Challenges of internal security and basic education in Northeastern Nigeria, 2014-2020

The protection of lives and property remains the cardinal responsibility of the government and the hallmark for the existence of critical sectors like education, health, social infrastructure and the entire economy. However, the Nigerian state has experienced an increasing rate of internal insecurity in the Northeastern part of Nigeria, which has significantly negatively impacted the basic education sub-sector between 2014 and 2020 in the Northeast despite the government's efforts to fight insecurity. These internal security challenges have led to the destruction of schools and the abduction of secondary school students and teachers by bandits and Boko Haram in Northeast Nigeria. Systems theory was adopted as the theoretical framework for this study. The expository qualitative method of inquiry was used for data collection, which entails the in-depth acquisition of documentary material, and the data was analysed using the content analysis technique. The study found, among others, that accessibility and affordability of basic education have retrogressed due to the insecurity in the Northeast, which undermines the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in education by 2030. To curb these challenges, the study recommends that the Federal Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the government of Northeastern states, should recruit and train armed education marshals to offer security surveillance in schools. © 2024 University of Nigeria, Institute of African Studies. All rights reserved.