After a 12-year pause caused by insurgent activities, the Yobe State Government has reopened Government Senior Day Secondary School, Bara, in Gulani Local Government Area (LGA). The school, previously operating from a temporary site at Government Secondary School in Damaturu, was initially closed in 2012 alongside schools in Goniri and Babbangida, as conflict in the region intensified.
Sulaiman Tamali, newly appointed principal of the Bara school, expressed optimism during a visit to Gulani LGA Chairman Dayyabu Njibulwa on Friday. “Together, we will raise the standard of teaching and learning at the school,” Tamali stated, seeking the council’s collaboration to enhance educational quality and stability.
Chairman Njibulwa emphasized the reopening as a significant indicator of the region’s improving security, crediting state authorities and security agencies for their role in restoring peace. He pledged the council’s support to aid the school’s mission and commended the state government’s commitment to rebuilding educational facilities in the area.
Yobe, located in Nigeria’s northeast, has been among the regions most affected by the insurgency primarily led by Boko Haram. Since 2009, the terrorist group’s activities have destabilized millions, prompting widespread displacement and disrupting essential services, including education. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reports that nearly 15 million people have been impacted by insurgency-related military operations. Women, children, and youth have been disproportionately affected, with schools forced to close as a protective measure.
The insurgency has relied on tactics such as suicide bombings, village destruction, forced displacement, abductions, sexual violence, and recruitment of men, worsening an already severe humanitarian crisis. The reopening of Bara’s secondary school marks a hopeful milestone in Yobe’s path toward recovery and a commitment to education despite years of adversity.
