A combination of failing educational infrastructure and worsening insecurity is pushing Nigerian chithldren towards an increasingly uncertain future, ARISE News analyst Dayo Sobowale has warned, stressing that only deliberate long term planning can reverse the trend.

Sobowale, speaking during an interview on ARISE News, cautioned that the country's structural problems were deepening vulnerabilities for younger generations, particularly those in regions already lacking adequate access to learning. "Education and insecurity are threatening the future of Nigerian children," he stated.

The analyst noted that regional educational imbalance has persisted as one of Nigeria's most stubborn developmental failures, comparing the country's uneven progress to a vehicle unable to function properly. "It's like a car with a flat tyre," he stated, adding that neglect of youth education in certain areas had contributed directly to wider social and security crises. "They neglected the education of their youth," he disclosed.

Sobowale linked poor educational outcomes to extremist recruitment, arguing that limited access to quality schooling creates conditions for radicalisation and instability. "That is why you have the Nigerian problem," he stated. He acknowledged that government efforts on security exist, but maintained that results have fallen short. "I think they are being addressed seriously, but not successfully," he noted.

He raised concern over school insecurity and its effect on parental decisions, warning that fear of attacks could drive families to withdraw children from school entirely. "There is a possibility that children may not return," he cautioned. No administration, he stressed, could afford complacency in the face of such conditions. "No government can afford to sleep when we have such crises," he stated.

Sobowale pointed to Gulf nations as models of education led development, urging Nigeria to replicate their commitment to human capital investment. "They have used their wealth to develop their youths," he revealed, adding that "they pursued education to speed up development." He also warned that insecurity had grown well beyond local boundaries, noting that "it has been internationalised."

He stressed that national pride must not stand in the way of the reforms required. "We have to swallow our pride," he said. Strategic planning, he insisted, remains the only viable path forward. "If we must plan a good future, we have to do strategic planning," Sobowale stated.