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Inside Katsina’s Forgotten School: Over 1,000 Students Learn on Bare Ground as Billion-Naira Education Budgets Fail Maidabino

Published

4 weeks ago

July 23, 2026

Inside Katsina’s Forgotten School: Over 1,000 Students Learn on Bare Ground as Billion-Naira Education Budgets Fail Maidabino

By Zagazola Makama

In a nation where governments at all levels routinely announce multi-billion-naira education budgets and celebrate the commissioning of new projects, there exists a secondary school in Katsina State that tells a completely different story, one that exposes the painful gulf between official promises and the everyday reality of ordinary Nigerians.

At Government Day Secondary School (GDSS) Maidabino in Dan Musa Local Government Area of Katsina State, the promise of education has been reduced to a daily struggle for survival. The school is not merely a neglected school. It is a monument to state failure.

A visit by a team of Defence Correspondents to the school revealed conditions so appalling that one struggles to understand how an institution bearing the name “Government Day Secondary School” has been allowed to deteriorate to such an inhumane state.Nothing prepares a visitor for the sight.

Children, dressed in their uniforms and clutching exercise books, sit on stones, broken blocks and the bare earth because there are no desks or chairs. The few classrooms that remain standing have no roofs. When the afternoon sun becomes unbearable, there is nowhere to hide.

When the rains begin, learning simply ends.
The students are told to go home. Not because school has closed. But because the government has failed to provide something as basic as a roof. It is difficult to reconcile this reality with the repeated declarations by successive governments about prioritising education.

Year after year, billions of naira are budgeted for the education sector. What makes the situation in Maidabino even more troubling is that it exists despite the enormous sums allocated to education by the Katsina State Government.

Governor Dikko Umaru Radda’s administration has consistently announced education as one of its top priorities. In the 2025 fiscal year, the Katsina State Government allocated ₦95.9 billion to the education sector representing about 14 per cent of the state’s ₦682.2 billion budget.

At the time, the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Bello Kagara, described the allocation as part of the government’s commitment to “reinvigorate the education sector” under a budget themed “Building Your Future II.” The following year, the government increased the allocation even further.

In the 2026 budget, education received ₦97.5 billion, again accounting for roughly 14 per cent of the state budget. Out of this amount, ₦76.74 billion was specifically earmarked for basic education, a figure intended to improve access to quality education and rehabilitate schools across the state. On paper, these allocations appear impressive. In reality, however, schools like GDSS Maidabino expose the painful disconnect between budget announcements and conditions on the ground.

The figures raise uncomfortable but necessary questions. How can a government allocate nearly ₦200 billion to education in two consecutive years, yet allow the only government secondary school in an entire community to remain roofless?

Public officials speak passionately about improving literacy, empowering the next generation and securing the future of Nigeria through education. Yet in Maidabino, those lofty speeches have produced nothing but abandoned buildings, broken walls and shattered dreams.

The school is a heartbreaking illustration of what happens when public expenditure fails to translate into public service. Of the several classroom blocks originally constructed, only four remain standing. Even these four cannot properly be described as classrooms.
Their roofs are gone, windows are missing, the walls are cracked, there are no doors, no ceilings, no furniture and no learning materials.

The classrooms have become open structures exposed to rain, dust, wind and the scorching heat of northern Nigeria. Students occupy every available corner of the compound, balancing exercise books on their laps while trying to concentrate under conditions no child should ever endure.

Even more disturbing is the complete absence of teachers. During the visit, more than one thousand students from Junior Secondary School One (JSS1) to Senior Secondary School Three (SS3) were found under the supervision of just one teacher.

One teacher. For an entire secondary school.
Yet even that lone teacher is not employed by the Katsina State Government. His name is Malam Ibrahim Salisu Maidabino. He is not on the government payroll.He is not receiving any salary. He is not under any official teaching appointment. He is a farmer.

Moved by the suffering of children in his community, he volunteered his time to teach them because, in his words, he could not watch an entire generation grow up without education.
“I am only doing this because these children deserve a future,” he said quietly. If I stay on my farm every day, who will teach them?”

His voice carried neither anger nor bitterness.
Only exhaustion. Every morning, he attempts what should ordinarily require dozens of qualified teachers. He teaches students across six different classes and multiple subjects.

He moves from one group to another, trying to ensure everyone receives at least some form of instruction before the school day ends.

It is an impossible assignment. No teacher, no matter how committed, can effectively educate over one thousand students alone. Yet that is exactly what the education system has forced him to do. His sacrifice is heroic. But it is also an indictment of the authorities responsible for providing public education.

Perhaps the greatest irony lies in the role played by the Nigerian Army. Years ago, escalating insecurity forced military authorities to establish a Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Maidabino.
The school itself became the Battalion Headquarters of the Nigerian Army’s FOB Dan Musa as troops moved into the community to protect residents from relentless bandit attacks.

The deployment followed growing fears that the school could become another target for mass abductions, similar to those witnessed across several states in northwestern Nigeria. The soldiers came to defend lives. But what they encountered was a school abandoned by the very institutions responsible for educating its children.

According to Malam Ibrahim, the soldiers soon found themselves doing far more than providing security. “In many cases, the soldiers assist us in teaching because there are no teachers,” he said. They encourage the students and sometimes help maintain order. It is difficult to imagine a clearer illustration of institutional failure.

Soldiers trained for combat have had to step into classrooms because the education system has collapsed. The military has protected the children from kidnappers. It cannot protect them from neglect. Parents now send their children to school largely because the presence of troops provides a sense of safety. Without the military, many would likely keep their children at home.
Yet security alone cannot produce education.

The students may be protected from armed criminals, but they remain victims of another, quieter tragedy official neglect. The school has no functional source of water. There are no proper sanitation facilities. Basic hygiene is virtually non-existent. There are no laboratories for science students. No library to encourage reading. No computer room. No electricity. No staff quarters. No staff room. No instructional materials worthy of mention.

When rain clouds appear, panic spreads across the school. There is no where to stop, Children gather their books and begin walking home because there is nowhere to continue learning.
“We normally ask the students to go home whenever it rains,” Malam Ibrahim explained.

“There is no shelter.” This means that during the rainy season, hundreds of learning hours are lost not because teachers are unavailable, but because there is simply no roof over the classrooms. The consequences extend far beyond poor academic performance.

Children studying under these conditions are competing for admission into the same higher institutions as students educated in modern classrooms equipped with computers, laboratories, libraries and qualified teachers.

The inequality is staggering. One group is prepared for the future. The other is merely trying to survive the school day. The tragedy becomes even more painful considering the enormous public resources allocated annually to education.

Citizens are entitled to ask difficult but necessary questions. How did a government-owned secondary school deteriorate to this level? Who is responsible for monitoring public schools? How many budgets have been passed while GDSS Maidabino remained without roofs, furniture or teachers?

How many officials have visited this school?
How many reports have been written and ignored? How many children have abandoned education because they simply lost hope?
Development cannot be measured only by projects commissioned in state capitals.
It must also be measured by the condition of schools in forgotten rural communities like Maidabino.

Governor Radda Must know that Education is not a privilege reserved for urban centres. It is a constitutional right. Every child in Nigeria deserves access to safe classrooms, qualified teachers, clean water and a learning environment that preserves dignity.
For the children of Maidabino, those rights remain promises on paper.

As the Journalist concluded their visit, the image that lingered was not that of ruined buildings. It was the determination on the faces of students who continue to attend school despite every obstacle placed before them.
They have not given up. Neither has Malam Ibrahim. Neither have the soldiers who continue to encourage them.

The question is whether those entrusted with managing public education have also refused to give up or whether they have simply forgotten Maidabino. These are not extraordinary demands. They are the minimum obligations of any government that claims education is a priority.

Until those obligations are fulfilled, Government Day Secondary School Maidabino will remain a painful reminder that while insecurity threatens lives, neglect quietly destroys futures and history will judge not only those who failed to build classrooms, but also those who allowed an entire generation of children to believe that sitting under the open sky was the price of getting an education.

Inside Katsina’s Forgotten School: Over 1,000 Students Learn on Bare Ground as Billion-Naira Education Budgets Fail Maidabino

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HAI Launches Grassroots Campaign for Tinubu’s 2027 Re-election

Published

1 hour ago

August 19, 2026

Ochuwa Ibrahim

HAI Launches Grassroots Campaign for Tinubu’s 2027 Re-election

By: Michael Mike

The Hope Alive Initiative (HAI) has unveiled a multi-platform grassroots mobilisation campaign in support of President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in the 2027 presidential election, deploying street activations, SMS messaging, radio programming and political entertainment to sell the administration’s record to voters.

