As Nigeria faces ongoing security challenges affecting both its economy and the lives of its citizens, there is a growing call for all levels of government to enhance security measures, particularly for students, with a focus on protecting female students, reports Digital TimesNG.
Edutainment communicator and veteran broadcaster, Ms. Debrah Ogazuma, made this appeal on Thursday in Lokoja during the 8th Annual Conference of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), themed: “Nigeria: Tackling Insecurity, Power Deficit, and Transitioning to a Digital Economy.”
While noting that it has become obvious that since the capture of Chibok girls, the girl child education has been seriously threatened, Ogazuma, who regretted the impact of the abduction of the Chibok girls and more similar cases to the girl child, lamented that the most attacks on the educational institutions were targeted at the females.
She called on the authorities to take decisive action to address these issues and stressed the importance of implementing measures to support the healing of girls once they are freed from their captors. She also urged the media not to remain silent but to work diligently in changing the narrative through their reporting.
Speaking on digital economy, Ogazuma who insisted that Nigeria must follow the trend of digitalization for economic growth, regretted that power deficiency has been a major issue, noting that the future is driven with innovation and full of opportunities for expanding digitally, adding that Nigeria must engage the younger generations in order not to be left out.
Questioning if Nigeria would allow insecurity and power deficiency to become major obstacles to the emerging landscape of its economy, Ogazuma suggested that the traditional method of involving traditional rulers reporting and fishing out possible dangerous elements seeking entrance into their community, must be reactivated, stating that communities should do more to ensure that they are not totally helpless.
Regarding power, she advocated for the replication of small power plants by communities, noting that this approach has already been implemented in some areas within the country.