A National Blueprint for Sustainable Anti-Bullying and Violence Initiatives in Nigeria: Leveraging the FME Policy and the 2025 National Week of Action

A National Blueprint for Sustainable Anti-Bullying and Violence Initiatives in Nigeria: Leveraging the FME Policy and the 2025 National Week of Action, 

October 19, 2025 by Joseph Ayodele, BSc, MBA, CMC, FAPCI, FIMC

 

I. Executive Summary and Strategic Mandate

1.1. The Crisis Imperative and the Renewed Hope Agenda

Bullying and school violence constitute a profound, pervasive threat to the educational stability and psychological welfare of Nigerian learners, representing what many officials have termed a "silent crisis". Empirical evidence gathered by various organizations confirms the severity of the challenge, with one UNESCO study indicating that approximately 32% of Nigerian children between the ages of 12 and 17 have been subjected to victimization. These statistics are tragically underscored by high-profile national incidents, including the devastating death of Sylvester Oromoni in December 2021, the tragic case involving the late artist Mohbad in September 2023, and the recent suicide of a student at the Nigerian Law School (Port Harcourt campus) on June 2, 2025. Such events clearly demonstrate that violence is deeply embedded across various sectors of society and institutional structures.

 

The significance of addressing this crisis has been elevated to the highest level of government priority. The commitment of the Federal Ministry of Education (FME) to ensuring a safe and conducive learning environment aligns directly with one of the core principles of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's Renewed Hope Agenda. The official response to these public safety failures has been marked by a necessary institutional urgency. The fact that the FME and partnering organizations, such as the African Principals Conference Initiative (APCI), explicitly reference recent, devastating tragedies suggests that the national initiative is a critical, multi-faceted action taken to restore public confidence in the education sector’s capacity to protect youth welfare. This Blueprint is designed to serve as the strategic roadmap required to operationalize this national mandate, transforming public concern into systemic, measurable change.