Nigeria: Shuttered Opprtunities

NIGERIA Shuttered Opportunities More than half of the schools remain closed in Boko Haram’s Nigerian strongholds, three years after the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls by the jihadist group in the area sparked global outrage. UNICEF said almost 1,400 schools have been destroyed in the northeastern state of Borno during Boko Haram’s eight-year insurgency, Reuters reported. Meanwhile, 57 percent of schools remain shuttered due to damage or the danger of attack, leaving an estimated 3 million children in need of education. Boko Haram, whose name means “Western Education is Forbidden,” is thought to have killed more than 2,200 teachers since 2009. Its effort to topple the government and establish Islamic law has killed more than 15,000 people and displaced some two million others. “In addition to devastating malnutrition, violence and an outbreak of cholera, the attacks on schools is in danger of creating a lost generation of children,” UNICEF said.