Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) Oyo State Branch, Dr Foluke Olaniyi-George has said the International Women’s Day serves as a reminder that Northern Nigeria has the highest percentage of out-of-school children worldwide, with the great majority of them being female, and that this issue needs to be addressed immediately.
Olaniyi-George stated this during the courtesy visit and presentation of the Sir Ahmadu Bello Sarduna Distinguished Merit Award by the National Association of Northern Nigerian Students (NANNS) to her in Ibadan.
She said the high level of out-of-school children, particularly the girl-child, in Northern Nigeria sets up Nigeria for self-destruction and is a barometer for the level of education of the children also in the future.
“If you have a mother who is educated, then you are more than likely to have children who will at least get to her level of education and most likely will go higher. There needs to be a change.
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“So as NANNS, you must also put in your voice and your position to speak for them, specifically about the girls. Recently, there was an uproar about leaving children out of school during Ramadan.
“We know the sensitivity of religion in Nigeria, but we also know that when children stay at home for protracted periods like that, many of them get abused, many girl children will even get married, and they will not come back to school from that kind of holiday.
“So those are the kinds of things that we need to get to our policymakers to understand. We should think of policies that will improve the lives of our children, of our girls, and this would eventually improve the lives of the whole north. Just send your children to school. It’s like a key that opens the door. That’s what education does,” she said.
NANNS’s National President, Mr. Abdulrahman Ibrahim, said the award to Dr Foluke Olaniyi-George was to encourage and extend hands of partnership and collaboration, particularly for the mentorship programmes in different disciplines, including medicine.
He added, “Our presence is also to be able to change the narrative, where people believe Nigeria is somehow divided. Somebody from the far north will not come to the west and appreciate someone in the other zones. So we are trying to join the young people together, and we believe that if one does well, definitely, the society will join hands together to appreciate the person.”
In a response, Mr Olaniyi-George, on behalf of the family, appreciated the students for the award to his wife.
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