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Tag: girls

  • Chibok girls: FG to verify female suicide bomber’s claim

    The Nigerian government plans to send some members of the Chibok community to Cameroon to verify the claim of a female suicide bomber arrested in Borno state on Friday that she is one of the missing schoolgirls abducted in Chibok almost two years ago.

    A statement on Saturday by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Garba Shehu, said that the Minister of Women Affairs, Senator Aisha Alhassan and Nigerian high commissioner in Cameroon have already swung into action and are receiving a lot of cooperation from the Cameroonian authorities.

    The statement also said that it has been confirmed that one of two girls is claiming to be among the girls stolen from Chibok on 14th April 2014, noting that doubts have creeped into the claim following new information from Cameroon that the two girls were aged about ten years.

    “One of the two is also believed to be heavily drugged and therefore not in full control of her senses,” Garba said.

    Malam Garba also revealed that the Nigerian high commissioner in Cameroon, Ambassador Hadiza Zakari Mustapha had confirmed that the arrested girls may be brought to the Capital, Younde by Monday, at which point the High Commission will seek permission to meet with them.

    The Murtala Mohammed Foundation, the statement said, has offered to cooperate with Nigeriaan government in sponsoring two parents from Chibok who have been selected to embark on the trip to Cameroon.

    The two are Yakubu Nkeki, Chairman of the Parents of the Abducted Girls from Chibok association, and Yana Galang, the group’s women leader.

    “The Nigerian High Commission will receive the two and will facilitate their access to the two girls once permission to meet and verify their identity is obtained from the Cameroonian authorities.” The statement stated

  • Rescue of abducted girls: The Ambode example

    When three  school girls were abducted from the Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary, Ikorodu, Lagos State recently, memory of the abducted Chibok girls yet to be found almost two years after threw many people especially the parents of the girls into despondency. The parents feared their daughters may suffer the same fate like the Chibok girls abducted since April 15, 2014. But in a swift reaction, and in matching words with action, Governor Akinwumi Ambode proved many who had resigned to fate, wrong as the girls were rescued six days (they were abducted on February 29 and rescued on March 6)  after abduction thus ending the nightmare of parents.

    Had President Jonathan acted promptly like Governor Akinwumi Ambode did, and with a sincerity of purpose like President Muhammadu Buhari, the Chibok girls would probably have been rescued. It is unfortunate that the Jonathan administration foot-dragged about the rescue of the Chibok girls, wasting precious time, arguing about whether the Chibok girls were actually kidnapped or not, and by the time he was convinced that the girls were actually abducted, it was too late. To add insult to injury, the President’s wife, Patience Jonathan turned a serious matter to theatrics by inviting the Principal of the Chibok school and other officials where she insinuated that the girls were not abducted and that the whole incident was a “make believe” story to embarrass her husband.

    Unlike ex-President Jonathan, Governor Ambode left no one in doubt that he would rescue the girls and he immediately swung into action as he gave a marching order to the security agents who equally took the rescue seriously. In fact, the Inspector General of Police, Solomone Arase shifted base to Lagos. It was not surprising that Ambode got the full co-operation of security agents because he had earlier done the needful by providing security equipment worth N4.8 billion naira to the police for effective crime control in the city. This included, 100 4-Door Salon Cars, 55 Ford Ranger Pick-Ups, 10 Toyota Land Cruiser Pick-Ups, 15 BMW Power Bikes, 100 Power Bikes, Isuzu Trucks, three (3) Helicopters, two(2) Gun Boats, 15 Armoured Personnel Carriers, Revolving Lights, Siren and Public Address System, Vehicular Radio Communicators, Security Gadgets including Bullet Proof Vests, Helmets, Handcuffs, etc. The package included uniforms, kits and improved insurance and death benefit schemes for officers. The National Mirror editorial of Wednesday March 9, captured the governor’s strong resolve to rescue the girls: “Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State promised the rescue of the girls in no time. He did not sound defeatist, placatory or helpless while the security agencies did their job. He voiced his conviction that swift and coordinated reaction, guided by security intelligence, was a better and more sensitive approach to addressing the challenge than recourse to sensationalism or being panic-stricken”.

    Expressing their heartfelt gratitude to Governor Ambode for the swift rescue of the girls, the Anglican Archbishop of Ecclesiastical Province of Lagos Mainland Diocese, Most Rev. Adebayo Dada Akinde who led the principal of the school and the parents of the girls on a thank you visit to the governor said, “It was a most traumatic moment and sad for us as proprietors. Today we are thanking God for his intervention that a most unfortunate and traumatic event ended on a joyous note. All three pupils are now safe in the custody of their parents, they have been reunited. You acted and responded. Your response was prompt, your response was positive, your response was practical”.

    Today, we all know what happened to the fund allocated for arms purchase by the Jonathan administration. The diversion of that fund, running into billions of dollars left our army ill-equipped for battle. Even though it is the duty of the federal government to equip the police and other security agencies, Governor Ambode provided enormous support for the Lagos State Police Command and other security agencies in the state.

    The determination and concern with which Ambode pursued vigorously the rescue exercise of the girls shows a clear difference between a leader who cares and the one who doesn’t. Ambode’s slogan that Lagos will be uninhabitable for criminals is not  the usual political rhetoric but a statement of fact. This was corroborated by one of the arrested kidnappers who said: “I know that security in Lagos State is now tight and I was telling others that there was no way we would get away with this kind of job considering the level of security in the state. When I told them that we should end the assignment, other members of the gang threatened to kill me and then I took canoe to run away”.

    The cordial relationship between the governor and the security agencies has paid off greatly with the promptness and alacrity with which the police approached the operation. Other governors should emulate this. The security agencies should also be commended for their patriotism and the good use they’ve put the new gadgets donated to them by the Ambode administration. They were very tactical and professional in the rescue operation as they secured the release of the girls unhurt and arrested the culprits without firing a single shot!

    Even though the two abduction scenarios of the Chibok girls and Ikorodu girls were different,  the point remains that swift response would have made a difference in the case of the Chibok girls as it did in the Ikorodu girls. If solders had been drafted within 48 hours after the abduction of the Chibok girls, the girls would have been rescued. That this was not done was because the Jonathan government was pre-occupied with how to capture Ekiti State in the gubernatorial election coming up in June of that year as well as the 2015 Presidential  electoral preparations. By the time the reality dawned on the government that the girls were actually kidnapped, it was too late.

    The morale of the armed forces under Jonathan was low because of unpaid allowances and outdated weapons but it is better now with President Buhari as seen in the recapture of many lost territories and the decapitation of the terrorist group to a non-fighting force. Governor Ambode enjoyed the goodwill and co-operation of the security forces in Lagos State because he motivated them with material and welfare support which was lacking in the armed forces under Jonathan which made our soldiers run away from the battle-field when confronted with superior fire power of the Boko Haram terrorists. Even if they were deployed on time by then President Jonathan, it is doubtful if they would have been able to rescue the Chibok girls considering their low morale, arising from inadequate weapons which made them vulnerable.

    The unfortunate abduction has once again brought to the fore the need to put preventive measures in place  and beef up security around secondary schools in Lagos State. The schools should have private guards who could be useful in informing security agents immediately an abduction takes place even if they cannot prevent it.

    The timely apprehension of the culprits in the Ikorodu abduction is likely to discourage other criminals who may be planning such.

     

    • Afolabi writes from Surulere, Lagos.
  • Senate votes against gender bill

    Senate votes against gender bill

    The Senate voted has against the Gender and Equal Opportunity Bill.

    The bill on Tuesday failed to pass second reading when it was put to vote at the sitting.

    Majority of the senators voted against the bill which seeks to promote equality, development and advancement of all persons in Nigeria.

    If the bill was passed, it would have guaranteed women’s freedom of movement, female economic activity and girls’ access to education.

    More details later.

  • Kidnapped Lagos schoolgirls freed

    Kidnapped Lagos schoolgirls freed

    Five days of anxiety ended yesterday for parents, friends and family members of the three girls kidnapped from Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary (BMJS), Ikorodu, as they regained freedom.

    Oluwatimehin Olusa, Tofunmi Popoolaniyan and Deborah Akinayo were abducted from their classroom during prep last Monday.

    They were rescued at about 9:45am  by a team led by Lagos State Commissioner of Police Fatai Owoseni.

