The Nation Newspaper

Tag: girl-child

‘Expose girl-child to opportunities in agro cultural-tourism’

A Fellow of the African Women in Agriculture Research and Development (AWARD) Lauretta Togonu Bickersteth has said there are opportunities for youths, especially the girl-child in the agro-tourim sector.

She spoke at he career fair, which has as theme Exposing the girl–child to career opportunities in hospitality, tourism and agriculture.

The event featured student participants drawn from Senior Secondary School class of St Louis Grammar School, Ibadan, Oyo State capital.

She said: “I am propelled by the need to nip in the bud the malaise of employment, which is ravaging the fold of employable but unemployed youths. I saw it as a mistake of the government, the parents and us as individuals of not looking inward enough at seeing the vast opportunities wasting away, particularly in the agro-tourism sector.

Resource persons at the fair included the Chief Executive Officer Mitimeth Achenyo Idachaba; Chief Executive Officer Bims’Life Gardens, Mrs Bimbola Okutinyang; Bimpe Alabi and Mrs O Oluwatoyin.

The government of Oyo State was represented by officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and a Director from the Culture and Tourism Ministry.

Each of the representatives praised the efforts of the organisers and emphasised the need for the students to tune their minds away from being employees to being employers.

The students, who filled the St. Louis Grammar School Hall to capacity, were not only attentive but participated actively as the methodology adopted included motivational forum which prepared their minds with documentary films and culinary demonstration of what are available and how it could be done.

These provided the students with a picture of what the resource persons were about to present which helped in the understanding of the issues at hand.

Bickersteth noted: ‘It is a collective mistake as we all look forward to bag a white collar job. Also, there has been absence of a concerted and earnest effort at exposing the students in secondary school to the reality of employment as it concerns white collar jobs and unveil where the opportunities are.’’

She said she was happy that the method employed at the fair has been effective as students are happy sharing experiences from those who have acquired numerous degrees but have never applied for work, but generate employment.

Bickersteth said: “I am, however, grateful to Bookstore, Tribune Newspapers, Inspiration FM, BCOS, Fresh FM, Fan Milk, Wavecrest College of Hospitality, Orisun School of Catering for the support and collaboration at making this event a reality.”

The Principal of the school, Mrs M. A. Ibitoye commended Bickersteth for “her sense of responsibility for bringing this eye-opening Career Fair to her alma mater. This is an immeasurable gift and a necessity, which should be hosted in all the secondary schools in Nigeria.”

To Duru Excellent, an SS3 pupil, who won the first prize in tourism essay, said: “This is an exceptional career talk and exercise. It has helped in shaping my vision and ambition in life. I am grateful to the organiser not because of the prize but because of what I have gained from this exercise. I hope this can be replicated in other schools.”

Another pupil, Asuquo Mary, said: “This is one of the best things that ever happened to me in my education journey. From the proceeding and interactive discussion by the resource persons, my mindset about job has been redefined and my mental creativity has been sharpened. Honestly, from today, there is no any idle holiday for me. I have an idea, which I have discovered from the discussions. I am going to make money but I will not reveal it now. I thank Lauretta Togonu Bickersteth who hosted this mental-sharpening career fair in my school.”

January 27, 2016
Governor’s wife, others discuss violence against the girl-child

Girls from 52 secondary schools in Kwars State converged on Ilorin, the state capital penultimate Wednesday to commemorate the 2015 International Day of the Girl-child” and inauguration of LEAH Cancer School Club.

The event, organised by the Office of Wife of Kwara State Governor, Mrs. Omolewa Ahmed, was attended by Nollywood actress, Bimbo Oshin, Deputy National President, National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Bliqees Oladimeji and Mr. Abiola Adimula, among others.

During the event, Mrs. Ahmed encouraged girls who might be victims of sexual molestation to expose the perpetrators of the heinous act.

She also urged the girls not to allow their social and cultural backgrounds or circumstances of life prevent them from attaining their goals.

She said: “The fact that you have been sexually molested does not mean that is the end of your life. There are people who have gone through worst things but they are standing. Every one of us you see on the high table has a story to tell. We were not all born with silver spoons. I was raised by a mother in a divorced home.

“The circumstances of your birth should not make you to resign to fate. I didn’t have it all rosy. I started fellowship when I was in form two because my aunt was yearning for something; that I needed to get close to the Lord. But before I was fortunate to get close to the Lord, a lot had happened. Yet, I am standing.

“Why am I standing? I am standing because I believed in myself. If somebody had told me even 10 years down the line that the man I am married to is going to rule a state, I will tell the person to forget it. It is not about my husband, but about who I am.

