Atiku Slams FG Over Shutting of Schools in 40 LGAs Amid N144.86bn Safe Schools Initiative

The former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, has expressed dismay over the shutting down of schools in about 40 local government areas due to insecurity. This development, he said, is a clear indication of the Bola Tinubu administration's inability to protect Nigerian children and ensure their right to education. Atiku, who is also the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, made this statement through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu. He questioned the effectiveness of the N144.86 billion National Plan on Financing Safe Schools for 2023-2026, given that the schools the programme was designed to protect are still being forced to close due to the activities of terrorists, bandits, and other armed groups. According to Atiku, the current situation is exacerbating the already severe out-of-school crisis in Nigeria, with insecurity driving even more children away from the classroom. He argued that the true measure of a Safe Schools programme is whether children can actually attend school safely, and by this standard, the present approach is failing. Atiku demanded that the Tinubu administration should provide a comprehensive account of the programme, including the amount of money mobilised and released, the agencies and contractors that received funds, the schools covered, and the security infrastructure delivered. However, he warned that accounting for the money alone would not solve the deeper problem, which requires a completely different security philosophy. Under his administration, Atiku said that school security would be integrated into a decentralised, intelligence-led security architecture that involves local communities. He proposed establishing functional early-warning and rapid-response systems around vulnerable schools, strengthening intelligence sharing between schools, communities, and security agencies, and ensuring that high-risk schools have clearly defined security and emergency-response plans. Atiku also emphasized the need for measurable outcomes for every naira committed to school security, so that Nigerians can know which schools have been protected, what infrastructure has been provided, and who is responsible for maintaining it. He stressed that protecting education is a national security strategy, as every school that closes creates an opportunity for poverty, child labour, early marriage, exploitation, and radicalisation. Atiku concluded that the failure to protect schools and guarantee the safety of children is a surrender of state authority, and he called on the President to detail his security forces to rescue the abducted children and bring their abductors to justice.