Earlier this month, IA-Foundation - a charity/NGO set up by Mrs. Ibironke Adeagbo to reduce the number of ‘out-of-school’ children in Nigeria, partnered with top security company - Halogen Group to organise a global virtual summit to proffer solutions to the security challenges facing Nigerian schools.
The current Nigerian situation is indicating that our nation’s schools have increasingly become soft targets for violence and security incidents, thus becoming high among the most frequent targets. The objective of the summit was to get beyond the rhetoric and posturing, by embarking on the rigour of ascertaining the root causes and exploring what needs to be done to make our schools and education institutions safe and secured places to learn and grow, whilst providing interventions that will become part of the establishments’ central culture.
Schools Security Summit
The summit was facilitated by Halogen Group's Chief Operating Officer - Dr Wale Adeagbo and had very high-profile speakers and over 700 people registered for the webinar, with some people watching it on various social media platforms. In her opening speech, Mrs Ibironke Adeagbo, a chartered accountant and education advocate, said insecurity in schools is an attack on education and the country’s educational economy and would only exacerbate the number of ‘out-of-school’ children. She said the need for a multi-dimensional approach to tackling insecurity in schools led to the partnership with Halogen Group.
The CEO of Halogen Group - Mr Wale Olaoye, also emphasised that all have a moral and legal responsibility to keep children safe in schools. He went on to say, that some of the attacks on schools might have been prevented with better physical protections and enhanced security response to early warning signs and threats.
Pragmatic and practical solutions were proffered by other high-profile speakers such Mrs. Maryam Uwais, the Special Adviser to President Mohammadu Buhari on Social Investment who rolled out the effort of the government at making schools safe, what they met on ground, where they are presently and where they are headed.
The Lagos Sate Commissioner for Education - Mrs. Folasade Adefisayo, said the government took a cue from the COVID-19 saga and was proactive enough to be ready for eventualities. Moreover, she said collaborative efforts from both public and private bodies will make the issue of security work effectively.
Ace broadcaster Babajide Kolade-Otitoju, called for increased collaboration between private and public sectors, as the security situation cannot be left to be solved by the government alone.
United States based security expert Jason Destein also emphasised the importance of preventive intelligence gathering and nationwide collaborative strategies with all stakeholders. He also cited the need to invest in job creation as well as collaborative and nationwide community intelligence efforts to tackle school terrorism incidences.
Mrs. Bolaji Osime, CEO, Global International College (OCI) said there is an urgent need for the government to overhaul the security system in the country. According to her, government must understand it has the constitutional responsibility to protect the lives of students in schools. She also reiterated the need for preventive as opposed to reactive measures in solving the student’s security situation in the country.
The CEO of Lagos State Security Trust Fund, Mr. Abdurrasaq Balogun, security expert Dennis Amachree (MON), Bamidele Ademola-Olateju a social commentator, Kemi Areola, Special Adviser to the Minister of Youth and Sports Development all expressed various means in which this menace can be tackled by government and other agencies that are saddled with security responsibility. Opeyemi Adedara, a final year student at Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA) represented the students and expressed her deep concern on how the government at every level are paying lip service to the issue of school security in the country.
In conclusion, the Summit agreed there needs to be a sense of national urgency, joined up approach, political willingness, huge investment in security infrastructure and intelligence gathering, setting up of school safety vanguard, comprehensive business continuity plan consisting of emergency management, security risk management and crisis communication, community policing, introduction of safety and security topics in schools, use of portable radio in schools and vetting of schools’ staff. IA-Foundation plans to submit the policy paper of the Summit to Federal, State, and Local Government for collaborative implementation.