“So, don’t be carried away by the challenges you are going through. I want to say to you children that the devil in both Christianity and Islam is the same concept. He constantly makes us pity ourselves when something has gone wrong. The Holy Book permits us to pick up our pieces, learn from our mistakes and make sure they don’t happen again. There are some mistakes we make in life and they live with us for the rest of our lives.

“If you don’t condemn yourself, nobody has the right to condemn you. If somebody has raped you, talk about it. I tell you, people will laugh but it is only for a moment. And the stigmatisation you are trying to avoid by not speaking out, gives you more trauma by keeping quiet.

“It is a new day for you in Kwara State. The Ministry of Women Affairs is saddled with the responsibility of making sure our children are up to the task. We are going to maximise this opportunity. I want to tell you girls that there is somebody to talk to and we are working on it. The law will protect you. Kwara State is going to domesticate violence against persons very soon.

“When you talk about violence against girls, you are not only helping to free yourselves, you are helping other girls from becoming victims of men’s brutality.

“To my girls, I want to say to you to believe in yourselves. This is a great opportunity you have. I don’t want your coming to be in vain.”

While inaugurating the Cancer School Club, Mrs. Ahmed, who is the founder of LEAH Foundation, said early detection of cancer, can help to cure the disease before it becomes deadly.

She added that apart from the 25 cancer centres in the state, the foundation is proposing a clinic for the treatment of cancer patients.

Mrs. Adimula, who is a Lecturer in Law at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) reeled off some of the children’s rights. They include right to life, right to identity, right to freedom of association, right to freedom of expression, right to privacy, right to leisure and recreation, right to education and right to health and health services.

Others are right to protection against inhuman treatment and exploitation and right to be free from every form of discrimination.

She disclosed that “under the Child Rights Act, 2003 and Child Rights Law of Kwara State 2006, there is provision for the establishment of family court where all matters that arise from Child Rights Act/Law are to be heard and determined in the ‘best interest’ of the child.

“To ensure that family court was put in place in the state, two members of National Children’s Parliament representing the state advocated for the establishment of family court in June, 2009. In July, 2009, the family court was established by the state judiciary with magistrates and area court judges sworn in to determine cases in the court.

“In January, 2013, the family court was reconstituted to be manned by two Magistrates trained on Child Justice Administration by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, United Kingdom.

“The family court deals with issues of child rights and adoption of children and juvenile cases,” She said.

January 12, 2016
Abuse of the girl child Different shades, perpetrators and health implications

Poverty and child abuse

Baby factories are springing up all over the country. The big idea is to get pregnant first and then pray that a good customer comes around to buy. Many of the girls involved do so for reasons of poverty. When there are no buyers, the babies are either thrown away or abandoned .they will end up in motherless baby’s homes , and probably grow up without the moral instructions available in intact homes

Also, many women send out their daughters to hawk, ending up as street girls and girls of the street

In addition, women celebrate when agents of traffickers come to take their daighters to Italy and other parts of the world as sex slaves………

Single parent hood,fractured marriages ,same sex marriage and child abuse

In homes where there is harmony and parents or guardian are fully involved in the growth and development of their kids, there are formidable challenges. For reasons too numerous to state here, it is an up hill task, raising a girl child on your own. Family values are very likely to be completely absent, truncated or deliberately misinterpreted. As always there are exceptions ,but the bottom line is that chances are higher that a girl child in any of these arrangements will suffer abuses, in particular sex abuse ,the nature or severity depending on other circumstances.I am not against any one or particular group here. I am only stating circumstances

Child abuse in schools and institutions

In the first part of this article, much waswritten about the possibility of individuals entrusted with the care , health and education of a girl child actually contributing to her destruction by first tormenting her by many ways and means in order to weaken her capacity to refuse sexual advances.Given anuncompromising environment, as found in many of our boarding institutions the world over, where a college student is afraid to tell, any thing can happenand sexual abuse can go on unchecked for years creating a cycle that will see an abused girl child becoming an adult female abuser of women. In many parts of the world,a disturbing trend in remand homes, homes for the disabled and other places established to serve as correction centres for children with extreme degrees of stubbornness and ,those that have been described as children on the street, is that many of them have become victims of sex abuse, and by individuals employed to take care of them. In boarding schools across the globe, children are for many reasons shut out from their parents and guardian. This has encouraged different forms of abuse; the understanding that except for serious medical emergencies, parents are allowed to communicate with their parents only during visiting days creates near perfect conditions for adults with deviant behaviour and abnormal orientation to prey on victims too young and too fragile to understand inappropriate and potentially harmful situations and negotiate themselves out and into safety.

Religion, culture and child abuse

It is well known that doctrines exist that encourage polygamy, polyandry and same sex marriages. Some of these doctrines are fired by religious organizations and fiercely defended. There may be advantages but the dis advantages are numerous. Large families are prone to deprivations, incestuous relationships from poor or conflicting parental control measures, and unhealthy rivalries. In all, the girl child is seriously at a disadvantage since in the understanding of the Nigerian African, the girl child is both an asset as well as a liability. In some communities, men are pressured into marrying more wives in order to have moremale children and so ensure they have stronger capacity for full representation in family matters.

