Nigerian girls charged with raising the bar, taking charge of their lives

Gender advocates and researchers at the University of Ibadan (UI), on Monday, charged girls with raising the bar and taking charge of their lives in any place and situation they find themselves.

The Women’s Research and Documentation Centre (WORDOC) of the Institute of African Studies (IAS) of UI made this charge during the 2025 edition of the annual Girls Summit, themed ‘Girls accelerating action’.

The director of IAS and the host of the summit, Professor Sola Olorunyomi, stressed that the most important thing for young people is to be positive about themselves. The professor charged girls not to look down on themselves because they have much potential that society can benefit from.

A member of WORDOC who chaired the summit, Dr Sade Taiwo, encouraged girls to develop themselves and not see leaving the country for greener pastures as their only option, because there are solutions they can provide as girls.

Dr Taiwo extolled the mentorship benefit she enjoyed from WORDOC when she was younger and encouraged the girls to work hard and be positive in their aspirations, adding, “This is what will put them on the right pedestal in life.”

The coordinator of the summit, Dr Sharon Omotoso, said that the theme of the summit is a call to see the urgency to work harder towards the actualisation of gender equality and equity. She stressed that this call is important because they do not want a situation where girls are ahead and boys are left behind.

“We want girls to accelerate action to the extent that they can meet up wherever there have been gaps and wherever they have been left behind,” she said.

The summit’s coordinator expressed gratitude to all who have been supporting the initiative since its inception, noting that “this year, we proudly hosted participants from the UK and Canada.”

Mrs Mercy Haastrup, student of the institute in the gender studies programme, speaking in line with the theme of the summit, charged the girls to move with full speed and not let anything distract them from achieving their dreams. She emphasised that girls need to act faster than before and not give up on becoming the best versions of themselves.

Barrister Adenike Ibitara of the Justice for Development and Peace Commission (JDPC) anchored the session on ‘Rights of the girl-child in the 21st century’. The lawyer, while explaining the stereotypes and barriers to the girl-child, such as family, society, culture, tradition, religion, among others, enjoined the girls to have value for themselves as they move on in life.

Ibitara, while urging society not to limit girls or restrict them to certain spaces, told the girls to always make decisions that will help them actualise their dreams.

In light of this, she added, “Choose your friends wisely, choose your spouses wisely, and keep your balance.”

Ebunoluwa Awokunle and Boluwatife Sanusi took the session on ‘Girls in tech.’ The two technology experts told the girls that technology courses and careers are not mainly for boys and men, that they too can do it even better because they are brilliant and talented just like the boys.

They said that the world can hardly do without technological innovations and products, and that girls can contribute to this sector with their unique gifts and talents. They further told the girls to have ideas of what they can create with technology, believe in and work towards their dreams, and they will actualise them.

They told the girls that they are strong, resilient, and intelligent, and that they can raise the bar and break the barriers, adding, “You can create the future you want. Position yourself to be the next technology innovator to create the things that can impact society.”

During the programme, the girls were taken to an exhibition anchored by Akeem Asiyanbi. They were also engaged in group discussions where they talked about the things they might not feel comfortable talking about with their parents.

Also, during the programme, there were games and fun exercises, and practical sessions on entrepreneurship, where the girls were taught adire making and ankara works.

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