    Their rescue came two days after Inspector General of Police Solomon Arase deployed the Special Intelligence Response Team (SIRT) to complement the efforts of the Lagos State Command.

    Three of the suspects were arrested and are at the command’s headquarters in Ikeja.

    Among the suspects is Emmanuel Arigidi. Also being held are two others who allegedly registered the mobile telephone sim card that was used to contact the girls’ parents for to demand ransom.

    A police source spoke of how security agents infiltrated the gang and worked on their members’ parents in a bid to force the hand of the kidnappers. “The criminals gave up because of too much pressure on them,” he said, requesting not to be named because he is not permitted to talk to the media.

    “After Arigidi was arrested, the father of two of the criminals, volunteered to go into the Adamo creeks to speak with the others.

    “He went with a canoe after Arigidi gave the police the exact location of the girls. When he got to the creeks, he spoke to them, informing them that the police had arrested one of their gang members.

    “He also told them that if they failed to release the girls, the police had stationed their helicopters for aerial bombardment. Seeing no other way out, the suspects quickly took the girls to Igbo-Okuta Bridge, Imota, dropped them there and called in anonymously,” said the source.

    Confirming the girls’ release, Owoseni said: “Yes the girls have been rescued. I am with them and about to hand them over to their principal and parents. In continuation of our search for the girls, I received information that they were sighted at Imota area of Ikorodu. I went there to pick them up in my car and they are safe in police custody.

    ”They were rescued at about 9.44am today (Sunday). I can confirm that some of the suspects were arrested. We are not aware if ransom was paid.”

    Owoseni, who slept in the area, said he was driving around Ikorodu in his car when he got a telephone call that the girls were sighted at Imota.

    “They were rescued by the Imota police division. I carried the girls in my car and took them to the school to reunite them with their parents and loved ones. The girls are fine but we will not be exposing them to the media as a result of their age (14 years).

    “They have gone to shower and after that, their parents will be brought to brief you people,” he said.

    Owoseni said yesterday that investment in technology assisted the police to rescue the schoolgirls.

    “I want to say that what was employed in rescuing the girls is more of application of intelligence-led policing, using the platform of technology, partnering with members of the community and pressure on the kidnappers.

    “What we have done with other security agencies is that we also went for members of their families, including the mothers, the fathers, their children and, with that pressure, they found out that there was no way again for them to continue keeping the girls and that was what led to the success we recorded in rescuing the girls.”

    He said the police will continue investigations to round up other members of the gang.

    “The Governor has just mentioned that the state has the capacity to pursue any criminal who dares at all to come and disturb the peace or to commit crime in Lagos. I can assure you that we are all secured,” the police chief said.

    He said the girls were rescued at Imota but declined to disclose where the suspects were picked so as “not to jeopardise our investigation”.

    He confirmed that three suspects were arrested during the operation, adding that the girls were not molested by their abductors.

    “There are actually three suspects that we arrested. One was actively involved while the two others are conspirators who in one way or the other aided the kidnapping.

    “With respect to the state of the girls, they are very well, they are stable and immediate medical attention to test them has been administered to them by the police medical team and I can as well tell you that as we picked them up, one of the questions we asked the girls was whether they were molested in any way and the three of them stated unequivocally that they were not molested in any way.”

    Asked if ransom was paid to the kidnappers, Owoseni said: “When you talk about ransom in cases like this, you are glorifying kidnapping. We should not be talking about ransom anymore in this country because if you do, you are telling others that kidnapping is viable and you can be going and kidnapping people to collect money.”

    While the girls were in custody of abductors, the school kept giving information to parents. On Saturday, the school management, raised the hope that the girls would soon be back. In a message, it said: “Beloved, praise God. Thanks for your prayers and support. We are at conclusion of the issue. In few hours we shall rejoice. God is in control, we appreciate.”

    On Sunday, another message announced the resque of the girls. It said: “Praised God. All Glory be to God the Almighty and our father. All our students are back in school hail and hearty. Thank you very much for your support and prayers. God is faithfull. Thank you.”

  • How food ration led to release of abducted girls

    Fresh facts emerged yesterday that the release of the three abducted girls from Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary (BMJS), Ikorodu was made possible by shortage of food in the kidnappers’ den.

