Revisiting Safe Schools Initiative

The fragility of school security in Nigeria was laid bare once again recently with the abduction of 25 female students of Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State, and the killing of the school’s vice principal. It was closely followed by the abduction of over 300 pupils of St. Mary’s Catholic School, Papiri in Niger State.

The nation was once again thrown into mourning and another set of families in anguish. Again, the nation is confronted with the grim reality that, for many Nigerian children, going to school has become a journey into the unknown.

More than a decade has passed since Boko Haram militants abducted over 276 girls from their dormitories in Chibok, a tragedy that triggered global outrage. In the years since, hundreds of schools have been attacked, classrooms destroyed, teachers killed, and thousands of students abducted across the North. Each attack is a reminder that the crisis is far from being addressed.

In response to the Chibok abductions, the Safe School Initiative, SSI, was launched in May 2014 as a collaborative effort involving the government, private sector, and international partners. Its design was sound: strengthen school infrastructure, improve security presence, expand emergency plans, and relocate students from high-risk areas.

But like many well-intentioned programmes in Nigeria, it gradually lost momentum. Funding became erratic, implementation inconsistent, and monitoring weak. Eleven years later, the Safe School Initiative survives more in documents than in reality. Across the country, millions of children still study in buildings with broken or no fences, no lighting, no guards, and zero emergency response capability.

The Maga and Papiri abductions were about failure of security and governance. Nigeria cannot continue this cycle of tragedy followed by short-lived outrage. Schools must not be war zones, and children must never be targets. It is the government’s duty to make sure of these.

If the country is truly committed to protecting its future, the Safe School Initiative must be rebuilt, not as a symbolic gesture or knee-jerk reaction, but dependable and sustainable security system.

School security must be treated as a matter of national emergency. The Federal, State, Local Governments and communities must combine efforts to enforce standards on fencing, surveillance, emergency drills, crisis communication, and staff preparedness. Each school should undergo regular security audits, with findings made public to ensure transparency and accountability.

Technology must also play a central role. Remote schools can be protected with CCTV cameras, alarm systems, perimeter sensors, and emergency alert applications linked to rapid security response units. Crucially, the nation must tap into the intelligence capacity of local actors, vigilante groups, hunters, traditional leaders, and community networks, whose knowledge of their terrain often surpasses that of formal security agencies.

The time for half-measures is over. Schools must be made safe again.

The post Revisiting Safe Schools Initiative appeared first on Vanguard News.