The first phase of the campaign begins on August 19 with the deployment of about 40 human mascots to strategic locations across Abuja, alongside a city-wide SMS mobilisation drive, a weekly Pidgin-language radio programme and an original campaign jingle.

In a statement signed by its Director of Press and Communications, Ernest Omoarelojie, the group said its campaign was designed to take the Tinubu administration’s policies and achievements directly to citizens while building grassroots support ahead of the 2027 poll.

HAI said its backing for Tinubu was driven by what it described as “bold reforms and initiatives” aimed at repositioning the Nigerian economy, strengthening institutions and creating the foundation for long-term development.

The group specifically cited the administration’s petroleum-sector reforms, which it said had contributed to an end to perennial fuel scarcity and encouraged the emergence and expansion of private refineries.

It also listed increased stability in the foreign exchange market, higher government revenue and foreign reserves, efforts toward greater Local Government autonomy, police and internal security reforms, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), tax reforms and major road infrastructure projects in Abuja and other parts of the country.

“While these reforms have come with short-term challenges, we believe they are difficult but necessary steps towards a more sustainable, prosperous and better governed Nigeria,” HAI said.

As part of Wednesday’s opening activation, the organisation said about 40 colourfully dressed human mascots would be positioned at major roundabouts, markets, motor parks and other high-traffic areas across the Federal Capital Territory.

The mascots are expected to carry branded banners promoting Tinubu’s second-term bid, marking an unconventional attempt to take political messaging beyond conventional rallies and campaign events.

HAI said the street mobilisation would complement its wider media and digital campaign, with subsequent activities expected to expand beyond Abuja.

At the same time, the organisation will launch a city-wide SMS mobilisation campaign designed to establish a direct communication channel with residents and disseminate its messages ahead of the 2027 election.

The SMS initiative, according to the group, represents the first stage of a wider mobilisation programme that will be expanded as the election draws closer.

A major component of the campaign is a weekly Pidgin-language radio programme titled “Wetin Tinubu Don Do Sef”, through which HAI intends to explain government policies, programmes and projects in language it considers more accessible to ordinary Nigerians.

Each edition will focus on a particular policy area, examining its implementation, impact and potential benefits to citizens.

HAI said the programme would feature a host alongside regular guests or co-hosts, with expert perspectives and citizen voices incorporated where appropriate.

The group said the radio programme would pay particular attention to issues including the economy, education, security, infrastructure and NELFUND, which it believes require greater public awareness.

The opening phase will also feature an original campaign jingle inspired by Nigeria’s long tradition of political music and memorable campaign anthems.

HAI said the jingle draws inspiration from the tradition associated with historic Nigerian political campaigns, including the widely remembered Hope ’93 campaign linked to the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola.

The organisation described the four initiatives — street mobilisation, SMS messaging, radio programming and the campaign jingle — as only the beginning of a broader political communication strategy.

According to HAI, subsequent phases will examine the Tinubu administration’s policies and programmes across critical sectors, including economic reforms, education, security and infrastructure.

The group said the campaign would seek not only to mobilise support for Tinubu but also to communicate what it considers the administration’s achievements and provide explanations of policies that have generated public debate.

The August 19 activation is therefore expected to mark the beginning of a sustained grassroots campaign by HAI as political parties, support groups and other interests gradually intensify preparations for the 2027 presidential election.

HAI Launches Grassroots Campaign for Tinubu’s 2027 Re-election

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Yobe: Buni appreciates Tinubu for his commitment to regional peace.

Published

1 hour ago

August 19, 2026

Ochuwa Ibrahim

Yobe: Buni appreciates Tinubu for his commitment to regional peace.

By: Yahaya Wakili

The Chairman of the Lake Chad Basin Governor’s Forum and the Executive Governor of Yobe State, Hon. Mai Mala Buni CON, COMN, have appreciated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR for his commitment to regional peace, security, and cooperation among the member states.

The chairman showed appreciation today when he visited the headquarters of the Lake Chad Basin Commission in N’Djamena, Chad Republic.

According to Governor Buni, “You have no doubt taken this responsibility at a consequential moment for the Lake Chad Basin, one in which our shared security, stabilization, and development challenges demand stronger political coordination, deeper institutional partnership, and a renewed sense of common purpose.

He further maintained that, “As chairman of the Governor’s Forum, I assure you of our readiness to work closely with you in advancing this common agenda and to achieve our set targets,” he added.

