Wife of the President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, has stressed the need for more investment in out-of-school teenage girls noting that a substantial number of the girls have either not completed their education or have never attended school and that “this portends unpleasant consequences for humanity.”
Mrs Buhari was speaking during a side event at the 50th Session of United Nations Commission on Population and Development, which held recently, in New York, where she was represented by Dr. Hajo Sani, a Senior Special Assistant to the President.
In her remarks, Dr. Hajo Sani reiterated the efforts of Mrs Buhari, under her Future Assured Programme, in advocating for the promotion of girl-child education, and vocational education through which thousands of women, according to her, are being trained in fashion design, interior decoration, cosmetics development, leather work and many other trades.
Dr. Sani also confirmed that the programme was organising refresher courses for those aiming for higher education but do not have the educational requirements.
A statement by the Director of Information in the Office of the Wife of the President, Mr. Suleiman Haruna, said “Only recently, Future Assured Programme entered into collaboration with National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-formal Education with the aim of revitalizing the old system of adult education and community learning centers.”
The side event, with theme, “Investing in out of school teenage girls: a priority for achieving demographic dividend, sustainable development and specific SDGs in Africa,” was jointly organised by UNFPA, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Nigeria’s Permanent Mission to the UN, to showcase Nigeria’s rich experience and the enormous results of the commitment shown by stakeholders, which provide a best practice for scale-up in Africa.
Mrs Buhari commended the organisers for highlighting the issue of out-of-school girls and described the theme of the side event as apt.
