Wife of Bauchi State Governor, Aishatu Mohammed has condemned the the high rate of illiteracy and early marriage among young girls in the state, revealing that she had no formal education when she married her husband.
She made this revelation at the occasion of the “Naija Youth Talk”, organised by the Bauchi Field Office of the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) in Bauchi.
According to her, “I was 16 years old and a stark illiterate when I married my husband.
“We were 100 girls in our family; none went to school; I only started school after my third child,” she said.
She blamed the menace on parents who believed formal education for the girl-child was a mere waste of resources.
Mrs Mohammed stressed that education is important in the society not only for the girl-child, but young people in the society, adding that such move would curb crimes and social vices in the society.
She called on relevant government agencies and organisations to ensure that parents and caregivers were adequately sensitised on the need to allow young boys and girls go to school.
“The crimes in society cannot stop until we give proper education to women and youths in the society.
“So, I call on relevant agencies to go into our communities and sensitise parents to allow their children, particularly the girl-child, to go school,” she advised.
She also admonished young people to go into meaningful ventures that would enable them become self reliant, rather than wait for white-collar jobs.