Education and child abuse

The woman with little or no education pays little attention to logic, finds it very difficult to break with traditions that are harmful to health, even her own health, most likely to accommodate absurdities .She is likely to look the other way if reporting unhealthy family practices threaten her matrimony .

Politics and child abuse.

Only few politicians consider dangers derivable from their actions and inactions. By extreme policies designed to maintain them in power and very comfortable lifestyle, sometimes running with the hares and eating with hounds, they create wars and disputes where women and children become vulnerable-as street hawkers, brothel and non brothel sex workers ,women of comfort etc.

Genetics and child abuse

There are some individuals who are born with body composition and mind set tailored towards the abnormal, the absurd, and the wicked. Knowledge about the disconnect between the acts that these classes of people are capable of and the normal human feeling is not readily available.The traits can be picked up early if parents care and are watchful. They are in the province of Doctors who are Specialists in disorders of the brain, mind and body.

Science and child abuse

Exposure to social media has it’s good, bad and ugly sides; only few parents monitor their kids, many of whom may be exchanging messages of sexual nature with men old enough to be their fathers . Inappropriate relationships for age are frequently the hall marks of child abuse.

Way Forward/recommendations

What Government can do

Data bank on sexual abuse will notonly help in knowing the extent of the problem, it will also help in the design of programmes to address the issues involved

Policies

There should be conscientious efforts with regards to conflict resolutions, to tackle issues of inequalities in the distribution of the common wealth. More peace committees like the one that saw Nigeria through the 2015 elections are needed in various aspects of our social and geopolitical life as a nation .As has been canvassed, ‘eyes to eyes is better than eyes for eyes’. Dialogue and patience with groups that have genuine and reasonable grievances will prevent clashes and conflicts that place women and children in harm’s way .

As concerns poverty, eradication and not alleviation should be the right thing to do. It is the height of insensitivity and inhumanity for any one to complain about payment of eighteen thousand Naira as minimum wage, even as the current economic situation drives people to eat from waste dumps. Women should be empowered by way of interest free loans, with government assisting them to form cooperatives. The campaign promise to pay five thousand Naira to unemployed should begin immediately with adequate statistical support. The arithmetic and methodology can be worked out by setting up task force units drawn directly from the federal and state ministries of economic development where you have statisticians and enumerators among others that can do the job. This will save costs and avoid the mistakes being realized in the implementation of the single treasury account(TSA). Government should also clear the mess created by corrupt officials in the administration of pension funds and then go ahead to look into social well fare services for the elderly .

Child healthand Child rights

Many of the children that have suffered physical abuse including sexual molestation did not know any thingabout rights until many years after . There should be health education using social media , and other cheap and simple means .Children need to know they have their own rights, that they don’t have to be afraid to report any inappropriate advances, unusual and unofficial punishment etc. Authorities can use local and other means of communication so children become aware that there are channels through which an abused child can report past and current abuse cases.

Governments at federal and state levels should give due considerations legislative backing to the child rights act and also provide support in the area of finance and logistics to individuals and organizations involved in anti childtrafficking activities

Family planning: for over two decades efforts to assist Nigerians accept behaviour change towards healthy family planning services have not been largely successful; Ignorance due to the very high rate of illiteracy ,religious injunctions and cultural practices that place the girl child second as necessary but not essential, have been responsible. Sadly, the poor seem to think it is fun, producing boys and girls they have no means to feed and send to school.

December 19, 2015
Abuse of the girl child Different shades, perpetrators and health implications

Poverty and child abuse

Baby factories are springing up all over the country. The big idea is to get pregnant first and then pray that a good customer comes around to buy. Many of the girls involved do so for reasons of poverty. When there are no buyers, the babies are either thrown away or abandoned .they will end up in motherless baby’s homes , and probably grow up without the moral instructions available in intact homes

Also, many women send out their daughters to hawk, ending up as street girls and girls of the street

In addition, women celebrate when agents of traffickers come to take their daighters to Italy and other parts of the world as sex slaves………

Single parent hood,fractured marriages ,same sex marriage and child abuse

In homes where there is harmony and parents or guardian are fully involved in the growth and development of their kids, there are formidable challenges. For reasons too numerous to state here, it is an up hill task, raising a girl child on your own. Family values are very likely to be completely absent, truncated or deliberately misinterpreted. As always there are exceptions ,but the bottom line is that chances are higher that a girl child in any of these arrangements will suffer abuses, in particular sex abuse ,the nature or severity depending on other circumstances.I am not against any one or particular group here. I am only stating circumstances

Child abuse in schools and institutions

In the first part of this article, much waswritten about the possibility of individuals entrusted with the care , health and education of a girl child actually contributing to her destruction by first tormenting her by many ways and means in order to weaken her capacity to refuse sexual advances.Given anuncompromising environment, as found in many of our boarding institutions the world over, where a college student is afraid to tell, any thing can happenand sexual abuse can go on unchecked for years creating a cycle that will see an abused girl child becoming an adult female abuser of women. In many parts of the world,a disturbing trend in remand homes, homes for the disabled and other places established to serve as correction centres for children with extreme degrees of stubbornness and ,those that have been described as children on the street, is that many of them have become victims of sex abuse, and by individuals employed to take care of them. In boarding schools across the globe, children are for many reasons shut out from their parents and guardian. This has encouraged different forms of abuse; the understanding that except for serious medical emergencies, parents are allowed to communicate with their parents only during visiting days creates near perfect conditions for adults with deviant behaviour and abnormal orientation to prey on victims too young and too fragile to understand inappropriate and potentially harmful situations and negotiate themselves out and into safety.

Religion, culture and child abuse

It is well known that doctrines exist that encourage polygamy, polyandry and same sex marriages. Some of these doctrines are fired by religious organizations and fiercely defended. There may be advantages but the dis advantages are numerous. Large families are prone to deprivations, incestuous relationships from poor or conflicting parental control measures, and unhealthy rivalries. In all, the girl child is seriously at a disadvantage since in the understanding of the Nigerian African, the girl child is both an asset as well as a liability. In some communities, men are pressured into marrying more wives in order to have moremale children and so ensure they have stronger capacity for full representation in family matters.

Education and child abuse

The woman with little or no education pays little attention to logic, finds it very difficult to break with traditions that are harmful to health, even her own health, most likely to accommodate absurdities .She is likely to look the other way if reporting unhealthy family practices threaten her matrimony .

Politics and child abuse.

Only few politicians consider dangers derivable from their actions and inactions. By extreme policies designed to maintain them in power and very comfortable lifestyle, sometimes running with the hares and eating with hounds, they create wars and disputes where women and children become vulnerable-as street hawkers, brothel and non brothel sex workers ,women of comfort etc.

Genetics and child abuse

There are some individuals who are born with body composition and mind set tailored towards the abnormal, the absurd, and the wicked. Knowledge about the disconnect between the acts that these classes of people are capable of and the normal human feeling is not readily available.The traits can be picked up early if parents care and are watchful. They are in the province of Doctors who are Specialists in disorders of the brain, mind and body.

Science and child abuse

Exposure to social media has it’s good, bad and ugly sides; only few parents monitor their kids, many of whom may be exchanging messages of sexual nature with men old enough to be their fathers . Inappropriate relationships for age are frequently the hall marks of child abuse.

WAY FORWARD/RECOMMENDATIONS

What Government can do

Data bank on sexual abuse will notonly help in knowing the extent of the problem, it will also help in the design of programmes to address the issues involved

Policies

There should be conscientious efforts with regards to conflict resolutions, to tackle issues of inequalities in the distribution of the common wealth. More peace committees like the one that saw Nigeria through the 2015 elections are needed in various aspects of our social and geopolitical life as a nation .As has been canvassed, ‘eyes to eyes is better than eyes for eyes’. Dialogue and patience with groups that have genuine and reasonable grievances will prevent clashes and conflicts that place women and children in harm’s way .

As concerns poverty, eradication and not alleviation should be the right thing to do. It is the height of insensitivity and inhumanity for any one to complain about payment of eighteen thousand Naira as minimum wage, even as the current economic situation drives people to eat from waste dumps. Women should be empowered by way of interest free loans, with government assisting them to form cooperatives. The campaign promise to pay five thousand Naira to unemployed should begin immediately with adequate statistical support. The arithmetic and methodology can be worked out by setting up task force units drawn directly from the federal and state ministries of economic development where you have statisticians and enumerators among others that can do the job. This will save costs and avoid the mistakes being realized in the implementation of the single treasury account(TSA). Government should also clear the mess created by corrupt officials in the administration of pension funds and then go ahead to look into social well fare services for the elderly .

Child healthand Child rights

Many of the children that have suffered physical abuse including sexual molestation did not know any thingabout rights until many years after . There should be health education using social media , and other cheap and simple means .Children need to know they have their own rights, that they don’t have to be afraid to report any inappropriate advances, unusual and unofficial punishment etc. Authorities can use local and other means of communication so children become aware that there are channels through which an abused child can report past and current abuse cases.

