|
*Pictures show 12 room shop belonging to Agafi Kunduli’s family after it was burnt down by Boko Haram militants
1
GAME Project Development Coordinator, Agafi Kunduli says he was left
“devastated and confused” for a long time after Boko Haram insurgents
invaded his compound and burnt down a 12 room shop belonging to his
family, presumably as retribution against him for working in education
advocacy.
Speaking
to education activists in Abuja on Tuesday, Kunduli said the attack
which was carried out in December 2012 in Maiduguri, was a huge disaster
for him and his family, and “it left everyone in shock for weeks.”
Kunduli
said: “I had just joined 1 GAME Campaign and started to campaign with
Philip Obaji (Founder of 1 GAME) when the attack took place. My family
lost what it had laboured for so long to build. It was painful.
“I
was scared afterwards. I thought the militants would come after me and
my family, and so we all decided to leave Maiduguri. My father left for
Gombe, while my brother and I moved to Abuja. I had given up trying to
change Borno.
"The
next day Obaji called me and said - Before you quit, I want you to
answer one question. What's going to happen to those Almajiri boys? Who
will fight for them if not us? Who will help them get an education if we
leave?
“After
Obaji’s little speech that day, I decided not to quit. We went back to
Maiduguri, and we kept at it, sustaining ourselves with the small
victories. And over time, a community changed. And so had we.”
Kunduli
who was born in Maiduguri, has been a key figure in 1 GAME’s effort to
create access to quality education for thousands of children in
northeastern Nigeria, where 2.8 million children are out of school.
Since violence intensified in 2012 in northern Nigeria, at
least 70 teachers and over 100 schoolchildren and students have been
killed or wounded by Boko Haram militants who forbid western education
in the region. During this time, at least 50 schools have either been burned or seriously damaged and more than 60 others have been forced to close. More than 1,000 teachers have been forced to flee from areas in the north since 2012 under threat of attack. Under these conditions, thousands of children have been forced out of schools across communities in Yobe, Adamawa and Borno states.
The
Nigerian government announced on Friday that an agreement with Boko
Haram has been reached to secure a ceasefire and the return of 219
schoolgirls missing for more than six months, bringing hope of an end to
nearly 5 years of violence and unrest in parts of northern Nigeria.
| 
No comments:
Post a Comment