Oriyomi Onanuga, Chairperson, House of Representatives Committee on Women Affairs, says if Nigeria must enjoy any demographic dividend from the girl child, it will depend on the investment it makes in the lives of adolescent girls in the country.
Onanuga said this in her keynote address at the 2021 Future of Health Conference (FHC), with focus on amplifying gender discourse. It was organized by Nigeria Health Watch (NHC) on Friday, in Abuja, and themed “Breaking Glass Ceilings: Gender Equality For Sustainable Development.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 2021 FHC is the seventh in the series, a platform where policy makers, healthcare professionals and development partners meet to deliberate on the challenges in the Nigerian health sector, and collectively develop potential solutions that are actionable, sustainable and impactful.
She said that the central theme of this year’s conference “Breaking Glass Ceilings”, is pertinent to the situation faced by every woman and girl child in the country today.
“Breaking glass ceilings is now a hobby; we have been, and are still finding ways to overcome the barriers set to deny us access to advancement.
“At one time, we are taking on the barriers to advancement in politics, at other times it is the barriers in the corporate space but today we are breaking glass ceilings in the area of adolescent girl child/women’s health and productivity.
“The truth is, this glass breaking may not end anytime soon, but we must start, be consistent and consciously equip those that will continue this glass breaking exercise after us,” she explained.
Onanuga stated that the health and productivity of an adolescent girl child in the country is hampered by a number of factors, adding that this is particularly evident in children from poor homes and marginalized regions across the country.
“When mental and physical health is particularly impoverished, it will take only magic for a mentally and physically unfit child to take any meaningful decisions, let alone become productive.
“Women are by nature incubators and multipliers, therefore, let us imagine what Nigeria will look like if adequate attention is paid to the education and health of its adolescent girl child; this is the awareness a conference as this seeks to create,” she said.
She explained that the government, through a number of initiatives like the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) and Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA), is trying to ensure a more equitable distribution of resources and increase equitable access for out-of-school children, thereby improving literacy.
“However, the performance of these initiatives may not exactly be scored very high, no thanks to worrisome security challenges that have befallen schools in recent times and the inconsistency/unreliability of the social investment programmes.
“Also, reports have it that the World Bank approved, from the International Development Association (IDA), a US$500-million credit for the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE).
“The constraints adolescent girls face in accessing and completing secondary school education is very evident, also, for those who make it into school especially in the North, the poor condition of infrastructure and a lack of water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities make it difficult for girls to stay in school.
“Thus, the project’s goal is to improve secondary education opportunities among girls in targeted areas. We hope that this will be successfully implemented to achieve the much-needed objectives,” she said.
The Chairperson highlighted that Nigeria must, across all states, enforce compulsory secondary school education especially for girls, and where possible, make it free with the right amenities and security in place.
“More investments need to be made in the area of vocational training and education, especially for the girl child. This will increase productivity and reduce the possibility of unnecessary dependence on a male counterpart which could be unduly exploited,” she added.
She stated that the government had to ensure that the social investment programmes that provided single digit loans to household and business owners were reliable and consistent because these monies were used by some to pay school fees of children.
“Last among many others, is the need to start to consciously abhor the social derogatory and erroneous narrative that a woman’s place is in the kitchen.
“This misleading interpretation of the role of women in the society is what has pushed many parents to give out their daughters in marriage at an age they are supposed to be in school.
“Parents must begin to place premium on the education of the girl child, pay attention to their hygiene and encourage them to learn a trade (not use them to trade), no matter the level of education they hope to attain.
“It is important that we teach our adolescent girl child that marriage and having children is good but to also know that there is more to being a woman than being married and having children.
“Most of the things that we do so well now are things we learnt to do between ages 5 and 19. Invariably, it will mean that if Nigeria is to enjoy any demographic dividend from the girl child, it will depend on the amount of investments it is willing to make in the adolescent; and what better area to invest than in their mental health and physical, education and vocational capacity,” she explained.
According to her, an educated mind can never be enslaved; in stressing the link between education and decision-making, a renowned scholar reportedly once said, “it is the mark of an educated mind to entertain a thought without accepting it”.
Onanuga noted that the cause of the girl child and women in Nigeria can never be over advanced, while urging all to continue to do all that they could to give the life of the girls a beautiful meaning. (NAN)
