By Adesina Wahab
With terrorists continually targeting schools as soft targets for criminal activities, stakeholders have renewed calls for the effective implementation of the Safe Schools Initiative.
Speaking on the issue, the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the National Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN), Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, advocated the implementation of state police to strengthen security across the country.
“We know that security is an issue that concerns all of us. Community leaders and even residents should also assist by providing information to security agencies. Also, the Safe Schools Initiative must be made to work. It was launched in the aftermath of the Chibok girls’ abduction in 2014, and since then, its implementation has been inconsistent.
“All schools should be fenced and secured by armed personnel, not just gatekeepers opening and closing the gates. The police and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps have a great role to play and must be deployed in and around our schools. The school environment must be safe and conducive for teaching and learning. These repeated attacks on schools must stop. We must not give in to terror,” he said.
Also, the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) called for the full implementation of the Safe Schools Initiative.
The NUT President, Titus Amba, urged the government to deploy adequate security personnel, establish modern surveillance systems and create rapid emergency response mechanisms in vulnerable areas.
“The initiative is critical to preventing further attacks by terrorists and bandits. There must be nationwide implementation, full enforcement and strengthening of the Safe Schools Declaration across all states to protect educational institutions from violence.
“There must be urgent deployment of adequate security personnel and modern surveillance systems to vulnerable schools, especially in high-risk areas. There must be improved intelligence gathering and robust community-based security mechanisms. There must also be proper psychosocial support and rehabilitation services for teachers and students who have suffered the trauma of abduction,” he said.
The Safe Schools Initiative was conceived in the aftermath of the 2014 Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction, when Boko Haram’s attacks on education exposed the vulnerability of Nigerian schools.
The Federal Government, in collaboration with private sector leaders and development partners, launched the initiative with an initial funding of N20 billion to improve school security through early warning systems, perimeter fencing and emergency response measures.
In 2023, the Federal Government unveiled a N144.8 billion financing plan for the 2023–2026 period, to be implemented in partnership with federal and state governments as well as development partners.
However, school abductions have continued and spread from the North-East to the North-West and more recently to the South-West. Insecurity around schools has persisted, leaving students, teachers and parents living in fear.
The recent foiling of a planned school abduction in Edo State by the Department of State Services (DSS), working with local residents, highlighted the continued nationwide threat to schools and renewed concerns over the effectiveness of existing protection measures.
Meanwhile, seven months after the Senate resolved to investigate the implementation of the Safe Schools Initiative, little progress has been reported.
The Senate Ad-hoc Committee, chaired by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, had summoned key government officials, including the then Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, and the Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa, after it was disclosed that nearly N62 billion in the 2023 budget was allocated solely to the Nigeria Police Force, while a significant portion of previous allocations had reportedly been spent on consultancy and other related expenses.
