The Nigerian girl child, a vulnerable individual, is widely exposed to a range of abuses and harmful traditional practices in the society especially in the Northern region.
Girls in Northern Nigeria suffer more compared to boys in terms of missing out in education, abuses and harmful traditional practices. A report shows that in the North East only 41 per cent of eligible girls receive primary education while 47 per cent receive it in the North West which is greatly caused by social attitudes.
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Poor access to schools, water, sanitation and hygiene remain a major challenge of the girl child, contributing significantly to high level of early marriage, street hawking, escorting beggars among others.
A national survey in 2014 found that six out of 10 girl child reported having suffered one or more forms of violence before reaching 18 years of age, with 70 per cent of those experiencing multiple incidents of violence from their parents, guardians and house mates.
Nigeria has the largest number of child brides in Africa. Approximately 23 million girls and women were married as children.
Insecurity in Northern Nigeria also contributes significantly, with millions displaced by Boko Haram activities and bandits in some parts of especially Borno, Yobe and Adamawa Zamfara, Katsina and Sokoto states.
While accurate, up-to-date data is difficult about the girl child situation, where so many millions have left their homes, scattered as refugees or IDPs, one clear truth is that girls have been affected acutely by the insurgency in the North.
I plead with the government and non-governmental organisations to come to the aid of the grl child in Nigeria.
Umar Javiya Ahmad, Department of Mass Communication, University of Maiduguri
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