Governments at federal and state levels should give due considerations legislative backing to the child rights act and also provide support in the area of finance and logistics to individuals and organizations involved in anti childtrafficking activities

Family planning: for over two decades efforts to assist Nigerians accept behaviour change towards healthy family planning services have not been largely successful; Ignorance due to the very high rate of illiteracy ,religious injunctions and cultural practices that place the girl child second as necessary but not essential, have been responsible. Sadly, the poor seem to think it is fun, producing boys and girls they have no means to feed and send to school.

December 12, 2015
Abuse of the girl child: Different shades, perpetrators and health implications

For normal reproductive life, a woman must have normal developmental milestones, which must necessarily begin in the girl child; for an example, the first menstrual flow requires a body weight of 40kg or more. Though early menses may not be regular , it steadies as the girl child grows into maturity and in good health as defined earlier, so that any deviations from an established normal pattern can be better understood and explained. Lack of regularity developing within the normal reproductive age can then be used as a diagnostic aid . Children born into happy homes, with adequate nutrition tend to have the first menses occurring within a range of time period considered normal. They also tend to have less troublesome issues with menses compared with children who are obese, undernourished or malnourished.

When well nourished, stress free young cycling teenagers of the same age are kept together in the same apartment or Hostel for some time, they tend to have menses coming about the same time . Stress arising from physical, social or emotional trauma apart from being diabetogenic also places more cholesterol in the pathways for the biosynthesis of the female hormones, particularly estrogen. More estrogen than necessary at a particular time for the girl child is capable of evoking stimuli that will force responses out of her which she may not have the capacity to control . Stressful conditions also have a way of weakening the immune system and reducing the ability of the individual to fight infections. It is therefore more likely for the girl child in persistent situations of sexual abuse to die from infections compared with older women facing similar challenges.

Examine the policy that is currently in place in many of the Federal Government owned secondary schools where parents are not informed that a child is ill and on admission at the Sick Bay until the illness gets beyond the capacity of the Medical team employed by the School. One wonders if the relevant authorities have paused to consider the fact that some certain disease conditions do not give the patient time to become ill ;that by the time it is finally understood that a disease or illness is beyond the professional competence of the managing medical team an affected Child will have reached the point where her conditions are no longer reversible

How did it all begin? Why would any one imagine that a secondary school teenager who happens to know the symptoms and signs of early pregnancy will decide to confide in the Nurse at the Sick bay in preference to her mother?

In the present arrangement of policies, rules and regulations, most if not all the schools and colleges where our young girls are kept are modified , glorified and regimented correction centres . In the passion to get the best out of these children and position them for better life, we have failed to take into consideration, the need to establish a routine health check and balance system that should be reviewed from time to time ,and in accordance with the School Health programme .

Cases of child abuse occurring in schools and colleges remain untold until ten twenty and thirty years later, in some cases, victims die and are buried with their secrets

By keeping them caged, with limited access to communication with their parents except visiting days, substantial periods of the life of the growing and developing girl child are spent with people about whom the children know but very little.

As the world burns and conflicts spread like wild fire burning in the Harmattan period, the girl child is at the greatest risk with little or no room to negotiate herself out of conditions that are clearly unsafe and unfavourable for health . Many will agree that when families are small, quality of life is better for the girl child for the simple reason that Mom and Dad will want to hold and to cherish .However ,even in polygamous families, every child wants to be loved and cherished ,to belong and appreciated, and out of sight is never out of mind. Studies have shown that whether a family is polygamous or not, the girl child demonstrates unalloyed taciturnity, love and understanding. She sees her father in her male teacher and her mother in her female teacher . This is the normal expectation. There are exceptions of course , but these are rare . It is therefore natural that outside the family system, patterns of behaviour of the girl child can be used as an instrument to measure the degree of family cohesion available for the child to enjoy and vice versa . And so depending on the source of abuse, an abused child is likely to grow up and become an abuser either in the family she will build or the family she is born into.

Under the conditions forced upon families by wars and conflicts, the girl child within the families of internally displaced persons finds herself vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse even from members of the extended family. Outside that, conditions that cause the girl child to lose one or both parents catapults the girl child into sudden poverty, with little or no capacity to escape physical abuse (including sex abuse) and negotiate for safe or safer sex

A young woman took a nine year old girl to the Children emergency room of a busy government hospital crying effortlessly . She appeared exhausted and barely able to stand without support . Whereas the young lady; later identified as her Step Mom claimed she fell down from a tree and fainted , there were scars distributed asymmetrically on the left side of the body of this girl . The back regions of her arms and fore arms showed well marked healing stripes . As soon as she was left alone with the Nurses, she asked to be given something to eat .

The situation just described is probably an example of the physical form of child abuse .

Long periods of separation from siblings ,mom and Dad have their own independent effects on the girl child. Any forms of abuse by way of verbal, physical ,emotional and psychological insults serve to weaken the ability of the girl child to resist abnormal temptations, either internally or externally generated. Compared with an adult of the same sex, the brain of the growing child is not as stereognostic. However, it is likely to accommodate a mental diary of with a larger volume , to absorb and retain for longer time periods.

As will have been known by many, to be in good health is not the absence of infirmity or disease conditions, but a state of COMPLETE physical , social and emotional well being. Depending on the type, nature and duration, an abused child finds herself fighting to maintain emotional balance throughout life. If she grew up in an environment where she was persistently shouted down, and never allowed to express her self , she is likely to grow up timid and afraid of every move she makes. On the other hand if she was forced to keep secrets as a result of incidents or activities forced on her, she is likely to grow up confused, with guilt, intra psychic conflicts and thought broadcasts . It is also important to note that depending on particular circumstances, explosive types of behaviour, suicidal ideation and actual suicide are more likely to arise or develop in a girl child that has suffered or continues to suffer abuse.

November 28, 2015
WAJE SPEAKS FOR GIRL-CHILD EDUCATION

Sensational Nigerian singer, Aituaje Iruobe, aka Waje, who is an active ambassador of One Campaign, has continued to lend her voice to promoting the need for issues concerning women and the girl child to be given priority across the globe.

The mother of one stated that for gender equality to be a reality in Africa, there is need to educate and empower women.

“For gender equality to be a reality in Africa, we must educate and empower women. We stand together #PovertyIsSexist: #62MillionGirls are out of school and that’s not okay,” she stated.

Sexism or gender discrimination which is prejudice or discrimination based on a person’s sex or gender, according to studies is particularly documented as affecting women and girls.

This development has brought both Nigerian and international artistes together to compose songs to fight against this course.

November 15, 2015
Girl-child education policy needed, says Onwenu

The Director-General, National Centre for Women Development (NCWD), Onyeka Onwenu, has called on the Federal Government to develop a new education policy for the girl-child.

Onwenu made the call in Abuja at the annual Women and Girl summit held at the National Centre for Women Development.

She also advocated for the establishment of centres for women development across the 36 states of the federation and Federal Capital Territory and the 774 Local Government Areas in the country.

She noted that policy makers and other stakeholders must make efforts to protect the interest of the girl-child in formulating education policies and other programmes.

“In everything we do, we must begin to factor in the girl-child and be specific about it, in terms of education policy,” she said.

“We normally fit in the girl child in cracks, but we can do better if there is an education policy that is well articulated and demonstrated. Being a woman is not a setback but a push up because nobody can limit a woman when she is determined and the society as well cannot limit her,” she said.

Onwenu said that government should lead the battle against ”entrenched mindset that women were meant to be treated as properties”.

“When government begins to deal with that mindset by making sure that the laws that are on the books are actually carried out and violence perpetrators on women are prosecuted. The women have to be seen to be participating in making the laws for the country by instigating processes in the National Assembly and the state Houses of Assembly”, she said

She noted that government has to be proactive in supporting women because women have equal rights and should be given equal opportunities for national development.

She decried what she described as ”poor

representation” of women in the list of political appointments, saying that Nigerian women deserve more involvement in the affairs of the nation ,notably, peace building.

She also calls for the establishment of Institutions of higher learning; Colleges and Universities, solely for women, where they would not face limitation, harassment and discouragement from taking some courses or opting for certain areas of study and specialization.

She noted that most developed countries have made solid impact in terms of the advancement of Women.

“I attended an All women’s college – Wellesley College, Massachusetts, USA. That school and its orientation helped shape who I am today, a champion of the rights of women and their involvement in the development of Nigeria.”

She recalled in the 1930,40s, 50s and 60s, St Monica’s Teachers Training College, Ogbunike in Anambra State an all women’s College helped produce powerful and influential women teachers and Principals, academicians and professionals in the South East. She said that the way appointment for women would be done at the federal level would determine what would happen in the states, stressing that poor handling of the issue would engender under-representation of women across the country adding that Nigeria had credible women who had made their marks in various aspects of the economy.

October 22, 2015
Protecting the girl-child’s innocence
In the prime of their youthful elegance, in the age of experimentation and curiosity, they are carefully watched by predators and protectors alike. The battle for the soul of the Nigerian girl child is a keen contest of trust, deception and wisdom. But if the predatory side wins, dreams will be shattered; their naive ignorance would be exposed to the vagaries of an uncertain future.

The Nigerian girl child is a hunted breed, an endangered species whose story will either be told with a joyful glee of triumph or a somber reflection of defeat. Parents, guardians or anyone to whose care a child is entrusted is likened to be a protector while anyone who would exploit the innocence and naivety of the girl child is a predator.

