Abstract
Persistent insecurity continues to pose a major constraint on educational access in Nigeria’s Northwest. The paper examined the evolution of insecurity and its educational consequences in Sokoto State from 2010 to August 2026 using historical documentary analysis and an outcome-based process tracing approach. Evidence revealed four phases: escalating rural violence from 2010 to 2014; consolidation of banditry and kidnapping from 2015 to 2019; institutional recognition of school safety from 2020 to 2023; and documented school abductions, closures, displacement, and emergency education responses from 2024 to August 2026. The analysis showed that insecurity, poverty, and weak educational capacity disrupted schooling through fear, restricted mobility, closures, displacement, teacher pressures, and psychosocial distress. Seven school closures in 2024 and an emergency education programme targeting over 25,000 affected children in 2026 demonstrated the severity of the crisis. The paper recommended integrated school safety, early warning, displacement sensitive planning, remedial learning, psychosocial support, teacher resilience, and sustained support for affected schools and communities.
2026-09-15
Vol. 2 Issue No. 3 July 2026
Articles
Rural insecurity, educational access, education emergency, Sokoto State
Vol. 2 Issue No. 3 July 2026
/ ArticleFROM RURAL INSECURITY TO AN EDUCATION EMERGENCY: THE HISTORICAL TRANSFORMATION OF CONFLICT AND EDUCATIONAL ACCESS IN SOKOTO STATE, NIGERIA
BALA, IBRAHIM UMAR
Department of General Studies, Federal College of Education, Gidan Madi, Sokoto State
ibrahimbalaumar@fcegm.edu.ng
JEGO, PETER
Department of General Studies, Federal College of Education, Gidan Madi, Sokoto State
SALISU IDRIS, MUHAMMAD
Department of Curriculum and Instructional Technology, Federal College of Education, Gidan Madi, Sokoto State