UK pledges support for FG’s Safe School Initiative

The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery, says the United Kingdom will continue its partnership with Nigeria on the Safe School Initiative.

Montgomery, who disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday in Abuja, said the UK remained part of the international coalition that established the initiative in 2014.

He said, “The UK’s partnership with Nigeria will be supporting Nigerian authorities to respond faster and better to cases related to insecurity in schools.

“The UK and Nigeria have similarities in areas of law enforcement, security and intelligence led operations, such as people who do search and rescue for kidnapped victims.

“We share lessons through the Office of the National Security Adviser as part of our Security and Defense partnership plan and collaborate with various agencies when there is a kidnap.

“We learn a lot by working with them, from their operational experience and where we can be of help, we are keen to do so.”

According to him, the SSI partnership is with the federal, state and local government authorities in Nigeria, saying the UK coordinates the initiative alongside other development partners.

Montgomery said: “The SSI provides small amounts of support to schools to create safe spaces within school environments.

“The support also enables schools to tackle vulnerabilities of transportation on roads from school to school and ensure schools have good security gates, as well as guards.

“And also to ensure there is a constant dialogue between teachers and parents on proper ways to carry out risk reduction plans and create safe spaces within schools.

“This is a partnership for learning for all in Nigeria called ‘clean for short’ that builds on a previous similar programme, which the UK supported during the past decades.”

The envoy explained the support to be educational assistance to schools and work with other partners like UNICEF experts to promote safe spaces in schools.

He observed that security agencies have huge tasks to create safe spaces in schools, adding that they cannot be in every school at the same time.

He said 2024 marked the 10th anniversary since the abduction of the Chibok girls and the trauma did not only affect the schoolchildren but also their parents, families and teachers.