When gunmen stormed a school in Oyo State last month, they did not just abduct children. They silenced a classroom forever. Mathematics teacher Michael Oyedokun was killed in the attack, his lesson plan left unfinished on his desk and his students plunged into a nightmare Nigeria has come to know too well. Recently, Bishop Stephen Adegbite, Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Christian Pilgrims Commission and Chaplain of Aso Rock Villa Chapel, who condemned Oyedokun’s killing while insisting that no genuine religion supports the shedding of innocent blood or the torment of helpless people, noted that his death must not be a statistic. This was just as he called for support for the efforts of government and security agencies through prayers, cooperation, and the provision of credible information. Writes Mary Nnah
In Oyo State, a secondary school Mathematics class now sits in silence. The man who taught students to love numbers, Mr. Michael Oyedokun, did not return home after gunmen struck. The chalk still sits in the tray. On the blackboard, half of a quadratic equation waits for a hand that will never return to finish it.
He was killed during the abduction of schoolchildren last month and, in one violent morning, a classroom lost its teacher while the nation was once again confronted with the human cost of insecurity.
But on May 28, his name hung heavily over a press briefing in Lagos as Bishop Stephen Adegbite, Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Christian Pilgrims Commission and Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Lagos State Chapter, paused to mourn a man most Nigerians never met, but whose death has come to symbolise a much larger tragedy.
“Such an inhuman act further confirms that the perpetrators are agents of evil and enemies of humanity,” Adegbite said, his voice measured but heavy with concern, adding that “No genuine religion promotes the shedding of innocent blood or the torment of helpless citizens”.
For Oyedokun’s family, colleagues and the pupils who called him “Uncle Maths”, the Bishop’s words were more than condolences. They were a public assurance that his death would not be forgotten.
“We strongly believe that the government will not allow his death, and the deaths of other innocent Nigerians lost to insecurity, to be in vain,” Adegbite told reporters, while urging the nation to hold on to hope.
A Nation Wrestling With Grief
Nigeria is weary, and Bishop Adegbite acknowledged it. Speaking to journalists, he pointed directly to the fears that have become part of daily life: kidnappings, attacks and children taken from classrooms. Yet he also pointed to what continues to sustain many Nigerians — faith.
“As a nation of faith and resilience, we must continue to support the efforts of government and security agencies through prayers, cooperation, and the provision of credible information,” he said. Across the country, congregations have offered prayers for kidnapped children.
In Oyo State, teachers are helping traumatised students rebuild a sense of normalcy. In a modest Ibadan neighbourhood, Oyedokun’s widow continues to receive visits from neighbours bringing food, comfort and quiet companionship.
Adegbite’s remarks moved between grief and governance. He acknowledged the Federal Government’s efforts to strengthen security under President Bola Tinubu, including the appointment of a Special Adviser on Homeland Security to improve intelligence gathering and response mechanisms.
He also reminded Nigerians that security operations often require discretion.
“Not every security operation can or should be made public for obvious tactical reasons,” he said.
At the same time, he stressed that citizens have a right to make their concerns known.
“Citizens have constitutional rights to peaceful protest and freedom of expression,” he noted. “Democracy thrives when citizens can freely express themselves within the law.”
His appeal, however, was for responsible engagement.
“Protests should not become instruments of political destabilisation,” he cautioned. “This is the time to build the nation together and not pull it apart.”
Commendation for APC
The Bishop did not avoid political issues. He commended the All Progressives Congress (APC) for endorsing President Tinubu for a second term, describing the move as “a step in the right direction for continuity, stability, and the consolidation of ongoing reforms”.
He also congratulated Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, on emerging as the party’s consensus governorship candidate, describing him as a committed public servant capable of sustaining the state’s development trajectory.
Holding On to Hope
Yet throughout the briefing, his focus repeatedly returned to ordinary Nigerians — the parent waiting anxiously for a kidnapped child, the teacher carrying an extra workload because a colleague has been lost, and the citizen caught between frustration and hope.
“We call for restraint, dialogue and patriotism from all stakeholders,” Adegbite said.
“Leadership continuity, when properly managed, provides the government the opportunity to deepen reforms and complete strategic programmes already underway.”
As the briefing drew to a close, Adegbite returned to the theme that had framed his message from the beginning: prayer.
“We shall continue to pray for peace, unity, progress, and good governance,” he said.
“Nigeria shall overcome its present challenges and emerge stronger by the grace of God.”
For the students who lost Mr. Oyedokun, overcoming may mean returning to a classroom without fear. For his family, it may mean finding justice and preserving his memory. For the nation, it means refusing to accept the loss of innocent lives as normal.
So on that fateful Thursday morning, in a room filled with microphones and notebooks, a bishop spoke not merely as a public official or church leader, but as a pastor addressing a wounded nation.
The subject was security, but at its heart, the story was about people — a teacher, his students and a country still searching for answers while holding on to hope.
PHOTO CAPTION:
L-R: Special Adviser to the Governor of Lagos State on Christian Religion, Very Rev. Bukola Adeleke; Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Lagos State Chapter, Bishop Dr. Stephen Adegbite; Vice Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Lagos State Chapter, Rev. Dr. Simeon Adekeye and Chairman, Christian Council of Nigeria, CCN, Lagos State Chapter, Rev. Dr. Stephen Oyinlola, during a media briefing on the State of the Nation, held in Lagos… recently
