Activists and United Nations Ambassador, Malala Yousafzai, yesterday, visited the Presidential Villa, Abuja, where she met with Vice President Kashim Shettima, as part of her continued advocacy for girl child education.
The visit, which coincides with her 26th birthday anniversary, saw her noting that over 120 million female children are still deprived of education, despite its inherent benefits.
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Recall that 10 years ago, Malala gave a speech at the UN. She was later made UN Peace Messenger. She came back to Nigeria as part of her tenth year anniversary at the UN to raise awareness on the plight of girl children and the need for all-round educational pursuit to make them relevant in society.
She told newsmen shortly after the meeting with the Vice President that her visit to the seat of power was predicated on the need to boost and sustain advocacy for girl education.
She explained: “I am here in Nigeria to celebrate my 26th birthday. Since my UN speech at age 16, I have been going round the world, meeting girls from different parts of the world and raising awareness about issues that girls face.
“We know that there are more than 120 million girls who do not have access to education right now and just as people spoke out about my education, I want them to think about the education of other girls as well.
“In Nigeria, I’m here because girl education is important here. It will determine the future of Nigeria. So, I’m here because I want to bring attention to those issues.
“I am also lucky that I was able to meet girls in Abuja. I was also able to go to Borno State and meet incredible girls, visit their schools and also meet education activists. It is the work of education activists, girls and civil society and government that gives us hope that we can have a better future for the education of all children, especially girls here. I was very lucky that I had the meeting with the Vice President and he gave us his time; he gave us his support.”
Shettima said: “Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 5 will be vigorously pursued by the current administration. President Bola Tinubu is a passionate and committed advocate of girl-child education. He believes in the empowerment of our women. He believes that the prosperity, the respect of every society is directly proportional to the way it treats its women folk.’