Females in Nigeria have a basic right to be educated, as recognised since the 1948 adoption of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.
According to a report in 2014, female education has a significant impact on the development of a stable, prosperous and healthy nation, resulting in active, productive and empowered citizens.
Educating girls helps to develop national growth, encourage their contribution to economic development and reduce social disparities. In 2009, the Nigerian Population Commission (NPC) observed that women with higher educational qualifications are more likely to be in formal wage employment than those at the level of primary school education.
If we look back to history, before 1920, primary and secondary education in Nigeria was within the scope of voluntary Christian organisations. Out of a total of 25 secondary schools established by 1920, only three were for girls.
In 1949, only eight out of a total of 57 secondary schools were exclusively for girls. From 1950 to 1960, six more notable schools were established, and by 1960, there were fourteen girls’ schools, ten mixed and 61 boys only.
Today, especially in North East and North-West, only around 30 per cent of girls attend secondary school. While in the South, over 70 per cent of girls attend secondary school.
As leaders, education should be the number one priority in our budget, especially female education. But why is it not so? Why build bridges, modernize local shops, water and other things instead when our girls are wallowing in illiteracy?
It is estimated that over one million girls are roaming the streets. And afterwards, they are married off.
How would she protect herself from domestic abuse, and social abuse without adequate knowledge? How would she defend her household?
As a mother, how would she protect her children from the dangers of the world? Most importantly, how would her children be educated if she is not?
Government, parents, leaders and society should understand that girls’ education is very important. Michelle Obama says: “When girls are educated, their countries become stronger and more prosperous.’’
Thus, if we want a strong and prosperous nation, educate her! For a society of uneducated girls is like a garden of withered flowers.
Aisha Ahmad Abdullahi, Department of Mass Communication, Bayero University Kano
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