The federal government on Thursday said that bullying was destructive and a killer of dreams and must not be given a place in schools across all levels in the country.
The stakeholders rejected bullying and called on students, parents and others to kick it out of the school environment as well as society.
The stakeholders, which included Ministers of State for Education and Humanitarian Affairs: Prof. Suwaiba Said Ahmad; Yusuf Tanko Sununu and Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, spoke at the National Stakeholders’ Summit on bullying prevention and support with the theme: “Unite Against Bullying: A Multi-Stakeholder Approach to Legislative and Social Change,” organised by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Student Engagement, Hon. Sunday Asefon in collaboration with United Women Voice International Foundation yesterday in Abuja.
Ahmad condemned the rising cases of bullying, especially among students, which she noted in some cases, lead to death or students’ withdrawal from school, anxiety, and other psychological effects.
She highlighted ongoing efforts of the Federal Ministry of Education aimed at tackling the menace, disclosing that the ministry has gone beyond policy pronouncement against bullying to setting up a task force for enforcement.
She said, “Bullying in whatever form is unacceptable. It needs a multisectoral approach, combining policy, awareness campaigns, training and mental health services. The Ministry has done so much, including the launch of a national anti-bullying policy in our schools, which was launched on the 5th of May 2025.”
On his part, Olawande reaffirmed the commitment of President Bola Tinubu to building a safer society for young people in the country, insisting that stakeholders must rise to the occasion of protecting and empowering young Nigerians.
Olawande, who insisted that bullying must not have a place in schools in Nigeria, enlisted the support of parents, teachers, traditional and religious leaders, media and other stakeholders to address the challenge of bullying both in schools and in society, while also noting that the task is enormous for the government alone to tackle.
He called on the National Assembly to enact a law that would support the fight against bullying in the country.
“The most typical one that has a prevalence of almost 62% is physical bullying, which can involve physical harm, such as hitting, kicking, pushing, or damaging property,” he said.
Sununu commended the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Student Engagement, Sunday Asefon and other partners for organising the summit, which he noted was apt and timely.
Earlier, Asefon described bullying as a national crisis requiring multi-sectoral approaches to address, hence the decision to organise the summit where experts and stakeholders, including partners in advocacy, educators, government officials, students and child protection stakeholders, gather to brainstorm on prevention, awareness and solutions.
He said, “Across Nigeria today, bullying, whether physical, verbal, psychological, or online, has become a destructive force. It undermines mental health, disrupts academic performance, and threatens the safety of our learning environments.
“It is no longer a series of isolated incidents or unfortunate elements of ‘school culture’; it is a national challenge demanding a unified, multi-sectoral response.
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