The Only ‘Mistake’ They Made Was Going To School?

Zainab Aderounmu

July 15, 2026

Everyone has been celebrating the rescue of the “Oyo 46” who were kidnapped and remained in captivity for 56 days. That’s good. We’re happy they’re back, but I? 

I have questions. 

Because they’re finally back, we can skip the question of ‘why it took the government so long to rescue them’. We begin instead, with ‘were they truly rescued or ransomed? And if they were rescued as the Presidential spokesperson claimed, who was arrested as a consequence of their kidnap? And, what will be done to the arrested suspects?’

In the video shared alongside the statement, one of the teachers thanked the president for ensuring their rescue, and the kids held something that looked like biscuits in their hands. My second question: Is that the reward for their struggles? What happens to their mental health? How do they continue living with the horrors of a kidnap experience? Or wait, are they expected to just continue living without any form of psychological intervention? 

Let’s hold on to that thought for a minute, and think of their education. We love to tout the idea that the youth are the leaders of tomorrow, but the parents of these  children already made a mistake of positively grooming them for a meaningful future. The children only made the mistake of going to school and now they’ll live with the experience of associating school with danger. 

And it begs the question: will they feel safe enough to return to school? Is the government really ensuring that schools are safe? Or will it become a normal practice for kidnappers to raid schools and leave the government to either rescue or not rescue kidnap victims? Generally, is school still safe in Nigeria, and by extension, is education safe to pursue? 

In my opinion, the government’s responsibility on these particular rescued children has not ended. It isn’t enough to rescue them, they must be restored psychologically, mentally and physically. They must be protected and supported up till university education level, and I’m not talking about student loans, but fully funded scholarships. Their parents, like all good parents, took responsibility for educating their children, and now the government must ensure that their future isn’t truncated by this horrendous experience. We mustn’t also forget the maths teacher, Mr Micheal Oyedokun, who was tragically beheaded by the kidnappers. His family deserves to be compensated for their loss, by the government. Even while we recognise that no amount of compensation can bring him back. 

Beyond these children, justice must be served upon the arrested kidnap suspects, and it must be done publicly. We must know as a society that there are grave consequences for such crimes and schools shouldn’t be a regular or normal target for kidnapping. We have normalised many anomalies as a country, regular school kidnaps shouldn’t make the list. 

If the youths are future leaders, then the most important way of securing that future must be safeguarded by the custodians of that future. 

About Author

Zainab Aderounmu A. W.

Zainab ADEROUNMU A. W. is a First Class graduate of English Language and the Overall Best Graduating Student from the Lagos State University, Lagos Nigeria. She’s a professional Master of Ceremonies, known as The Hijabi Compere , a public speaking coach and Communications Professional. She is currently a Youth advisor to the European Union where she doubles as the Spokesperson and Head of Communications & PR for the Youth Sounding Board.