The alleged clashes between farmers and herdsmen in Agatu Local Government
Area of Benue State have taken a toll on primary and secondary school
education as most children in the affected communities no longer go to school.
A group of students were seen cutting overgrown grasses within the compound
of the RCM Primary School, Aila. In front of the administrative block, the
headmaster and some teachers sat on broken wooden benches discussing their
plight.
The RCM Primary School appears to be one of the schools left standing in
Agatu in the aftermath of the crisis between farmers and herders. This,
according to the headmaster, Yakubu Damian Dennis, was because it was
initially used as a camp for military personnel drafted to maintain peace in
Agatu.
Although the school was said to have also come under attack in the wake of
the crisis, it was not set ablaze. However, it was not completely spared as the
headmaster said “the attackers broke some doors, vandalized furniture and
carted away some books.”
The military personnel later relocated from the school to another location,
making it possible for school activities to resume but things seem no longer the
same there anymore.
Dennis said the school lost 10 weeks before resumption for the third term and
the students’ population has reduced as some parents have relocated their
wards to other schools presumed safer for fear of further attacks.
“Our school calendar has been disrupted by the crisis and we cannot meet the
required academic performances. As you can see some of our pupils don’t even
have uniforms anymore,” he said.
Shehu Daudu, the community leader of Aila, called on the relevant authorities to
renovate the RCM Primary School and other schools in the communities
affected by the violence to enable their children return to school.
A visit to the affected areas shows that primary and secondary school buildings
that were either destroyed or set ablaze during the crisis are still standing in
ruins thereby bringing school activities to a halt.
Consequently, some of the schools have been deserted and overgrown by thick
grasses making them habitats for reptiles and rodents. It was gathered that
some pupils of the affected schools whose parents could not afford to relocate
to schools in neighbouring local government areas have either taken to farming
or hawking around the streets.
At the RCM Primary School Akwu-Agatu, only the school’s signboard is left
standing. The school was said to have been attacked by invading herdsmen in
the wake of the crisis, who allegedly set its building aflame. A visit by our
reporter shows there were no activities going on in the school as the
administrative building and blocks of classrooms have been destroyed.
At the Agbaduma Community Secondary School and the Government Junior
Secondary School all located in Okokolo, it was a sorry sight as both schools
have been overtaken by weed. The buildings have also been reduced to rubble.
The signboard at the Government Junior Secondary School could hardly be seen
as it is almost buried in green grasses that have overtaken the school
compound.
Etonu Peter, chairman of Okokolo Elites Forum, decried the state of primary and
secondary schools in the area as a consequence of the farmers/herders crisis.
“There is no more schooling in our communities because the schools have been
burnt down. Our children are now scattered all over as some parents have been
compelled to relocate their wards to schools elsewhere,” Peter said while calling
on government to quickly rehabilitate the schools and other affected public
utilities such as clinics to alleviate the suffering of the people.
A youth at Adagbo, Danjuma D. Danjuma, said, “Now that we have returned to
our homes after taking refuge at the IDP camps in neighbouring local
government areas, we are still living in fear even as our younger ones are no
longer going to school. Government should come to our aid by rehabilitating the
destroyed schools so that our younger ones can stop roaming the streets and
return to schools.”
Some children in the affected communities who have taken to hawking along
the streets say they were tired of staying at home and would love to return to
school.
The village head of Adagbo, Ogboche James, also decried the impact of the
farmers/herders conflicts on child education in the area and implored the
relevant authorities to do the needful.
Governor Samuel Ortom described the situation in Agatu and other places
across the state affected by the farmers/herders crisis as a huge challenge.
“Our children no longer go to school in these areas. Primary schools, hospitals,
churches, houses, farms and economic trees have been destroyed. You have
gone there and seen things for yourself and you can appreciate the magnitude
of the destruction that has taken place.
“So we’re calling on the federal government and other good spirited individuals
or groups or NGOs to come in and support the state. We are really down. The
state government does not have the money to fund the rehabilitation of these
people and if help does not come from the federal government and other good
spirited individuals, it is going to be very difficult for our people to settle down,”
Ortom said.
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