Governor Mai Mala Buni congratulated the new executive secretary of the commission, Ambassador Ibrahim Babani, assuring him of a cordial working relationship between the forum and the commission.

He changed the commission to deepen engagements with the African Union, UNDP, international financial institutions, bilateral partners, and other stakeholders to achieve its targets.

Governor Buni also visited the headquarters of the multinational joint task force and shared their experiences and challenges in the fight against terrorism in the Lake Chad region.

Yobe: Buni appreciates Tinubu for his commitment to regional peace.

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Zulum Pledges N100m, Stronger Partnerships to Revamp UMTH, Borno Healthcare

Published

1 hour ago

August 19, 2026

Ochuwa Ibrahim

Zulum Pledges N100m, Stronger Partnerships to Revamp UMTH, Borno Healthcare
…Commissions NEDC-funded Fertility Centre, Maternity Complex

By: Michael Mike

Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum has pledged stronger collaboration with the Federal Government and development partners to transform healthcare delivery in the state, while announcing a N100 million government donation in support of a book chronicling the tenure of the Chief Medical Director of the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), Prof. Ahmed Ahidjo.

Zulum made the commitments on Tuesday in Maiduguri at the opening of the 9th Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the Association of Radiologists of Nigeria (ARIN), where he also commissioned a Fertility Care Centre and En-Suite Maternity Complex constructed through the intervention of the North East Development Commission (NEDC).

The Governor said the expansion of specialist healthcare infrastructure at UMTH was particularly significant for a state that had endured years of insurgency and, more recently, devastating flooding, which placed enormous pressure on public institutions and healthcare services.

He assured the hospital and other federal health institutions in Borno of continued state government support, stressing that sustainable improvement in healthcare would require stronger cooperation among federal and state authorities, development agencies and professional bodies.

“As a State Government, we will continue to support the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital and other healthcare institutions within our capacity, while strengthening collaboration with the Federal Government and other partners,” Zulum said.

The Governor described UMTH as a critical institution not only for Borno but for the wider North-East, given its role in saving lives, training medical personnel, conducting research and providing specialist services to a population that has faced prolonged humanitarian and security challenges.

He commended the management of the hospital under Prof. Ahidjo, saying the institution had recorded significant advances in infrastructure, specialist services, medical education, research and professional development.

“You are not only managing a Teaching Hospital; you are building a legacy that will benefit generations to come,” Zulum told the UMTH leadership.

The Governor’s intervention comes as the hospital expands its capacity to provide specialised services, with the newly commissioned Fertility Care Centre and En-Suite Maternity Complex expected to improve access to reproductive and maternal healthcare in Borno and neighbouring states.

The NEDC-funded facilities represent one of the latest interventions aimed at strengthening critical infrastructure in the North-East, where years of conflict have severely strained public services and healthcare institutions.

Zulum also expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu for supporting Borno in healthcare infrastructure, human capital development and institutional strengthening, while commending NEDC for its interventions across the region.

The Governor further announced a N100 million donation by the Borno State Government towards the book, Duty and Courage: The Story of Professor Ahmed Ahidjo, 2018–2026, authored by Dr. James Bwala.

The publication documents the career and achievements of Ahidjo during his tenure as UMTH Chief Medical Director and was formally presented at the event.

Zulum described the occasion as an opportunity to recognise institutional leadership while highlighting the importance of documenting the experiences and achievements of professionals who have contributed to rebuilding public institutions during difficult periods.

He said the ARIN conference, scientific sessions, book presentation and project commissioning underscored the importance of research, knowledge exchange and continuous professional development in building a stronger healthcare system.

He congratulated the management and staff of UMTH on the achievements and expressed confidence that the newly commissioned projects would further consolidate the hospital’s position as a centre of excellence.

The event attracted the Deputy Governor of Borno State, Umar Usman Kadafur; Shehu of Borno, Dr. Abubakar Garbai El-Kanemi; Senator representing Borno South, Mohammed Ali Ndume; members of the National and Borno State Houses of Assembly; Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Mukhtar Maiha; Minister of State for Regional Development, Uba Maigari Ahmadu; representatives of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare; commissioners; traditional rulers; the Managing Director of NEDC and other dignitaries.

Zulum Pledges N100m, Stronger Partnerships to Revamp UMTH, Borno Healthcare