The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar and the Ooni of Ife, Prince Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, have urged all levels of government to ensure that the girl child is educated and allowed to reach her full potentials as a means to ensure meaningful development.
The sultan spoke when he received an award as a goodwill ambassador for women and children’s health during the National Family Planning Consultative meeting in Abuja yesterday.
He noted that one of the greatest tools of development was to have a full working force of women contributing their quota to nation building.
He said all religious and traditional leaders were totally committed to issues of health of the people but urged leaders to enforce education of the girl child if development is their priority.
Earlier, the Ooni of Ife also urged all stakeholders to make the health of women and children a priority, lamenting that over the years many women and children had lost their lives and continue to lose their lives because interventions do not get to them.
He said Nigerians should be their brothers’ keepers and provide help for those in need, adding that the Oduduwa Foundation was presently in the forefront of catering for women and children.
The Under Secretary of the United Nation and the Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Mr Babatunde Oshotimehen, said for efforts of all stakeholders to make impact, they would need to synergize and collaborate with one another and align themselves with government policies.
He advised that government should take ownership and leadership of all projects but pleaded that peace was paramount for development to be sustained.
He also emphasized the importance of protecting the adolescent girl child, saying, many girls in Nigeria marry before the age of 14.