Due to the rising cases of abduction of schoolchildren and even teachers in some parts of the country, the Federal Government will soon engage the services of hunters and vigilantes to curb the incessant attacks on the schools. This was disclosed recently by the National Coordinator, Financing Safe School Initiative, Mrs. Halima Iliya, in Abuja. The government will also embark on aggressive community engagements and sensitisation of parents, teachers and students on the development. The states and local governments will be carried along for the success of the scheme.
According to her, the N144.8billion Safe Schools project will cover about 48 schools in 18 states of the federation this year. The plan will cover 50 per cent of most of the public schools at risk of attacks over the medium-term.
However, the Safe school Initiative should be extended to other parts of the country that may be regarded as soft targets by bandits and kidnappers.
The Safe School initiative was launched by the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan with some development partners to check attacks on schools following the abduction of 276 school girls in Chibok, Borno State, in April 2014. Available statistics show that not less than 1,400 students have been abducted since 2014.
It is commendable that the government is complementing the efforts of the police and other security agencies with this new security arrangement to keep the nation’s schools safe. Therefore, we call for adequate training of the hunters and vigilantes and others to be engaged for this service. The inability of the conventional security personnel to nip incessant attacks and mass kidnappings in schools in the bud has been blamed on the lack of intelligence gathering. There is hope that the new initiative will fill this gap. It is sad that 10 years after the abduction of Chibok school girls, some of them are still in captivity. The federal government must ensure that these girls are rescued.
Apart from those engaged to ensure security in our schools, it is worth noting that the Safe School initiative should be the collective responsibility of all Nigerians. Civil society organisations, non-governmental organisations and faith-based organisations should key into the project. Members of the communities will also work to make the schools safe for the children. Bringing the initiative back at a time of renewed attacks in the schools is cheering. Some of these attacks had occurred in the northern part of the country. For instance, in February this year, suspected Boko Haram insurgents kidnapped over 200 internally displaced people, mostly children, in the Ngala Local Government Area of Borno State. Similarly, on March 7, about 287 students were abducted in Kuriga, Kaduna State. Some days later, not less than 15 schoolchildren were kidnapped from a boarding school in Gidan Bakuso village in Sokoto State. Also, on March 18, over 87 people were kidnapped in Kajuru community, Kaduna State.
To ensure the success of the safe school project, let the government provide adequate perimeter fencing in all schools. This will be the first step in ensuring safety in the schools. In addition to training the hunters and vigilantes, they should be provided with adequate tools that will enhance their operations. We advise communities and governments to consider citing schools in areas where people are living. Building schools in isolated places makes it easier for bandits and kidnappers to strike without restraint. Also, the schools should be provided with telephones and hotlines to call during emergencies. The citizens should be willing to provide necessary information to the security agencies. This will go a long way in assisting them to nip crimes in the bud. Without curbing attacks on schools, the number of the nation’s out-of-school children will rise beyond the present figure of over 20 million.
Let there be comprehensive background checks on the prospective hunters and vigilantes for the safe school initiative. We urge the state and local governments to assist in funding the safe school project. Besides, the federal and state governments should quickly address the triggers of insecurity, which include poverty, food insecurity, unemployment and social inequality. There is urgent need for the government to check the rising cost of living and food inflation.