The Federal Government of Nigeria has come out to disclose that 80 out of the girls rescued from armed conflict areas in the country are now in tertiary institutions of learning and undergoing their studies.
The Federal Government via its Ministry of Women Affairs also stated that the immediate past President, Muhammadu Buhari Ratified the Safe Schools Declaration (SSD) in December 2019, which is a global commitment to students, teachers and educational personnel as well as the validation of the Minimum Standard on Safe Schools in July 2021.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, Mrs. Monilola Udoh disclosed this during the meeting with UN Security Council Working Group on Children encountered in the course of Armed Conflict, led by UNICEF’s Christian Monduate, who came around with Daniel Ohlstein, Kaitlin Brush, Christian Monduate, Ariane Lignier, Nicolas Martin-AchardAndreg Sarushein, for a fact-finding on how Nigeria is protecting children caught up in situations of armed conflict or during military operations.
The UN Security Council Working Group led by UNICEF’s Christian Monduate, which came around with Daniel Ohlstein, Kaitlin Brush, Christian Monduate, Ariane Lignier, Nicolas Martin-AchardAndreg Sarushein.
She said: “It would be recalled that the Nigerian Government, through the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, earlier on the 25th of March, 2017, fruitfully engaged with International Partners, precisely the Country Representatives of UN agencies, including the UNICEF, UNFPA, UNHCR, UN WOMEN, and the UN OCHA in support of the completion of the education of the ‘recused Special Girls’ (Chibok Girls).
“In collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education and the Presidential Committee on Victims’ Support Fund, the Ministry succeeded in re-enrolling the rescued “Special Girls” and retaining them in School, including supporting them to tertiary education in the country.
“At present, eighty (80) of the “rescued Special Girls” are in various tertiary institutions undergoing their studies.”
According to Udoh: “The Federal Government of Nigeria in her efforts in ensuring the security of children in Nigeria, ratified the Safe Schools Declaration (SSD). The Child Right’s act has also been domesticated in 35 States of the Federation.
“The attacks on schools during armed conflict started globally in 2009. In Nigeria, the major attacks began 2014-2015 in the North-East as the result of the activities of terrorist groups, which left so many children out of school.
“Consequently, the former President Muhammadu Buhari Ratified the Safe Schools Declaration(SSD) in December, 2019, which is a global commitment to students, teachers and educational personnel as well as the validation of the Minimum Standard on Safe Schools in July, 2021, which signals the Federal Government’s commitment towards ensuring the general well-being of children.
“All these to ensure that our schools are Safe and in pursuant to section 15 of the Child Right’s Act, which gives the Child the right to free, compulsory and universal primary education. The Federal Government of Nigeria, through inter-agency collaboration has taken the following necessary actions:
“Developed Training Manuals on Safe School’s Declaration (SSD), which was launched for Security Agencies and Human Rights Organizations on the 14th of October, 2021. Hosted the 1st International Conference on the Safe Schools Declaration in Africa with the theme “Ensuring Safe Education for All, from commitment to practices”.
She listed some key interventions of the Ministry towards children who are survivors of terror and violent extremism, especially in the humanitarian emergency. Amongst them are:
“Some school children affected by crisis of terror and violent extremism in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe, were provided with a number of psycho-social support services ranging from medical treatment, school feeding, school bags, books and other educational materials, in collaboration with States Ministries of Women Affairs, the UNICEF, Street Child International, Save the Children among others, in order to support their rapid emotional recovery, school re-enrollment and retention.
“The Ministry has had fruitful partnership working with the North-East States’ Ministries of Women Affairs, Plan International; and the UNFPA to provide anti-Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGVB) trainings for learners and teachers in conflicts, insurgency and humanitarian emergency host communities; as well as provision of sanitary kits for girls in IDP Camp schools.”
She further added that the Ministry has sustained collaboration with Implementing Partners in supporting access to education and reducing the precarious incidences of Child & Forced Marriage (CFM) escalated by the insurgency and terrorists activities in the North-East, as well as via Nigeria for Women Project (NFWP), provide help low income women and mothers to come out of extreme poverty through access to soft and cooperative loans facilities, in order to strengthen families’ capacity for children development opportunities; thus enhancing the children’s resilience to incentives and antics used by terrorists and violent extremist groups.