One may be right to call them endangered specie because violence, sexual abuse, early marriage, low access to education, gender discrimination, burden of house work and a host of others are travails mostly associated with the girl child and rural women in Nigeria today.
Little wonder that the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG5) currently makes gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls its focal point.
Typically, many Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), non governmental organizations (NGOs) had, in the past, been in the vanguard of making cases for them, lamenting and calling attention of government to the pains and plight of these disadvantaged segment of the society.
One of such NGOs, joining others with similar goals to change the narrative is the Global Initiative for Entrepreneurial and Capacity Development (GIECD), the NGO wing of International Centre for Leadership and Entrepreneurial Development (ICLED).
It recently teamed up with Girl Rising Foundation of New York, USA, to highlight the plight of the girl child in the country by organizing a conference aimed at economically empowering and liberating them from the shackles of ignorance and poverty.
The one-day conference with the theme: “The Unheard Voices”, was held at the Centenary Hall, Ake, in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
Speaking at the conference, the chairman of the occasion, the Alake of Egbaland and paramount ruler of Egba kingdom, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, stressed that empowerment of the girl child and rural women was vital to the development of the country, giving the role of women play as care givers and home makers.
Represented by Chief Layi Labode, the Aare Baaroyin of Egbaland, Oba Gbadebo pointed out that if the girl child went to school and acquired skills, she would be useful to the community and the country.
“It is not to say when you have factories you have economic growth. But if you train a girl child, you’re training a nation”.
He stressed that production of some local produce such as Shea butter, coconut oil and others could rescue the girl child from poverty.
The paramount leader lauded ICLED’s efforts and intervention to save the girl child from ignorance and exploitation. He urged leaders in the local governments to support ICLED’s NGO in its bid to save the girl child and rural women.
He said: “The NGO ( GIECD) is not only giving them fishes but teaching them how to catch to fishes. This is an opportunity for you. It is a veritable means of economic emancipation of our girls”.
In a goodwill message, the Daranijo of Egbaland, Chief Lawrence Bankole, stressed the need for the youths to embrace vocational work, noting that white-collar jobs are not available.
The Founder and Chairman of ICLED, Professor Olajumoke Familoni, in her keynote address said that around the world, girls face barriers to education, which boys do not, adding that educating girls could break the barriers to their poverty
In a remark, a digital entrepreneur, Mr. Olusoji Ajao, charged the participants on the need to embrace social media platforms with a view to networking their businesses.
The participants who learnt some fresh ideas on the production and processing of cocoa, cassava, palm oil and maize expressed satisfaction of the conference
The participants who were drawn from various local government councils and local government development areas including Obafemi-Owode,Ota,Opeji,Ofada/Mokoloke,Odeda,Ifesowapo,Abeokuta South, Abeokuta South West and Abeokuta South East, lauded the organizer, ICLED.
Some of the participants who spoke to journalists expressed high expectations from the conference and training.
Mr. Olaloye Damilola, a cassava farmer, said the training would add value to his business as he has acquired more know-how to improve his farm yields. So too did Comrade Omotosho Abiodun,a teacher, who is also a cassava farmer.
Similarly, Mrs. Nowoola Olabisi who produces cocoa said she expects to use knowledge gained from the seminar to improve her businesses, increase her earnings and the standard of living.
On her part, Mrs. Shittu Olukemi , the Ogun State Trainer of the Nigeria Girls’ Guide Association, who led some members of the Guide to the event said the training would give a lot of opportunities to the girl child to be useful to herself and the society, especially the information on teenage pregnancy.
Also, a political science graduate, Miss Sekinat Musa, stressed that the training would enable her to become financially independent.
