#HappeningNow: Army education summit underway in Sokoto

Religious extremism due to poor or inadequate religious knowledge by most adherent of the two major religions in Nigeria have been blamed for most of the problem facing the country including the deteriorating security challenges.

The Sultan of Sokoto Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar pointed this out during his opening remark at the second edition of the Nigeria Army education summit ongoing in Sokoto.

He claimed that the majority of preachers and adherents of Nigeria’s two major religions lack basic and real knowledge of the religions they profess and preach, leading to misinformation, poor understanding among followers, and the rise of an army of extremists, the majority of whom are to blame for the country’s security challenges.

The Sultan called on the military to adopt functional education and military might in tackling the security challenges.

Not only education, he added, but functional education, which would shift the focus away from paper qualifications and toward imparting actual information that will equip students with the essential abilities to operate effectively in society.

He also advised organisers of the summit to ensure the implementation of outcome of the summit while also calling for more attention to be paid on research and development that will provide solutions to the doubting challenges facing the country.

During his remark, Sokoto state governor Aminu Tambuwal called on the military to focus not only on making the society safe, but also the safety of schools across the country.

A student of Command secondary School Gusau, Faiza Mohammed Birnin Magaji was singled out for recognition for role in advocating for safe schools and the need to end insecurity to a number of students chased out of schools to return and face their studies.