebonyi State, thanks for relaxing the curfew, with all due respect, how can education not be treated as a priority in a time of crisis?
Security is important no one disputes that. The protection of lives in Amasiri and Okporojo is critical. But shutting down all schools indefinitely sends a troubling message: that education is expendable.
When communities face instability, education should be protected not suspended. Schools are not battlefields; they are safe spaces. They are stabilizing institutions. They keep children off the streets, protect them from being recruited into violence, and preserve hope in uncertain times.
Closing schools “pending the determination and conclusion of investigations” without a clear timeline risks punishing innocent children for crimes they did not commit. It disrupts academic calendars, threatens examination preparedness, and deepens inequality especially for students who may not have alternatives. Its bad enough that Amasiri children will not write Common Entrance, WAEC, NECO or JAMB now you want them at home indefinitely Sir You have failed them as Governor.
A governor is not only a Chief Security Officer. A governor is the Chief Custodian of the future. And the future of Ebonyi State sits in those classrooms. Please as a matter of Urgency reopen the schools.
If there are security concerns, then secure the schools. Deploy protection. Introduce monitored learning schedules. Engage community leaders. But do not shut the doors of opportunity on children who already live in a fragile environment.
Education must not be collateral damage.
We urge the Ebonyi State Government to reconsider this blanket closure and adopt measures that balance security with the fundamental right to learning. It is the right of every Amasiri child.
Because when education stops, progress stops.
And Ebonyi State cannot afford to stop.
Princess Joy Omagha Idam
Publisher
Weekenders Magazine
09024563804
idamjoy14@gmail.com
