Number of out-of-school children rises in FCT
When Martha Steven, 15, completed her primary education, she was forced to sell sugar cane along the road hoping that she would make enough money to start Junior Secondary School. Seven months after, she still sells sugar cane along the Apo-Takushara road, Abuja, with no hope that she would stop soon. She is […]
When Martha Steven, 15, completed her primary education, she was forced to sell sugar cane along the road hoping that she would make enough money to start Junior Secondary School.
Seven months after, she still sells sugar cane along the Apo-Takushara road, Abuja, with no hope that she would stop soon.
She is among over 10 million Nigerian children estimated by the United Nations (UN)to be out of school. Among these figures are numerous children in Madalla, Takushara, Unguwar Mahmuda and Wassa communities in the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).
The stories of the children are pathetic as they strive to survive and fend for themselves in the face of harsh realities. Many of the children are out of school due to the prevailing economic situation.
Daily, since May, Martha resumes at her favourite spot along the isolated dusty road undergoing renovation. And on such occasions she is exposed to dangers from reptiles and humans.
“I once saw a snake near where I sat and since then I shiver whenever something touches me. I always think it could be one of those poisonous reptiles,” she said.
She lamented that due to the distance between where she hawks and the nearest community, she is usually exposed to rain and the scorching sun.
“I am through with my primary school and hope to further my education but my parents don’t have enough to send me to school now, so my mother said I should sell sugar cane rather than staying at home,” she said.
She expressed fear that her dream of being a lawyer could be over as she doesn’t see herself earning enough from the business and her mother also making much from her illegal fuel vending business (black market) to be able to afford her school fees and that of her two siblings.
“If I make money from this business though it is small, I can sponsor myself to school thereby achieving my goal,” she said.
But that appeared to be just a dream as at present, her family has no choice but prioritize feeding and shelter over education.
“I feel very bad knowing that my mates are in school and I am here selling sugar cane,” she said.
She said the little she makes from hawking sugar cane, the mother uses to feed the family, adding that her father was away and only visits.
Martha is not alone in the sugar cane business; she faces competition from Yahaya Isah, a 13 year-old boy, who is also not in school.
Unlike Martha, Yahaya has been in the business for more than two years and sees the business as a pedestal to his quest of being a business man. He borrowed money from his kinsmen to start the business.
He makes a profit of N1, 000 daily with which there is barely enough for him to save because he is partly responsible for the upkeep of his family of 12.
Though he was forced out of school due to poverty, he resorted to attending evening classes at an Islamic school to make up.
“I want to go to school but I do not have money what I make from here is either I add it back to buy more sugar cane or I spend it on food,” he said, adding that he has not been successful for two years now.
“They wish to help me but there is no means for them. My parents are farmers and my father lost his job as a guard after a robbery incident at the organization he worked,” he said.
Yahaya and Martha are two of the many children in these Abuja communities that ‘play away’ their future. Many of these children end up on farms just like their parents.
The teeming number of out of school children in Madalla has generated great concern for the community head, John Akuchi.
He said a significant number of children in the community are not enrolled in school.
“Some people send their children to private schools but later withdraw due to lack of money to pay school fees,” he said.
He said the residents have been at the mercy of private school owners whom he said ‘extort them’ by charging between N3,000 and N5,000 as school fees.
Jonah Yusuf, a resident, said whoever desires to acquire formal education do leave the community for the city or neighboring communities. He said he stayed with a relative in Nasarawa State during the period of his secondary school education.
As one of the few educated people in Madalla, he said he is not happy about the plight of the children ‘but the community is helpless.’
Another resident, Ayuba Zamiye and a father of seven said he could only afford to enroll three of his children in school while others join him at the farm.
He chose two boys and one girl and he pays N12, 000 per term. He said the money is quite expensive as he is just a peasant farmer along with his wife.
Hajara Jibril said her children had to trek daily to a public school in Takushara.
On most cases, she said they are usually forced to embark on such journey and they return with body pains.
While the parent struggle with the situation some of the children that spoke to Aso Chronicle are not indifferent about their condition.
Philomena Musa, 6, said she wants to become a medical doctor but was impassive as to how she plans to achieve her career aspiration with a formal education.
“I want to go to school but it is expensive,” she said through an interpreter. Philomena like several other children in the community can only speak indigenous languages, look tattered and only play around after returning from the farm.
The children have lofty ambitions. Nahum Jika, 6, wants to be a teacher while Ayuba Diza, 4, wants to help his parent ‘get away from no money.’ Daniel Jika, 4, also desires to go to school but if nothing is done their dreams could be dashed.
Akuchi, the community head said, they have written several times to the authorities of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) but nothing seems to be done. He however expressed hope that the new administration in the area council would look into the situation of the community.