There has always been a general belief that schools could serve as a cocoon, shielding pupils from the harsh realities of the larger society. For this reason, not many anticipated the recent security scare in a Rivers State secondary school where a pupil’s indiscretion led to the detonation of a tear gas canister that threw the whole school and its environs into pandemonium.
This is a clear warning that the schools would also have to face the same security scrutiny as the larger society. A 17-year-old pupil of Community Secondary School, Oroworukwo, Port Harcourt, was said to have stumbled on a tear gas canister left behind by his late brother who was a policeman. While fumbling with the object at school, together with his classmate, it was detonated, with the explosion forcing other pupils to scamper for safety.
In the confusion that followed, not many of them had the presence of mind to make their escape through the safety of the staircase. Instead, they leapt down from the first floor of the two-story classroom block. The unfortunate incident, according to the police report and the account of the school Principal, resulted in 25 pupils suffering various degrees of injury. Luckily, there were no fatalities.
But this incident should be an eye-opener to the school authorities and security minders in the larger society. It could also be a preface to some more serious security challenges within the secondary school system, as is already obvious at the tertiary level, where cultism poses a serious security threat to other peace-loving members of the academic community.
When clashes occur on our campuses, involving rival cult groups, no weapons are spared, as guns compete with other lethal weapons to inflict harm on students. Already, minor cases of this nature, though not gaining national attention as this tear gas case, have been reported in some secondary schools. This is an opportunity for the authorities to start taking the security of lives and property in our secondary schools very seriously.
In 2016, there were reports of how two 300-level undergraduate students of the Abia State University, Uturu, were beheaded right at their hostels by rival cult groups. An act of dastardly revenge for an earlier incident that claimed the lives of their own members, the cult members reportedly used the heads of their victims as impromptu goalposts on a football field.
If the pupil brought tear gas to the school now, it is because that was what was available. Next time it could be something more dangerous. There is no reason why he could not have come with a gun if he had access to one. What happened at Oroworukwo could also happen in any part of the country. In that case, Nigeria would be facing a situation that is very common in the United States, where pupils just come to the school premises with sophisticated guns, open fire on innocent students and, in some cases, kill themselves thereafter.
In the US, it has become an epidemic because of the proliferation of guns in that society. According to a BBC report quoting the US Centre for Homeland Defence and Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, 94 cases were recorded last year, making it the worst since 1970. But a journal, Education Week, put the figure at a staggering 113 people either killed or injured in school shootings in the US last year.
In a particular case at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School at Parkland, Florida, a gunman entered the school premises and opened fire on students and members of staff, killing 17 and injuring many others. Back in 2012, at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, 20 children and six adults were killed. Things should not deteriorate to that level in Nigeria before actions are taken. If the police had been efficient enough, they should have known that tear gas canisters, guns and ammunition that left their armoury should be properly accounted for.
In the US, as a result of the Parkland gun incident, many states have passed legislation on gun control. Besides, in Florida, teachers as well as other staff members are also allowed to carry guns for self protection while in classrooms. Although nobody is advocating the further proliferation of guns in the Nigerian society that already boasts too many guns in circulation, the legislative responses by the states are clear signs of people trying to solve problems.
Unfortunately, even when students are arrested for committing murder in the name of cult clashes, their influential parents ensure that they are set free. The Nigerian society needs to take security more seriously, especially by introducing technology to detect any student carrying dangerous weapons. A process of mopping up small arms in the wider society should also be initiated.
At home, parents and guardians should monitor their children and wards to know what extracurricular activities they engage in. An interesting coincidence shows that the boy who caused the security scare in Rivers State is 17, the same age bracket as the 16-17 who carry out shootings in America. Interestingly too, the attacks in the US are linked to escalation of disputes or gang-related. Security men should be brought to schools from time to time to carry out drills on how to respond to any kind of security threat.
