*…says we acquired radio license to reach students, fight insurgency
By Levinus Nwabughiogu, ABUJA
Executive Secretary of National Commission for Nomadic Education, Professor Bashir Usman, Wednesday disclosed that many of his staff have been kidnapped by bandits countless times.
He said that unsavory experience had affected the morale of workers and their clientele.
Usman who spoke during 2022 budget defence session with the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education chaired by Prof Julius Ihonvbere from Edo State said that the ugly development necessitated their decision to build studios and procure a 25 KV transmitter to broadcast their lessons.
He added that the Commission also had understanding with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and National Livestock Development Plan to establish schools in grazing reserves to tackle kidnappings and banditry.
He said: “The Honourable member asked about the running of nomadic schools now in view of this insurgency.
“We at the commission also have been pondering over this. But more importantly we were also victims of the same type of banditry and kidnapping.
“My colleagues in the commission have been kidnapped severally, not only once, not twice, not three times, but then we came around it to say look, we need to do a few things over and above what is existing.
“And those things are if you can look at our budget for 2021 and 2022, since 2018 we decided to go to the Nigeria Broadcasting Commission, NBC to get a license to have a radio that we can broadcast to our clientele and sensitize them and also do educational programmes that some of these pupils would acquire via radio.
“We now have two studios for broadcast and transmitting. That is why in 2021 we are budgeting an amount to buy a transmitter so we can start the broadcast.
“So we can also be a little bit safe in the comfort of the broadcasting studios and be able to talk to them in the manner they would understand.
“This is one way we said we would tackle the insurgency vis-a-vis the schooling of the children of the nomads.
“These are some of the things we are putting in place to tackle some of these banditry, kidnapping and so on.”
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