By Rasheed Adekunle Owodunni
Nigeria is one of the countries with little priority for girl child enrollment in western education. This trend is rampant mostly in the Northern part of the country where in the past, girl child is considered only for marriage and nothing more. But with involvement of stakeholders and enlightenment programs by UNESCO and other interested agencies, girl child is now being regarded with the dignity she deserves and allowed to dream and live through them.
There were wild dramas that involved the Executive Chairperson of the Federal Character Commission (FCC) Alh. Muibat Farida Dankaka. The drama has prompted the Nigerian House of Representatives to constitute an Ad-hoc Committee to invite concerned parties for hearings. The FCC went totally offline as it never lived to its expectations for years until Dankaka came in and began the survival surgery on Commission’s core mandates. But it came with a price of attacks clearly from those who are benefiting from the rots and lack of capacity to deliver the expected services.
Dankaka is a lioness to reckon with. She proved her mettle when she appeared before the Ad-hoc Committee with lots of heavy allegations against some commissioners especially those of Osun and Lagos States being the arrowhead behind job racketeering in the Commission. Things went the other way as one Mr Kolo with damning allegations against Dankaka was nowhere to be found when he was expected to appear again with the person he accused in seat.
These series of attacks are not only against the dreams of a girl child to also excel in their chosen careers, they are direct attacks on the town, Offa, Alh. Dankaka hailed from. Offa, as a haven of intellectuals and pathfinders, takes pride in crops of women that are excelling in their chosen careers. Offa boasts the likes of Sarah Alade who rises to become CBN deputy Governor among others.
The Committee and others involved must do justice and punish anyone found wanting. The issue must not be swept under the carpet like some in the past. We must encourage our girl child to dare dreams with assurance that they will be protected from the corrupt-minded fellows no matter who they are.
Rasheed Adekunle Owodunni
Girl Child Education Rights Advocate
adekunlerasheed830@gmail.com