Recently, I was confronted with a disheartening scene on my visit to a friend whose cousin was sexually assaulted by an older uncle that came on a visit. The thirteen year old girl was devastated by the incident. As if to set lid on a boiling cauldron, she was sternly reprimanded by her guardians for being “loose.” I was surprised by their actions because I expected the guardian to deal decisively with the so called uncle who threw caution to the wind. But instead what he received was likened to a tap on the shoulder as they vented their anger on the girl and blamed her for an act orchestrated by a supposed uncle. But where should the blame really lie? Should it rest with the uncle who defiled the young girl old enough to be his daughter, and exposed her to the hubris of womanhood because he could not control his dirty passions? Or was it the guardian who chose to be selectively ignorant to the sensitivity of their ward by leaving her to the hands of a pedophile?

The questions are many. Should we put the blame at the feet of the girl sexually exploited at the age of innocence? Even if she may not be innocent, the predator has had her hormones dangerously spiked. No matter how enviable and glorious a future we envisage for our young girls, it amounts to daydreaming if we cannot match words with action to stamp out this evil from our midst.

But the wait for the resolve to rescue our girls seems to be afar. Our lawmakers in the upper legislative chambers that should act as protectors of the right of the girl child seem to have bungled that role. The arms of the law have been weakened to allow paltry fines for offenders and soft-landing for perverts who sometimes go scot-free. In the ensuing search for help for the girl child, how many have we lost to prostitution, drug abuse, child marriage and the psychological manacles of depression and low self-esteem after being molested at the tender age of innocence?

John Walcott Adams echoed that: “every day is a new beginning when you can make a fresh start.” These words should fuel the resolve of everyone that the battle against this scourge will be won if the plight of the home is taken into consideration; that every parent or guardian makes it a point of duty, irrespective of their jobs and keep their eyes on their children and wards and seize them from the indoctrination of unwholesome television contents propagated by the media. These mediums have weakened the moral fibre and value quotient of our children, making them susceptible to the wild escapades of the age. We will have to use biblical principles to raise them in the fear of God, teaching them to be contended with whatever they have since this will go a long way in building a healthy sense of self-worth. And since their predators use gifts and pretentious words of care mostly to lure these unsuspecting teenagers into their traps, a family system imbued with love and care protects these children from being exploited.

To prevent a different incarnation of the same evil, the government has a key role to play in limiting the exposure of children below 18 years from hawking wares on the streets, a practice which makes them highly vulnerable to assault by predators who lurk around looking for whom to devour. The Child Rights Act should be passed into law. It will be interesting to see parents, guardians, civil right groups and other advocacy groups actively push for its passage to restore the beacon of hope for the upcoming generations. Endowment fund should be set aside for orphans and vulnerable children to assist in their upkeep and provision of shelter for those who lack a roof over their heads. These homes should be run by people of proven character and integrity to ensure accountability and equity in running the affairs of these homes.

The stiff arm of the law should also fall hard on perpetrators of this heinous crime to serve as a deterrent to others. For us to reconcile the mistakes of the past, most teenagers – especially young girls who have been victims of molestation, depression, drug abuse, low self-esteem etc – should be rehabilitated.

Civil rights groups, NGOs and government should lend a hand of love to ensure these categories of persons are re-integrated into the society. The government should build rehabilitation centres for victims of sexual assault. Such moves will help to cushion the ripple effects of the abuse. We can best tackle this hydra-headed monster if we all act decisively to stop the evil before it ruins the beautiful future that awaits our girls.
- Amos, 300-Level Mathematics and Computer Science, UNIAGRIC Makurdi
October 22, 2015
Experts make case for girl-child

I dropped out of school in 2011 when I was in Class Four,” said Catherine Kloji, 16. “I left because I didn’t have school uniform and could not pay my school fees. Mum is poor and wants me to learn a trade so I could use the skill to make some money so that hopefully one day we can afford to pay my fees and uniform again.”

Miss Kloji, was one of many girls in hard-to-reach communities for whom experts pleaded at a Lagos event.

She is learning to sew and make a living from it. It is four years since she quit school.

The plight of the hard to reach girls who are shut out of school because of inadequate funds was the focus of a high-level dialogue organised by the Action Health Incorporated and funded by Ford Foundation. The event held at Protea Hotel in Lagos.

The stakeholders who attended the programme included policymakers, entrepreneurs, donors, community members, media, civil society and young people.

Speaking at the event, the former Chairman on Diaspora, House of Representative, Abike Arewa said that the need to upscale the effort toward inclusion of the girl child in school is very apt as girls are more vulnerable no matter how educated they are.

She said that we need to double up work on implementation of the child right act because we want to get to a stage where there will be no child that will be out of schools in Lagos.

She lamented that many girls are vulnerable and they need our support to lead a normal life despite being a girl.

