No fewer than 14 people are being killed in the Northern region of the country together with 8,372 people that lost their lives to security challenges in 2021, Northern Broadcast Media Owners Association (NBMOA) has said.
The association also stated that there are 10.5 million out-of-school children in Nigeria with one-third of Nigerian children already out of school, adding that the country presently has 2.7 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), the highest in the African continent.
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Acting Chairman of NBMOA, Alh. Abdullahi Yelwa, who disclosed this at a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, lamented that between 2018 and 2020, an average of 21.4 per cent of the Nigerian population experienced hunger.
Yelwa, however, noted that the association had invited all aspirants seeking political office across all the political parties to come up with clear policy prescriptions for the remediation of the challenges facing the nation.
He said: “As part of the agenda-setting responsibilities of the media, therefore, we invite all political leaders, especially aspirants or candidates seeking political office to come up with clear policy prescriptions for the remediation of the challenges facing our nation.
“Here in the North, we are daily confronted by a unique set of existential challenges. The scourge of banditry, terrorism, Internally Displaced Persons, (IDPs), drug abuse, rural poverty, out-of-school children, youth unemployment, begging and the threat of hunger, have become epidemics that have defied solutions.
He continued, “These are the issues that should therefore be at the centre of political discussion. The attention of any political leader seeking the votes of the northern electorates should therefore be focused on these issues. For the purpose of clarity, let’s review some depressing statistics:
“A data consulting firm had revealed that no fewer than 8,372 people lost their lives to security challenges in 2021. Today, an average of 14 people are killed every day.
“Between 2018 and 2020, an average of 21.4 per cent of the Nigerian population experienced hunger. The United Nations Office of Drugs and Crimes (UNODC), revealed that 14.4 Percent of Nigerians engage in drug abuse, higher than the global average of 11 Percent.
“There are 10.5 million out-of-school children in Nigeria. One-third of Nigerian children are out of school. 1 in 5 out of school children in the World are Nigerians. The youth unemployment rate in Nigeria is 17.69 Percent in 2019.
“Nigeria has 2.7 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), the highest in Africa. The North is at the centre of these scourges and the most affected.”
