Even before the World Economic Forum Africa holding in Abuja, Nigeria, reached its final stages, its benefits have begun to roll in for the host country. During the first day of deliberations, the business community swiftly voted $10 million, specifically for the safety of schools in Northern Nigeria. Gordon Brown, former British Prime Minister and United Nations, UN, envoy on education, broke the news, whilst also revealing that United States, US, and the United Kingdom, UK, were willing to assist Nigeria trace the missing Chibok school girls.

“There is a desperate need to assure Nigerians that school children are safe to go to school. The Nigerian business community has earmarked $10 million with a pilot of 500 schools. The initiative wants parents and teachers to come up with what safety measures they need but government too should be involved,” Brown said.

Notable Nigerian business personalities such as Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Industries Limited, DIL, Jim Ovia, former managing director of Zenith International Bank, and Nduka Obaigbena, chairman of ThisDay Newspaper and President, Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria, NPAN, are also members of the leadership for Safe Schools Initiative through the Global Business Coalition for Education headed by Brown.

The $10 million initiative is an initial fund, which aims at obtaining matching investments by the government to promote safety in schools. It focuses on school and community interventions with special measures for the most at-risk and vulnerable children. The initiative will build community security groups to promote safe zones for education, consisting of teachers, parents, police, community leaders and young people themselves.