Nasarawa Govt donates response centre to NSCDC, advocates PPP to address school security

Oru Leonard 

Determined to address the menace of insecurity bedeviling the education sector, the Nasarawa state government has donated and flagged off a state safe schools response centre in Lafia, the state capital and called for private-public partnership (PPP), as another measure to secure education.

The State Governor, Engr Abdullahi Sule made the remarks at Government House in Lafia during a One-day Sensitisation Workshop for Strategic Stakeholders in the North-Central Geopolitical Zone, on the activities of the National Safe Schools Response Coordination Centre (NSSRCC) and the Safe Schools Programme in Nigeria, organised by Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

Represented by his Deputy, Dr Emmanuel Akabe, the Governor described the protection of education as a collective responsibility by all and sundry and encouraged residents of the state to collaborate with security agencies to ensure the maximum success of the Safe Schools implementation project.

He lauded the establishment of the NSSRCC as a welcome development and called on individuals and corporate bodies to also contribute by building perimeter fencing and hostels in schools under the PPP arrangement as another strategy to secure education.

The Governor described a recent abduction of some people near the Federal University Lafia, a situation he disclosed compelled the state government to declare a curfew in the affected community.

He thanked security agencies for their swift intervention as he pledged continuous support towards enhancing their performance.

In his remarks, the Commandant General (CG), of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Dr Ahmed Abubakar Audi stated that the menace of violence and attacks on schools in Nigeria has spanned over a decade.

According to him, the ugly spate of attacks on education manifests in the destruction of facilities, disrupting schools and keeping children out of schools, saying that the situation presents consequences which can only be imagined.

The CG maintained to address the menace, adding that the NSSRCC was created by the government and domicile under the NSCDC, with the responsibility of coordinating safety and security responses against violence in schools and host communities.

He said, “The centre does not function in isolation from other security agencies, but serves as a coordinating agent, also collaborating with all security agencies and other relevant stakeholders with the Federal and State Ministry of Education, and Local Government Education Authorities (LGEAs) as major partners.”

I want to clear certain doubts and misgivings about the responsibility of the Centre and to re-emphasize the fact that the Centre is operating on the principles of a whole-of-society approach.

To this effect, both federal, state and local governments are being engaged as partners in progress,” NSCDC Boss explained.

On his part, the keynote speaker, Brig Gen MBG Martins, called on state governments and relevant stakeholders to key into the Safe Schools project, saying that the United Nations promotes education as a way of supporting member states.

Martins suggested the need for the provision of adequate security around schools to assure citizens of adequate protection against attacks, reiterating that the measure would in turn improve the statistics of school enrollment across the country.

Two lectures based on the theme: strategies for community engagement and information gathering for the protection of schools and host communities in Nigeria were delivered by Timothy Michael Maigida and Air Commodore EE Owai respectively, from the perspectives of the Department of State Services and Defence Intelligence Agency.

Dr Priscilla Gondo-Aluor, the Nasarawa State Director of, the National Orientation Agency interacted with participants to examine the roles of strategic stakeholders in the safe schools programme in Nigeria, with a focus on her agency’s approach.

Earlier in an address of welcome, Nasarawa State Commandant of NSCDC, Abbas Bappa Muhammad said, “Safety and security don’t just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment”.

The Commandant stressed that parents owe their children who are among the most vulnerable citizens in the society, a life free of violence and fear.

Other highlights of the seminar were attended by five NSCDC State Commandants and about 500 participants.

There was the presentation of goodwill messages by sister agencies, school children and the Commander of the NSSRCC, CSC Tersoo Shaapera gave an overview of efforts which led to the establishment of the centre, its functions, activities and plans.

(NSCDC NHQ Media)