The student wing of the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG- SW) has called for the deployment of security to campuses.
Addressing a news conference on Tuesday in Kaduna, Hassan Adamu
National Cooratnator of the CNG- SW expressed concern over growing insecurity in campuses in the North.
He lamented that banditry attacks and kidnapping of students are becoming new normal.
Adamu said insecurity has led to the withdrawal of female students from school.
The group called on President Bola Tinubu to reform the security architecture of the country to tackle criminal elements as students “will no longer tolerate flimsy excuses and blame game.”
“We call on the president to revisit the approach and reform the security architecture of the nation; we will no longer tolerate flimsy excuses and the blame game.
“We also request for the deployment of troops to all campuses to ease the anxiety among students,” the group said.
The CNG-SW commended security agencies for the recent release of abducted medical students of medical students the universities of Jos and Maiduguri and urged relevant agencies to provide the students with adequate psychological and medical healthcare.
The CNG-SW also noted recent threats by the Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU) to embark on yet another strike and urged President Tinubu to “do everything possible to avert any form of industrial action in our tertiary institutions.”
“He must ensure that we don’t go back to those days of spending seven years studying a four year course in the university.”
The group also decried hash economic situation in the country which is causing hardship to Nigerians.
It noted that, “Hyperinflation, which is a result of the exchange rate policy, has multiplied the price of learning materials by 300 per cent, as many students cannot afford essential textbooks.
“It is so bad that most students can’t afford a square meal a day.
“The increase hike in electricity tariff has compounded the problem on most of our campus.
“Almost all our campuses are without electricity supply as a result of the inability of the management to settle electricity bills.
“The increasing cost of petrol is quite alarming, which has led to a hike in transportation. The federal government has failed to fulfil its promises of donating CNG buses to schools.
“This is all coming at the even when northern tertiary institutions are breaking grounds in inventions and innovations.”
The CNG-SW further lamented the flood disaster in some northern states which has led to the loss of lives destruction of property, including farmlands and called for intervention from the federal government.
The group called on the federal government to hasten the implementation of the CNG conversion to ease cost of transportation.
John Shiklam in Kaduna
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