    One of the abductors left the den to buy food and drinks when he was intercepted by a combined team of policemen from Lagos Police Command and Intelligence Response Unit from the Police Headquarters in Abuja.

    A dummy sold to the kidnappers that their parents and relations had been arrested and might be killed made them to hasten the release of the girls.

    It was also learnt that two of the abductors were from the same parents, signposting that they had turned kidnapping into a business in the family.

    The police are on the trail of some of the fleeing abductors.

    Besides the rescue of the girls, the police force stepped up investigation into the incident to stem the increasing tide of kidnapping in Ikorodu.

    A top security source,who spoke in confidence with our correspondent, said: “Despite the heavy security build-up and surveillance in and around Ikorodu, the breakthrough for the release of the girls came when one of the abductors sneaked into the town to buy food and water for the hostages and the kidnappers.

    “With the tracking of all contact lines by the kidnappers, the food ration courier was intercepted and arrested by the police team.

    “The suspect admitted that he was a member of the ring and he came to replenish the stock in the den. He wasted no time in disclosing the location of the girls at Igbokuta area of Lagos State and how to get there.

    “But the police team was cautious in not invading the team based on the information from the arrested suspect.

    The police located one of the fathers of the abductors who was used as a bait to ask them to release the girls unharmed.

    “They were told that all their parents and relations had been arrested and might be killed if they don’t set the girls free.

    “They were shocked to hear that their parents and relations had been arrested and they had no choice than to ‘drop off’ the teenage girls.”

    Responding to a question, the source added: “The police team discovered that two of the abductors were from the same parents. We are probing whether or not they have been in kidnapping for long.

    “We have rescued the girls but we have not closed investigation. We will make sure all those connected with the kidnapping and their sponsors are arrested.”

  • Girls as endangered species

    The Islamist terrorist group, Boko Haram’s main fighting weapon may not be the assorted stock of weaponry in its arsenal but its unprecedented lust for the kidnapping, rape and brainwashing of young girls. In its many attacks on villages and towns across the northeast Nigeria, the terrorist sect usually came away with the ultimate prize: young girls.

    Since the group began its brand of ‘holy war’ on Nigeria, it had carried out kidnapping of girls and children, but its greatest trophy came on April 14, 2014  when it  abducted about 275 girls, from the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok.

    In the last couple of years, this disturbing trend of abduction of young girls has since changed in logistics and sophistication. Last week, the nation was woken up to the unusual tale of the abduction of a Christian girl, Ese Oruru from Bayelsa by a man identified as Yinusa.

    Even though the model of operation employed by Yinusa differs from that usually favoured by Boko Haram, he was able to sprit the 13-year-old girl away from the watchful eyes of her parents in Yenagoa to Kano where he forcibly married her and converted her to Islam. By the time he was through, Ese had a new first and last names and was brainwashed.

    The trend moved further south yesterday when gunmen using the cover of the night, forced their way into the Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary, Agunfoye Lugbusi?, Ikorodu and abducted three girls who were studying during the prep.

    Lagos state police was yesterday battling to trace the disappearing footsteps of the gunmen while distraught parents gathered in the school crying, others were seen praying for the safe return of the girls.

    Some reports claimed there had been a foiled attempted kidnap in the school weeks before. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in a report released in April 2015, titled “ Missing Childhood: The Impact of armed conflict on children in Nigeria and beyond” said: “Children have become deliberate targets, often subjected to extreme violence from sexual abuse and forced marriage to kidnappings and brutal killings.”

    However, it is not clear, the motive of the latest kidnap, the heart wrenching pains left in the breasts of the parents are the same.

  • FG ‘still tracking’ Chibok girls

    FG ‘still tracking’ Chibok girls

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has restated commitment of the Federal Government to tracking the location of the missing Chibok girls.

    Mohammed said it was important for the military to adopt less lethal procedures compared with the drastic measures employed by neigbouring countries along the Sambisa Forest.

    He said the public should commend the military and provide needed information to further decapitate the insurgents.

    Mohammed, who spoke during Channels TV, Sunrise programme, said “we are a bit constrained. I know that some countries have set certain fire around the Sambisa forest in order to smoke out the Boko Haram insurgents but we are being careful because we are still looking for the Chibok girls and we do not want unnecessary collateral casualties.

