
By: Monday Danladi, Bauchi
Security awareness has been referred to as the knowledge and mindset that enables individuals to recognize, prevent, and respond appropriately to potential threats-whether physical, digital, or behavioural.
The assertion was made by Comrade Abdullahi Yalwa-PhD of the Department of Crime Management, Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic, Bauchi in a presentation titled: Security Awareness, Fundamentals of Early Warning and Early Response (EWER) System in School Protection delivered at the stakeholders forum on schools safety held in Bauchi.
According to him, “Security awareness isn’t just about reacting to threats—it’s about creating a culture of vigilance, responsibility, and care. When everyone in the school community is aware and involved, the entire environment becomes safer, more inclusive, and more conducive to learning.’
He stressed that, “This is because education, remains the best and most important legacy any parent or nation can bequeath to its citizens; more so, security for all, is the responsibility of all.”
Abdullahi Yalwa added that, “The clamour for school safety and security becomes more prominent in the last fifteen years mainly due to anti human activities against the schools and other centres across the length and breath of Nigeria mainly masterminded by terrorists groups under different guise.”
He explained that pillars of School security awareness include Physical Security Awareness which is the understanding and practice of safety measures to protect people, buildings, equipment, and other physical assets from harm, theft, or unauthorized access.
He further explained that Cybersecurity Awareness is the understanding of the risks and threats that exist in the digital world—and knowing how to protect oneself, data, and devices from harm while Psychological and Social Awareness is the ability to understand one own’s behaviour and emotions and how one’s actions affect others which also determines how to build healthy, respectful relationships and to recognize when someone may be in trouble or behaving unusually.
The Lecturer added that Emergency Preparedness Awareness means being informed, ever ready, and able to respond quickly and effectively in the event of an emergency while Community and Parental Awareness refer to the understanding, involvement, and active participation of parents, guardians, and the wider community in ensuring the safety, security, and well-being of students and schools.
According to him, “Parents and community members play a key role in; reinforcing safety rules at home; noticing early signs of danger or distress in children; supporting emergency preparedness; reporting threats or suspicious behaviour near and or around the school environment.
Speaking further, he said that fundamentals of early warning in School protection means any initiative that focus on systematic data collection, analysis and recommendations which refers to the ability to generate timely useful warnings to enable individuals and organisations that are threatened by disasters to take necessary steps to act early enough to reduce or totally eliminate threats to lives and properties.
He stressed that detected threats saves lives, reduces damage, enhances preparedness as well as enhances collaboration.
He added that effective early warning systems should have the following key elements: Threat identification: The ability to identify potential security threats. Risk assessment: The ability to assess the likelihood and potential impact of identified threats.
Also, risk assessment is the ability to assess the likelihood and potential impact of identified threats while warning dissemination is the ability to rapidly disseminate warnings to individuals or organizations at risk.
Abdullahi Yalwa also stated that response planning is the ability to develop and implement response plans to mitigate the effects of potential threats.
On sources of early warning, he stated that it can come from various sources, including: intelligence agencies, Government agencies responsible for collecting and analysing intelligence on potential security threats and law enforcement: Local, state, or federal law enforcement agencies that provide early
warning of potential security threats.
Also, the Media: News outlets and social media platforms that provide early warning of potential security threats and Public reporting: Reports from the public on suspicious activity or potential security threats.
An Early Response System (ERS) is a critical component of school protection that enables swift and effective responses to emergencies, ensuring student and staff safety as well as a proactive approach to identifying and responding to emergencies, critical situations, or potential threats.
It is designed to provide rapid detection, notification, and response to minimize harm, damage, or disruption.
The key components of early response system include Emergency Alert Systems: Automated systems that quickly alert school administrators, security personnel, and first responders in the event of an emergency, Communication Protocols: Established procedures for communicating with students, staff, parents, and emergency responders during an emergency.
Also, Response Teams: Trained teams, including school administrators, security personnel, and first responders that respond to emergencies, Incident Command System: A structured approach to managing emergencies, ensuring clear communication and coordination among response teams.
According to him, benefits of early response system include rapid Response which enables swift response to emergencies, minimizing risk and impact, Improved Communication ensures clear communication among response teams,
students, staff, and parents.
Also, Enhanced Safety, helps prevent injuries and fatalities by responding promptly to emergencies while Reduced Liability demonstrates a proactive approach to school safety, reducing liability in the event of an emergency.
He further explained that Technologies supporting Early Response Systems (ERS) refer to the various digital tools, platforms, and infrastructure that enable rapid detection, notification, and response to emergencies or critical situations.
These technologies facilitate efficient communication, data analysis, and decision-making, ensuring a swift and effective response to emergencies. Emergency Alert Systems.
The Communication Platforms include
Wearable Devices, Surveillance Systems
Mobile and Mobile Apps. Mass Notification Systems (MNS). Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). (IoT).Cloud Computing and Internet of Things.
He recommended that Government should revisit the issue of outsourcing of Security, especially at the federal tertiary institutions as the policy is a security threat on its own as well as consider introducing a Course on security and safety as integral part of learning process.
Also, Government should incorporate Security Impact Assessment as condition for establishing both public and private schools at all levels as against the current practice of political or business convenience across the
country.
Furthermore, There should be deliberate policies to provide critical infrastructures such as hostels, electricity, healthy drinking water etc. for safe and secure educational institutions in Nigeria.
Also, The Criminal Justice System should be more active in dealing with issues pertaining to school security as education is the sure light against all darkness and its attack is an attack on the back-borne of the society.
He concluded saying that “Security for all is a responsibility of all; thus, security awareness and the fundamentals of EWER system are critical pillars of a comprehensive school protection strategy. By equipping stakeholders with the knowledge and tools to identify threats, respond effectively, and maintain vigilance; schools create a safer and more resilient environment. When security awareness is integrated with well-planned EWER systems.”