The plight of out-of-school adolescent girls in Nigeria was the focus of this year’s Teenage Festival of Life organised by Action Health Incorporated (AHI), a Non-Governmental Organisation dedicated to promoting young people’s health and development.
The festival, held at the main auditorium of the University of Lagos featured various artistic performances weaved around the theme: ‘Assuring the well-being and development of out-of-school adolescent girls.’
Public and private secondary schools in Lagos State competed for laurels at the festival – thrilling the audience as they attempt to illustrate the hardship and hopes of the out-of-school girl child through drama, poetry and song.
The 222 participating schools where judged using parameters including legibility, correctness in grammar, use of Queen’s English and ability to translate essays into certain dramatic standard.
Fifty schools qualified for the finals, which saw Meiran Community Senior High School dwarfed them all in the drama category, with Tomia Community Senior Secondary School which led in the poetry category, with Arch Deacon Adelaja Senior High School, and Lagos State Senior Model emereged first and second runners up respectively.
AHI Chief Executive Officer Mr Esiet Uwem, said the event was organised to let victims of the aforementioned circumstances know that despite challenges, there is hope. He advised them to hold on to their dreams, and never compromise even at the toughest moment in their lives.
Uwen frowned that governments have failed the Nigerian youth.
“There is systemic violence where the state deprives the citizens of their right- right to education, health and every good things of life. Therefore, people want to get what they presume should be theirs in a situation where it is not available or not enough; this informs the motive of the survival of the fittest. So when the system fails, it is the young people that suffer the most”. He said.
Making reference to the UNESCO record of about 11 million out-of-school Nigerian children, Uwem condemned governments for lacking the will to incorporate them into the school system, noting that most leaders are less interested in politics of development.
According to him, slum communities in Lagos are the worst hit when it borders on poverty, as according to her, most girls in the area depend solely on illegal activities for sustenance.
He urged governments to invest appropriately in young people, create learning centers that are in close proximity to mostly pupils in remote areas .He equally admonished the society to cultivate the spirit of togetherness, noting that injury to one is injury to all.
A Senior Secondary II, of Community Senior Grammar School Odumor Sonia, noted that it is a general responsibility to respond to the needs of victims of such circumstances, enlighten and give them new orientation to have better future.