In her speech, the Executive Director, Action Health Incorporated, Essien who spoke on the Education, Health and Socio-Economic Realities of Out-Of-Schools Adolescent Girls in Lagos Slums said that according to the United Nation Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 2014 that In Nigeria,over 5 million girls of school age are not in school.

She said while several UN conventions and local policies appear to guarantee the well being of young persons in Nigeria, there are indications that many girls remain extremely socially and sexually vulnerable particularly those living in the slums and low income communities across the country.

She said sadly, very little is being done directly/indirectly to seek out these girls and address the challenges they face.

She cited a research conducted by Action Health Incorporated on the hard to reach communities said “1 in 4 girls has never attended school.1 in 3 of those who ever enrolled never made it beyond primary school and only 1 in 3 completed JSS3”..

She added that the Lagos State Development Plan (2012-2025) puts the number of slums in Lagos at over 100. In these slums, many of the residents lack basic amenities, access to services and opportunities, with a vicious cycle of poverty and deprivation.

She opined that from a 2010 research carried out by Action Health Incorporated (AHI) among 480 adolescent girls in Iwaya – a densely populated slum in Lagos, showed that almost half (45.2 percent) of girls aged 10 -14 had never attended school while none of the girls surveyed reached beyond secondary school level. This finding reveals the rising demographic of out-of-school adolescent girls and this should be a concern for all.

She said despite an increase in the number of programmes supporting girl-child education and empowerment in Lagos state, out-of-school adolescent girls living in slum communities remain marginalized. These girls lack opportunity, safe spaces and other services necessary for their healthy development.

“They need formal and/or non-formal education, sexual and reproductive health information and services, vocational skills and business-related training, as well as protection from sexual abuse and violence as these will help reduce their vulnerability while protecting and improving their well-being and that of their communities”, she said.

Essien opined that effective investment in out-of-school adolescent girls is not only the right thing to do but the smart thing to do. When girls are empowered with age-appropriate information, skills and resources it creates a multiplier effect of sustainable change that benefits families, communities, and nations.

The Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly,’Rt. Hon Mubashiru Obasa promised that the state government will do more in making laws that would benefit hardest to reach communities.

He said children and the youths are the pillars of development in our society and we will do more in making the state safer and secured for them.

Obasa noted that it is the responsibility of all stakeholders to advocate for the adolescent and girl child well being and reduce the amount of peer pressure within their community.

He said we promised that the involvement of the Lagos state house of assembly on laws and resolutions on the right of the girl child will be effective, appropriate and more accommodating for adolescent across the 40 constituency in the state.

Also speaking at the event, The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs. Boladele Dapo-Thomas, said even though the Federal Government had instituted some vocational programmes for affected girls, it could however not execute them alone.

Thomas said it was the responsibility of state governments to map out empowerment programmes that would rehabilitate and reintegrate out-of-school girls into the education system.

She said, “The state government has a duty to eradicate poverty and develop the infrastructure of the state for a better society. They know what is going on these communities through their various engagements with the leaders. The agencies and ministry cannot do it alone. Stakeholders should…support these girls.”

September 25, 2015
Coca-Cola, UK group empower girl-child

The economic opportunities of the girl-child in Nigeria received a boost when Coca-Cola Nigeria and the United Kingdom Department for International Development of Girls Education partnered to launch the Educating Nigerian Girls in Nigeria Enterprise (ENGINE).

Speaking on the initiative, which was launched simultaneously in Lagos, Kaduna, Abuja and Kano, the Programme Manager, ENGINE, Ayodele Fajemilola, disclosed that the Lagos initiative would benefit over 6000 girls.

According to Fajemilola, “a vocational training programme would be implemented in five local government areas, namely Kosofe, Ojo, Bariga, Alimosho and Epe and about 6,357 girls would benefit from the programme, which is aimed at empowering them educationally and economically.”

She explained that initiative will empower young females with training modules in four important areas to help them succeed. “The girls will be taught four basic courses, namely, business education, life skills, financial education and savings education,” she said.

On the involvement of Coca-Cola Nigeria, the Communications Manager, Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited, Sam Umukoro said the organisation’s belief that investment in women education and career would spur economic growth, while nurturing sustainable development in Nigeria.

“At Coca-Cola Nigeria, we support women empowerment and we are committed to assisting marginalised adolescent girls in the society by offering business skills, training courses, financial services and mentors to help them become micro- entrepreneurs.

This objective derives from Coca-Cola’s conviction that educating females contributes to social and economic growth,” he said.

He described the partnership as a demonstration of Coca-Cola’s belief that sustainable solutions to most society’s challenges lie in solid partnership among the civil society, private and public sectors.

The highpoint of the event was the presentation of branded materials such as umbrellas, coolers and log books from Coca-Cola Nigeria to the participants.

September 21, 2015