Despite receiving more than $ 20 million in reportedly funding for schools, the Safe Schools Initiative (SSI) has been criticized by the Northern Christian Youth Professionals (NCYP) for its “weak visibility and poor impact.”
The organization made its point in a statement released on Friday that Isaac Abrak, its chairman, signed.
The NCYP claimed that the recent spate of school shootings in northern Nigeria rekindled concerns about the SSI’s ability to protect less-vulnerable communities.
The “Northern Christian Youth Professionals (NCYP) expresses concern about the recent wave of attacks on schools in northern Nigeria, which have led to tragic killings and widespread kidnapping of innocent students.
“$20 million raised, schools still retaliate. The Safe Schools Initiative (SSI) and its partnership with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) are at risk due to these heartbreaking events, the statement read partially.
READ MORE: Abduction: School Counters Niger Govt., Denies Claim Of Prior Warning.
The group recalled Bola Tinubu’s request to recruit forest-side community members into the Forest Guard to protect schools following the abduction of more than 200 students from Kuriga, Kaduna State’s government primary and secondary schools in 2024.
The NCYP accepted the SSI’s announcement to work with the NSCDC, which it later disputed despite its initial proposal.
The group claimed that urgent questions were raised by the ongoing attacks.
What part did the partnership between the Safe Schools Initiative and NSCDC play in protecting the attacked schools? “the association inquired.
In a Maga, Kebbi State, gunmen kidnapped 26 schoolgirls on Monday during an attack. In another of the biggest school kidnappings in recent years, gunmen stormed St. Mary’s Primary and Secondary School in the Niger State on Friday, abducting 315 students and staff.
In response, NCYP also enquired about the preventive or reactive measures being put in place in the recent tragic kidnappings at St. Mary’s School in Agwara Local Government Area and the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga, Kebbi State.
Demand for transparency
NCYP raised questions about how funds have been handled since the SSI was founded following the 2014 Chibok abduction.
The statement included contributions from the following publicly reported sources: Private sector/business leaders: $10 million pledged as seed funding; Federal Government of Nigeria: About $10 million; additional FEC-approved support: $4.2 million; United States Government (USAID/Embassy): $2 million; and Qatar Government: $2 million.
The group claimed that although these contributions exceeded $20 million, “they did not have a visible impact on educational institutions.”
It demanded that the SSI release a detailed report outlining its activities, spending, implementing partners, emergency response plans, and impact assessments.
Transparency will reassure potential donors, spur investment in safer schools, and make interventions to protect girls in northern areas where cultural and security barriers make education fragile.
The Safe Schools Initiative must provide answers, demonstrate accountability for how much money is being used and how effective it is, and reevaluate its approach to accomplish its goals, according to the organization.
Implement Forest Guard . , p.
The group reaffirmed its call for President Tinubu to put the Forest Guard program into full effect and ensure that residents’ input is used to guide its operation.
There is no substitute for the vigilance, courage, and determination of parents protecting their children, according to the statement that community members were the most trustworthy defenders of their schools.
The group urged the president to “avoid establishing a bureaucratic institution” that was isolated from the communities it was supposed to protect.
The United States should support Nigeria’s community-based security efforts, NCYP urged.
The NCYP argued that terrorist attacks could not continue to harm children in Nigeria.
Source: Channels TV
Leave a Reply