    “I know that many of our neighbours like Mali and Niger have employed certain procedures because of our major objective that we are still looking for the Chibok girls, so in some parts of Sambisa forest, we cannot adopt such drastic approaches.”

    The 235 Chibok girls were declared missing for about 300 days, while efforts were made to ensure their safe arrival.

    The Minister stated that prior to the assumption of the current administration; the entire north east was almost taken over by the insurgents.

    However, he restated need to applaud the military for recovering about 20 local governments from the entire councils lose to the sect.

    “People must own the war. They must report suspicious movements and complement efforts of the military. How many bars or football viewing centres in Lagos can you secure? No, but if you have enough information to beef up the security, it would help,” he added.

    “That is absolutely incorrect. It is possible for insurgents to lay ambush on the road. It doesn’t mean that they are in control of those local governments. I travelled 89 kilometres from Maiduguri to Bama.

    “We are not saying we are going to route or eliminate ambush or attacks overnight. It’s never done in any insurgency but what we are just giving the fact, less than a year ago, the entire north east was
    almost in their control, today they don’t have that kind of command. It’s just about one local government that they have swayed at all,” the Minister said.

    He emphasized that the public should complement efforts of the military by contributing to intelligence gathering.

  • Foundation mentors girls in STEM

    Foundation mentors girls in STEM

    About 12 girls have the Visiola Foundation to thank for exposing them to practical science education during its 2015 Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) camp.

    The one-week programme held in Abuja created opportunities for the teenagers to improve their academic knowledge of sciences, produce practical projects in teams, play games, as well as get mentored by experts in the Information Technology industry.

    They also gained valuable skills in critical thinking, problem solving, team work, and public speaking.

    They were divided into four groups to work on projects covering engineering/mechanics concepts, electronics, robotics, and computer programming.

    Their project works such as industrial mixers, electric circuits, FM radios, alarm systems, a crane, an elevator, robot cars, and computer animations using Scratch software (developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,MIT) were displayed at the end of the camp.

    Mrs. Lade Araba, co-founder and President of the foundation expressed confidence in the girls.

    “It was exciting to watch the gradual transformation in each girl as she realised that the concepts being taught, and their practical application were interesting and relevant to her daily life. The girls who came to the camp shy and insecure no longer view mathematics and science as boring.  Instead, they now know that if they apply themselves, work hard, and ask questions when they don’t understand, they can achieve anything.  I am so pleased that they have been inspired to maximize their potential. Watch out for these future engineers, scientists, computer whizzes, and innovators,” she said.

    The Operations Director of E2 Young Engineers Nigeria, Mr Francis Ojo, stressed the importance of teaching pupils to be problem solvers and also advised them to be cautious to identify problems in order to create effective solutions.

    Also speaking, the Intel Corporation Nigeria’s Ambassador/Spokesperson, Titilope Sonuga,  an award-winning poet, shared her personal journey of  how she became a civil engineer  and advised the girls to explore  skills in various  areas  as well as  encouraged them to  use the internet to  add to their knowledge.

     

  • Old girls party 25 years after school

    Old girls party 25 years after school

    The way old girls of Federal Government Girls’ College (FGGC), Benin City danced last Saturday, it was difficult to believe that they left secondary school 25 years ago.

    The reunion, held at Rodizzio Restaurant and Bar, GRA, Lagos, was attended by more than 40 old girls resident in Lagos, Enugu, Port Harcourt and even London.

    Many of the girls were meeting for the first time since leaving school in 1990.  Though they had all changed physically, they still screamed with teenage excitement at seeing themselves after two decades.

    The programme started with an introduction session, where the girls talked about themselves – marital status, number of children, school attended and course of study, and career path.  The girls also sang old school songs laughed about fun  reminiscences and took photographs according to the houses they belonged to back then (Amina, Emotan, Jaja, Moremi, Eweka and Tinubu). The also ate sumptuous lunch, cut the reunion cakes and burned some calories dancing to oldies and trending Nigerian music on the dance floor.

    President of the group, Mrs Nkem Itanyi, credited the social media platform, Whatsapp, for making the reunion possible in three months.

