The Safety Education series, published in 2026 by Smartgrade Solutions in Ibadan, consist of an edition for Primary Schools (children aged 9 to 12 years) and Junior Secondary Schools (aged 13 – 15).
Book Review: Safety Education For Practical Living
The two books, created to help schools, teachers, parents and communities introduce the consciousness of safety in simple, practical and engaging ways.
Both books were written by G.A. Shittu, a Nigerian engineer, educator and author. His work is rooted in practical safety education and responsible citizenship. He has professional experience in Nigeria’s energy industry, with focus on building safety awareness.
The first book, Safety Education for Primary Schools, is predicated on the fact that every day of their lives, “pupils move through places that may contain risks, including classrooms, playgrounds, roads, homes, and community spaces.” So, it is critical that they learn “how to notice hazards, make wise choices, and ask for help.” (p4)
The essence of the book therefore is to expose schools, teachers, families and communities to situations that pupils may encounter at school, playgrounds, roads, and at home.
The author brings his decades of experience to full play in this book to let children become more observant, responsible, and caring towards themselves and others.
The book, Safety Education for Primary Schools, contains 25 chapters spread through three parts and 62 pages.
Each chapter is laid out simply, illustrated for visual appeal and made short and attractive to children between nine to 12 years old. And each chapter is interactive for stimulating learning, storytelling and with work activities.
The first part of the book focuses on personal and classroom safety. In this part learners are exposed to safety consciousness, examples of hazards at school, including wet floors, broken chairs, open electrical sockets, among others; personal hygiene matters like how to wash hands, how to identify and respond to common fire hazards and emergencies at home and school, and basic first aid procedures.
The section also contains some of the most underrated issues among children at home and school. These include how to handle sharp objects, safety signs and rules.
The second part of the book focuses on road safety, and provides rich information on pedestrian safety and traffic signs.
For children who have access to bicycles and those who commute by motorcycles or other vehicle types, there are sections of the book that provide safety tips for the primary audience of the author.
The third part discusses safe use of playground equipment. The author has intentionally included this part of the book based on his experience as a safety engineer and a practitioner in the education landscape.
Having been a teacher, Shittu has a vivid understanding of the hazards lurking around children’s playgrounds.
So, the last part of Safety Education for Primary Schools gives information and tips on how children can safely use play and sport equipment and other outdoor equipment.
The author, Engineer Shittu, has a mandate to make safety education a lifelong habit. His perpetual belief is that when individuals are protected, then communities will also be safe and strengthened for all.
Thus his mandate did not stop with just writing for primary level pupils. His belief is that primary school children and adolescents between ages 13 and 15 (in secondary schools) face different levels of safety risks and hazards.
That is why he has written the second book, Safety Education for Junior Secondary Schools.
According to the author’s preface, this book is written on the back of the fact that unlike primary school pupils who face risks in classrooms, playgrounds, roads, homes, and community spaces, adolescents face additional risks.
The adolescents face those risks as well, and they also encounter bigger risks, chief among which are physical and digital in nature.
Adolescents, aged 13 to 15, are here exposed to practical safety education that will help them navigate schools, hostels, laboratories and workshops, sports fields and online.
There are 21 chapters spread through 72 pages. Each chapter is also illustrated and broken into brief segments to break monotony and boredom.
Some of the chapters provide adolescent level information on personal safety consciousness, common hazards at school, at home and on the road (chapter 1) and how to make a safe choice.
Lessons are drawn from some seemingly ignored or underestimated hazards like broken desks and windows, pushing on staircases, overcrowded assembly and uncovered wells or pits. (Chapter 2)
Also there are safety tips regarding handling hazards like bullying, unsafe dares and peer pressure and unapproved movement from school.
At the adolescent stage, young people are usually open to adventures and pressure to perform. The playground and sports activities provide them the platform to show that they have arrived.
Consequently, they put themselves in positions that may expose them to big risks. These include unsafe surfaces and equipment, weather and health risks too.
But most prevalent are unsafe behaviours like fighting, dangerous tackles, ignoring rules and refusing to stop when injured.
The seventh chapter of the book provides essential safety information and guidance on how to navigate these hazards.
Shittu brings his decades of experience as an engineer in the oil and gas industry to great effect in this book.
Indeed, as a health safety and environment expert in that sector, he understands the hazards that lurk around laboratories and workshops where you have chemicals, machines and sharp tools.
So he has dedicated the 12th and 13th chapters to discussing these issues and preferring solutions on prevention, and management precautions, all suited to the education of teachers and students.
One of the most celebrated inventions of mankind is the ability to communicate through space and time with the use of mobile devices.
Every one of us now uses phones, tablets and computers, and we travel daily through social media, messaging apps, games and learning platforms.
These platforms have eased things and made communication, engagement and learning easier, speedier and more accessible to all, especially adolescents.
But these platforms hold consequential risks to our safety. The 14th chapter of the book therefore addresses digital safety risks, how to recognise them, report them and stay safe.
In the book, Safety Education for Junior Secondary Schools, the author discusses bullying and conflict resolution tips for adolescents.
In the 15th chapter, the author highlights for the reader, the forms of bullying, how it is different from ordinary disagreement; how to practice respectful communication skills, and how to protect victims of bullying without aggravating the situation.
The author therefore explains forms of bullying, reporting and resolution steps, and intervention measures.
In the final analysis, both books provide age-appropriate guides to help pupils and young learners to build the knowledge, habits and confidence needed to stay safe as they navigate life every day.
As an expert in safety and engineering, the author has meticulously provided the safety education needed for the ever active members of the country for the personal use and collective community safety.
The lessons are presented in entertaining modules and in simple language for all, and indeed with the current realities of the nation in mind.
The books are recommended for all families, schools and communities that care about the present and future generations.
