El-Rufai: Governor threatens to imprison parents whose children are not in school

The Kaduna Governor mandated parents in the state to enrol their children in schools by September 2016.

The Kaduna state Governor, Nasir El-Rufai has threatened to imprison parents who refuse to send their children to school.

Governor El-Rufai also said parents who do not want to send their wards to school, can leave Kaduna state.

He said this on Saturday, August 13, 2016, during the screening of a documentary titled: He named me malala.

The Kaduna Governor mandated parents in the state to enrol their children in schools by September 2016.

El-Rufai said "You can leave Kaduna State if you don’t want to send your child to school next month. No street begging again. All our children must go to school. Any parent who refuses to send his or her child to school will be prosecuted and send to prison.”

Also speaking, the first lady of Kaduna state, Hadiza El-Rufai also said “I wish to start by thanking all of you for coming to this screening of the ‘He named me Malala Documentary.’ While most of us know Malala as the 19-year-old Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner, it is important to know where her journey started.

“Malala was just a regular Pakistani girl  with a penchant for education until in 2012 when her pursuit for education resulted in her being shot and put in a coma. The attack received worldwide condemnation, she has since recovered from the tragedy and has  translated this tragedy to worldwide advancements in girl child education.

“In Kaduna State, we are working assiduously to create opportunities, the percentage of girls out of school is way too high and this is a problem we have decided to solve. In cognisance of this, we are working hard to increase female enrolment in good schools, improve school  curriculum and make affordable health care available for everyone.”

Nasir El-Rufai also lamented the Central Bank of Nigeria's (CBN) current fiscal direction, saying that the bank's 14 per cent monetary policy rate has led to extensive job losses in the country.