🇳🇬 While Students Starve for Scholarships, Senate Plans Foreign Education for Repentant Terrorists — A Nation in Reverse
“Repentant terrorists to enjoy foreign education – Senate bill” in Nigeria. (Punch Newspapers)!!
✅ What the bill says
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A proposed bill in the Nigerian Senate (sponsored by Ibrahim Geidam) would establish a “National Agency for the Education, Rehabilitation, De‑radicalisation and Integration of Repentant Insurgents in Nigeria”.
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Among the provisions: funding from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) for the agency; and the agency would provide foreign and local education opportunities for so-called “…ex-agitators/repentant terrorists.”
⚠️ Reactions and controversies
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The bill sparked strong objections from civil-society groups like Socio‑Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP). They argued it undermined justice for victims of the Boko Haram insurgency and diverted educational funds from children and other needy Nigerians.
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The bill had apparently passed its first reading in the Senate at the time of reporting.
👀 Key questions
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Did the bill become law? It’s not clear from the sources I've seen that it was assented to or fully passed.
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How would the definition of “repentant terrorist” be managed?
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How would the funding and prioritisation of victims vs perpetrators be balanced?
🇳🇬 While Students Starve for Scholarships, Senate Plans Foreign Education for Repentant Terrorists — A Nation in Reverse
🔍 Intro :
In a country where millions of young people can barely afford education, Nigeria’s Senate is now pushing a bill that would send “repentant terrorists” abroad for schooling. This shocking move has sparked outrage nationwide — and for good reason. How can a government that neglects its own students suddenly find funds to reward those who once tore the nation apart?
📰 Repentant Terrorists to Enjoy Foreign Education?
A Painful Insult to the Real Nigerians Still Fighting for a Future
When the news broke that the Nigerian Senate is considering a bill to
sponsor “repentant terrorists” for foreign education, many citizens couldn’t believe it. For people who wake up daily to fight for survival — paying skyrocketing tuition fees and struggling through poor infrastructure — this feels like a cruel joke written at their expense.
🎓 A Country that Punishes the Innocent, Rewards the Guilty
Across Nigeria, students battle overcrowded classrooms, unpaid lecturers, and broken school facilities. Parents sell land, cars, and hope — just to afford tuition. Yet, the same government that abandoned its public universities is now ready to educate former insurgents abroad, using the taxpayers’ money of those same struggling citizens.
It’s a painful irony. The victims of Boko Haram and banditry still live in displacement camps — while those who terrorized them may soon be flying business class for “rehabilitation.”
⚖️ Justice Turned Upside Down
This bill sends a dangerous message: crime pays.
What hope is left for law-abiding youths when criminals are rewarded, not punished? What peace can come from pampering those who brought sorrow to entire communities?
Instead of rebuilding schools in the North-East, funding teacher welfare, or improving local education, the system now seems more interested in “forgiving and funding” those who destroyed it.
💔 The Bigger Problem — Misplaced Priorities
This bill exposes a deep sickness in Nigeria’s governance: a total disconnect from the people’s pain.
If the Senate truly wants peace and rehabilitation, let it begin with:
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free education for displaced children,
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rebuilding schools destroyed by insurgents,
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and job programs for idle youths vulnerable to recruitment.
Without that, this “foreign education” scheme is nothing but a reward for destruction.
🔥 The Nigerians Deserve Better
Nigeria’s hardworking students deserve scholarships, not pity. They deserve classrooms with light, books, and teachers who are paid on time — not the sight of terrorists being flown abroad in the name of reform.
If there’s money for foreign education, let it go to the victims, not the villains.
This isn’t just about outrage; it’s about justice. Because the moment a nation starts rewarding those who destroy it, it loses its moral soul.
✍️ Author’s Note:
It’s time to demand accountability. Real peace is built through fairness — not favoritism. Nigeria’s youths deserve better than headlines like this.
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