TDThe kidnapping of teachers and students in Oriire Local Government Area, Oyo State, is yet another grim reminder of Nigeria’s descent into insecurity.
But the response of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Oyo State Wing, is equally troubling.
Instead of declaring a strike, mobilizing protests, or demanding accountability from a government that has failed to protect life and property, the union has chosen to embark on a three-day fasting and prayer session.
This is not leadership. It is abdication.
A Union That Forgot Its Duty
Teachers are not just educators; they are custodians of society’s future.
When their colleagues are abducted, the expectation is clear: the union should stand firm, confront the state, and demand action.
By retreating into spiritual symbolism, the NUT has effectively told its members that their safety is negotiable, their dignity expendable, and their plight reducible to ritual supplication.
A union’s power lies in collective bargaining, protest, and pressure.
By choosing prayer over protest, the NUT has surrendered its leverage and betrayed the very people it exists to protect.
A Government That Thrives on Silence
The government, for its part, has perfected the art of post-tragedy condolences.
Each abduction is met with recycled outrage, promises of “bringing perpetrators to justice,” and then silence until the next massacre.
The absence of decisive action has emboldened criminals, who now operate with terrifying confidence.
The NUT’s decision to shield the government with excuses only deepens the rot.
When unions fail to hold leaders accountable, they become complicit in the cycle of violence.
Why Symbolism Is Not Enough
Prayer may comfort the grieving, but it cannot substitute for policy, security, or justice.
Teachers need protection, not platitudes.
Parents need assurance that schools are safe, not another round of fasting.
Communities need armed patrols, intelligence-driven operations, and systemic reforms—not spiritual gestures that criminals laugh at.
The Way Forward
If Nigeria is to break free from this nightmare, both government and unions must change course:
- Government: Must prioritize school security, deploy resources to vulnerable communities, and treat every abduction as a national emergency.
- Unions: Must rediscover their voice, organize strikes, protests, and legal actions, and refuse to normalize the kidnapping of educators.
- Civil Society: Must amplify outrage, demand accountability, and refuse to let symbolic gestures replace concrete action.
Conclusion
The NUT’s retreat into prayer is not just a failure of imagination—it is a failure of responsibility.
And the government’s inertia is not just incompetence—it is cruelty.
Together, they have left teachers exposed, families traumatized, and Nigeria’s future imperiled.
Nigeria cannot afford leaders who govern by silence and unions that respond with symbolism.
What is needed now is courage, confrontation, and concrete action.
Anything less is betrayal!
See the official document recommending fasting and prayer below:
