Malala visits Osinbajo, calls for emergency declaration on education

NOBEL laureate, Malala Yousafzai, on Monday met with Acting President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Monday, advising the Federal Government to declare a state emergency on education.

The 20-year old Pakistani head of Malala Fund, who was in Abuja to canvass for education opportunity for the girl-child, told State House correspondents after the meeting that she has stressed the need for government to scale up education by declaring a state of emergency in the sector.

She said: “It was a very good meeting. We had a fruitful discussion with his Excellency, the Acting President.”

“I highlighted on the need to scale up education, that the government should declare a state of emergency in education because education of girls and boys in Nigeria is important.”

“The federal, state and local governments need to be united on this.”

She had explained earlier before the meeting went into a closed session that her goal was to ensure that children, particularly the girl-child’s right for quality education was protected.

According to her, “My goal is that no child should be deprived of the basic right that they have.”

“So, I am campaigning for this and I hope that all my Nigerian brothers and sisters can also go to school and learn.”

Also speaking, her father and Co-founder of Malala Fund, Ziauddin Yousafzai, noted that the vision of the Malala Fund was to ensure that every girl in all corners of the world gets quality, free education.

Malala was on October 9, 2012, shot in the head by a Taliban gunman as she rode home on a bus after taking an exam in Pakistan’s Swat Valley because she had spoken up for the right of girls to be educated.

The incident drew the condemnation of the world which reacted in horror.

Malala survived the ordeal after weeks in intensive care.

She is a co-recipient of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize.