Two days after radio programme is aired, Borno State provides cheap transport to residents of Gwangulon, giving children in the community the opportunity to further their education

Secondary pupils living in Gwangulon, a suburb in Maiduguri in Borno State, have missed days of schooling because their parents cannot afford to pay the prohibitive cost of transport. Some have even dropped out of school altogether.

But, in response to a programme aired on Radio Ndarason FM 88.5 Maiduguri, the state government has allocated three mega buses to the community at a very low cost.

Now pupils can get to and from school without breaking the bank and residents can travel to other parts of the city without having to fork out a fortune.

It’s hoped that this intervention will enable pupils to go to school every day and encourage those who have dropped out to return.

The programme, Kuttunum Gulle in Kanuri, which means “lay your complaints” in English, was aired on Thursday, January 4. Just two days later, the government responded by providing the three mega buses to the community.

Wakil Musa, the district head of Gwangulon, said he was grateful to FM 88.5 Maiduguri for bringing the critical issue to the attention of the authorities.

“We greatly appreciate what RNI and the Borno State government have done.

“Before the programme was aired, RNI journalists came to investigate our complaint. They met many of our community members and saw how they had to trek for kilometres to get to their destinations. They also spoke to pupils and those who had dropped out of school and took note of their plight. Then the programme was aired. We were beyond surprised when the government made the buses available to our community just two days later.

“We can’t express how happy and relieved we feel. Our wish has come true and our prayers have been answered. Now many schoolchildren can access education and fulfil and pursue their dreams of better life.”

Gwangulon resident Mustapha Bundi said: “I couldn’t hold in my happiness when I made use of the bus the first time. I was so enthusiastic, other people probably thought I was acting as if I had just boarded a plane for the first time. And the best part was that it cost me only ₦50.

“I intended getting off the bus at the Old Maiduguri Junction but I got carried away and ended up at Abbaganaram Junction. I had to catch another bus to get to my destination. Fortunately, I had enough money and had to pay only another ₦50 to get there. In the past, this mistake would have cost me a whooping ₦400 to get back and forth.”

Before the programme was aired, RNI spoke to pupils in the Gwangulon Lawanti community in the Jere Local Government Area. They talked about their struggles to get to and from school and some said they had even dropped out because their parents could not afford the transport costs.

There is only one elementary school in the community which offers classes from primary to junior secondary level. Pupils who complete junior secondary school and want to further their education at senior secondary have to pay at least ₦300 every day to get to schools in other parts of the city, they said.

Aisha Shettima, 17, said her parents could not afford to send her to school, so she either had to trek the 20km to get to and from school or stop going altogether.

Aisha completed her junior secondary school two years ago but could not go to Abbaganaram Senior Secondary because her parents could not afford to pay the daily transport costs. The school is about 10km away and she could not walk to and from that distance every day.

“Because there are no senior secondary schools in the community, I wanted to go to Abbaganaram. But it was too far away and it’s not safe for girls to walk that far on their own.

“We knew that the government had recently made available affordable buses to transport people in Maiduguri. But the buses did not service our community. Many parents appealed to the government to include the suburb of Gwangulon Lawanti.

“Most of the pupils in the area go to Old Maiduguri Government Day Secondary School. But they continually miss classes. To save on transport costs, some go to school twice or three times a week at most but most can’t afford to go every day.”

Bukar Shettima told RNI that he was a pupil at Old Maiduguri and was in the senior secondary III class.

“I have been going to Old Maiduguri for the past three years. I sometimes go there three times a week. When my parents have money, I go four times a week. On a few occasions I have been able to go for the whole school week but on others my parents could not afford to send me even once a week. So I just had to stay at home.

“To get to and from the school each day it costs ₦300. If you include our lunch money it is roughly ₦700 each day. Most parents cannot afford that.”

Fatima Abubakar, who is also in senior secondary III, said: “Because of the current economic situation, most of the girl pupils have stopped going to school, especially those who are in the senior classes.

“I am only able to go to school two or three times a week at most and sometimes I don’t even go at all.”

Residents complained to Kuttunum Gulle, saying they were not able to access the new bus service that was operating in the city.

The government began the service about six months ago to ease the financial burden of Maiduguri residents. But Gwangulon was not on any of the routes.

A bus trip costs ₦50; tricycle riders charge ₦150 to ₦200.

Gwangulon residents told FM 88.5 Maiduguri that many parents had to either cut down on the number of days their children could attend school or stop their kids going to school altogether.

AYSHA MUSTAPHA KOLOMI