    She explained that since July, when she created the group, the set has been able to bond and assist one another.  She noted that the reunion, and another one planned for Dubai next year, would give the girls the opportunity to catch up and decide on a project to give back to their alma mater.

    “This is the 25th anniversary of the year we left secondary school and we have never come together as a group.  It is really exciting. We are trying to help ourselves; that is the beginning; after we help ourselves, we’ll now give back to the society.  Our plan is to go to the alma mater first of all to find out what they need,” she said.

    Mrs Itanyi, who teaches at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, said she was grateful she attended the school because of the independence she gained,” she said.

    “Fediben gave me the impetus to succeed.  Then sending your child to a federal school was equivalent to the best private schools available right now.  Our parents gave us a good springboard. Having been there, being independent; having to do a lot of things for yourself, it gave the right springboard to succeed in life.  Even when I went to the university, I was able to give myself individual study; because we were trained to learn; we were trained to have independent studies.  I looked forward to go to class and I was able to come out with a 2.1,” she said.

    Another old girl, Mrs Barbra Osobajo (nee Aluyi) said she cherishes the exposure the school gave her.

    “When you go to a Federal Government school, I would say you get exposure. It gives you the opportunity to interact with different pupils from different class, different views. You know we came from different backgrounds,” she said.

    Mrs Osobajo, who works for Heritage Bank in Port Harcourt, also described seeing her classmates again as emotional.

    “Most of the faces I am seeing here today, I have not seen them in 25 years. When I walked into the hall and I saw most of them I was almost crying. Crying because I was so grateful to God we are alive, we are seeing ourselves I mean we have come so far. It is just God; it was awesome; it was an amazing time,” she said.

    Mrs Leticia Otomewo, another member of the set, said Fediben, as their alma mater is fondly called, taught her to be confident. She urged the Federal Government to reverse the degeneration of the Federal Government Colleges.

    “One thing Federal Benin taught me how to be independent, how to rely on yourself, how to be confident. In fact it was a training ground and earnestly I use to say to myself that my kids will go boarding school because of what I learnt from the school.  But with the way things are in Nigeria presently, a lot of parents are worried and discouraged. I really hope the government can do something  about that because federal schools in those days were a landmark to take your kids to because it made a difference in our lives and it made us into the women we have turned out to be. It was the starting point for moulding us into the women we have become,” she said.

  • ‘Invest in adolescent girls’

    Activities commemorating this year’s International Day of the Girl Child have ended with the investiture of Mrs. Aisha Buhari as the Grand Patron, High Level Women Advocates for Girls Education in Nigeria during an advocacy visit of 50 adolescent girls to her.

    The wife of the President at the interactive session with the girls promised to advocate publicly for legislation against child marriage. She encouraged parents to keep their daughters in school for at least 12 years. “No single girl will be left behind in my movement to get every girl into school,’ promised.

    With the theme of “The Power of the Adolescent Girl: Vision for 2030”, UNICEF and other partners including the Federal Ministry of Education focused their activities on the transforming power of education to empower adolescent girls to overcome all challenges that affect their lives and inhibit their prospects of advancement.

    The 2013 National Demographic Health Survey indicate that there are about 20 million adolescent girls in Nigeria and there is very low education rates among them especially those in the lowest wealth quintiles in the society. In Nigeria 60% of the 10.5million children out of school are girls. Data indicate that among other factors one reason for low enrolment and retention of girls in schools especially in the north is the lack of female teachers in the rural areas.

    In response to this UNICEF with funding from the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) and counterpart funding from five participating States started the Girls’ Education Project. The Girls’ Education Project Phase 3(GEP3) aims to achieve one million enrolment of girls into school by the end of the year 2020.

    The project is currently running in five Northern States of Nigeria: Bauchi, Katsina, Niger, Sokoto and Zamfara. Since implementation commenced in 2012, the project has contributed to the enrolment of additional 360,000 girls in primary schools in the five states.

    “Adolescent girls should be empowered through deliberate policies to transform their lives and those around them. Young girls who are educated are better placed to improve their own and their children’s health and chances of survival, and boost their work prospects”, said Jean Gough UNICEF Representative in Nigeria  Investing in high quality girls’ education, prepare girls for life, jobs, and leadership. It directly translates into the girls being powerful and positive change agents of development.