Boko Haram kills more pupils despite Safe Schools Initiative

Boko Haram kills more pupils despite Safe Schools Initiative

Minister of Education, Ibrahim Shekarau and Brown

With the merciless attacks on schools in the North East by Boko Haram, how worthy is the Safe Schools Initiative, FOLASHADE ADEBAYO asks

Following the bombing at the Government Technical Science College, Potiskum, Yobe State, where more than 40 pupils lost their lives on the assembly ground on Monday, concerned Nigerians have called on the Federal Government to review its Safe Schools Initiative Programme.

They argue that the latest attack, the second targeted at schools in Yobe State this year, ridiculed the SSI touted to protect pupils as well as teaching and non-teaching staff during school hours.

In February, terrorists had invaded the Federal Government College, Buni Yadi, also in the state, setting the school hall on fire, and killing no fewer than 59 pupils. The insurgents also abducted some of the pupils who tried to escape.

As if that was not enough, the sect members last April raided the Government Girls’ College, Chibok, Borno State, abducting more than 200 pupils. More than six months after, the whereabouts of the innocent girls has remained unknown.

Apart from these celebrated cases, analysts note that there are pockets of other unreported attacks on schools since then. Worried by the unrelenting attacks, stakeholders on Wednesday declared the initiative ineffective and advised the government to quickly review its safety strategies in schools.

The SSI was inaugurated in May by a former British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, who partnered with the private sector in Nigeria and donated $10m to make schools, especially in the North-East, safe zones. The effort similarly attracted a $10m counterpart funding from the Federal Government.

Some 500 schools in the Northern part of the country were chosen for the pilot project, which was to focus on community intervention and participation to protect pupils and their schools.

In the long term, a statement from the office of Gordon and Sarah Brown says the initiative will “focus on bolstering the physical protection of schools, providing school guards and police in partnership with Nigerian authorities, training staff as School Safety Officers, providing communications tools and school counsellors.

“The initiative will also work to help schools create school security plans and work with the government to develop a rapid response system so that even when faced with attacks, response units are set up to quickly repair or rebuild, and destroyed education material is replaced.’’

An educationist, Dr. Olusegun Omisore, has however faulted the government on the initiative. According to him, it cannot succeed in isolation and without a proper assessment of the underlying factors. He, therefore, called on all stakeholders to take a proactive stand against the wave of insurgency in the country.

“It has become fashionable for the government to set up interventions after each attack. It is all a parable of nonsense. Look at what has happened since the launch of the initiative. We pay a lot of lip service in this country. We cannot do this project in isolation. Today, (Wednesday) the terrorists just bombed the Federal Government College of Education in Niger State, they are coming nearer.

“This is not about schools alone; it is about the structure of this country. We should not play politics with insurgency. President Goodluck Jonathan asked for $1bn loan to tackle terrorism, but we do not know if it has been approved. The people of this country must take a stand. Are we trading with the lives of our children? Can we not sit down for once and get serious for once?’’ he asked.

Yet, the Executive Director, Women’s Right and Health Project, Mrs. Bose Ironsi, thinks the programme should be a given time to bloom. Just like any new project, she opined that the gains of the initiative might take time to be seen.

“I think it is a programme that is just starting. What we need to acknowledge is that such a thing can happen in Lagos as ‘secured’ as we think it is. It is not enough to conclude that it is a failure. It is sad but we know it cannot work in isolation. I also recommend a periodic review of the initiative to enable the planners to assess its impact well,” she said.

Agreeing with Ironsi that the initiative is still young, the Executive Director, Media Concern for Women and Children, Mrs. Princess Olufemi-Kayode, said efforts put in so far by the authorities would be not enough to check the attacks on schools.

Olufemi-Kayode said, “It is a fresh programme, but I think it is not enough to keep terrorism out of our schools. In the latest case, the bomber used a school uniform. I tell you, the government needs to be more dynamic in the fight against terrorism. The insurgents are coming up with different options and it seems the government cannot keep up with them. I believe the initiative cannot singly solve the problem of attacks on schools.”

Meanwhile, an attempt by our correspondent to get the Minister of Finance, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, to speak on the disbursement of the funds for the SSI failed