Obiorah Anthony Ugwonwa
The need to inculcate core positive values and total preparation of Nigerian school children, teachers and other critical stakeholders in the nation’s education system on safety has been emphasized by the Deputy Commandant, Nigerian Security, Civil and Defence Corps, Anambra State Command,Commandant Francis Nnadi.
The Commandant, who spoke when he led high racking officers of his command to a courtesy visit of the Director, National Orientation Agency, (NOA), Awka, Anambra State Directorate, Mr Edozie Ajaegbu in his office at the Ebele Ofunneamaka Okeke Federal Secretariat Complex, Awka, and explained that the essence of the visit was to explore a fertile ground on partnering NOA as information dissemination agents on communicating the project of Safe Schools in the communities and across the state.
He said that the Safe School Project of the Federal Government is aimed at re-orintating the mindsets of Nigerian School Children to imbibe the core positive values which he said had eluded the country.
He spoke on the importance of teaching the children, all the nitty-gritty of security tips, as future leaders of the country, and added that the project is not only about the School Children, but also aimed at partnering with the greater percentage of Nigerians, especially NOA, in the Herculean task of making the people to be security conscious at all times.
The Commandant,who is also in charge of Private Guard Companies in the state, said that they came to see where they could synergize with NOA in the area of sensitizing the people on the project.
He thanked the NOA hierarchy for the warm reception they received, despite the short notice.
In response, the State Director, National Orientation Agency (NOA) Awka, Mr.Edozie Ajaegbu, assured the Deputy Commandant and his team that they are at the right place, saying that the project was in line with the mandates of the Agency, with particular reference to enhancing attitudinal change among Nigerians.
The Director, stated that NOA had been in the total war against cultism and drug abuse among other social vices in the schools across the state.
He assured the Deputy Commandant and his team that the synergy they seek with NOA in the area of quality delivery on the Safe Schools project in the state would work out effectively.
Earlier, the Assistant Commandant and the Coordinator, Safe School Project of the NSCDC in Anambra State, Mrs Uchechukwu Okafor said that the project was launched in 2014 by Federal Government with a view to stemming the incessant bullying and kidnapping of School Children in the country, as well as making the school environments safe for the School Children and their teachers.
She harped on the needed for fencing the School compounds, installation of CCTV cameras and lighting the school environments by the government at all levels.
Also, Parents/Teachers Associations (PTA) of schools in the country are expected to collaborate with government on the project in order to checkmate the activities of kidnapping of the School Children in the country.
She stressed that the state commandant of the corp had mandated that the project would be replicated in all communities of the country, especially at the grassroots by organizing a one-day state wide stakeholders workshop on the project.
In their separate speeches, the Deputy Director, Special Duties and Local Government Coordinator, Barrister Ifeoma Chijioke and her counterpart in Programmes Department, Mr.Ignatius Obiorah, and that of Planning, Research and Strategy of the Agency, Comrade Felix Agbu, described the Safe School Project of the federal government as wonderful and timely.
They pointed out that the objectives of the project were in tandem with the life charter programme of the Director General of National Orientation Agency, Mallam Lanre Isa Onilu which they said was aimed at rejuvenating the spirit of team work, patriotism and total fight against the eradication of all forms of social vices, violent crimes and criminalities in the country.
