Though the Niger State Ministry of Education has threatened to sanction Master Abdulkadir’s debate coach, many Nigerians support his stance.
Niger State government has threatened disciplinary action against teachers of a pupil who berated President Bola Tinubu’s administration over prevailing economic hardship and invoked thunder to kill Nigerian politicians impoverishing citizens.
Last week, a viral video of Abdul-Kabiru Abdulkadir, a primary five pupil of Kasimu Primary School, Agaie, speaking on Nigeria’s social, political and economic realities in a school debate emerged on the internet.
In the video, Master Abdulkadir, who appeared to have rehearsed his debate script, lamented prevailing hunger under Mr Tinubu’s watch and how politicians impoverish the masses, invoking thunder to strike and kill thieving Nigerian politicians.
“Last year, we voted for Tinubu with the hope that things will get better. Upon his swearing-in, the first thing he did was remove fuel subsidy, throwing the whole nation into hardship,” Master Abdulkadir said. “Prices of goods and services continue to rise; Tinubu, with all his charisma, cannot handle this country the way we want.”
Lamenting how National Assembly members are buying exotic cars amid heightened economic hardship while retired teachers are owed pensions and gratuities are dying, Master Abdulkadir said, “Oh thunder, this is the time you should strike and eliminate all of them. Or join all of them in one aeroplane so that they will all crash land and our nation will have peace.”
With Master Abdulkadir’s video still trending and many Nigerians echoing his stance, the Niger State Ministry of Education, in a statement by its spokesperson, Jibrin Usman Kodo, on Monday, condemned as vulgar and violent the pupil’s choice of words. It threatened to sanction his coach.
“The ministry, under the leadership of the Hon. Commissioner, Dr Hadiza Asabe Mohammed, emphasised the importance of promoting a positive and respectful learning environment for students and pupils at their formative age; the use of vulgar and violent languages not only reflects poor orientation for the individual pupil but also on the school and the educational system as a whole.
“In view of the foregoing, the commissioner has vowed to investigate the incident further and take appropriate disciplinary action against those responsible for coaching the student to use such language,” the statement reads in part.
Though the Niger State Ministry of Education has threatened to sanction Master Abdulkadir’s debate coach, many Nigerians support his stance, given the prevailing economic hardship in the country.
