Nasarawa State Management Team Adolescent Girl Initiative for Learning and Empowerment, AGILE, has carried out an advocacy visit to the Emir of Lafia who is the Chairman Council of Chiefs in Nasarawa State, retired Justice Sidi Bage Mohammed. with a view have his buy-in of the project.
The Delegation to the Emir’s place, Lafia which was led by the State Coordinator of the AGILE project, Hajiya Aishatu Aliyu Isoga, comprised of all the various component heads implementing the various programmes.
The programme, component 2.01, Advocacy to Traditional rulers, Emirs, and Religious leaders, is one aimed at achieving the buy-in support of community members with a view to achieving the seamless implementation of the various components of the programme in the State.
The State Coordinator of the Project, Hajiya Aishatu Aliyu Isoga while addressing the palace, informed the Emir that she and her team were in the place in line with the objective of the project which is aimed at carrying everyone alone as well as getting their buy-in of the project implementation process.
She further explained that the project is the initiative of the Federal Ministry of Education and supported by the World Bank aimed at providing access to secondary education for the girl-child who she said is most often disadvantaged in terms provision of access due to lack of fund and other societal values or biases.
Hajiya Isoga said Nasarawa is one of the states in the country selected to implement the project in second phase, stressing that the first phase started with seven states which Nasarawa State.was not.
While thanking the State Governor, Engr Abdullahi Sule for providing the enabling environment by paying N150 million counterpart fund for the implementation of the project in the state , equally expressed happiness with the Emir which at various fora had advocated for the girl child education.
She expressed confident that AGILE project will receive the needed support in pushing for the girl child among community people in the state, especially if the project gets the favourable endorsement of the royal highness.
Hajiya Isoga used the forum to list some of the activities and programmes which the project will or have executed and they include construction of 30 schools comprising of 15 junior and senior primary schools and 15 junior and senior secondary schools which.are spread across the thirteen (13) LGAs of the state.
She said of the 30 schools earnarked for construction and upgrade, each LGA will have two schools each while Lafia and Akwanga , she disclosed, will have 4 and 3 schools each.
She disclosed that the other components are Renovation and provision of gender sensitive conveniences, Life skill training component to help the adolescent girl child develop self confidence, self worth (esteem) as well as personal hygiene especially during menstrual cycle, to be able to face life challenges; Entrepreneurship to enable generate income for themselves as well teach literacy and numeracy as well Digital skills so as to bring them to speed with global reality.
She explained that some of the programmes will be implemented under the second (2nd) Chance school programme which is aimed at giving opportunity to the girl child who not through fault of theirs drop out of secondary school or did not attend school at all to have access to learning literacy, skills to be self fulfilled.
She appeal to the Emir to support the project and mobilised his subjects as well as other traditional rulers to support the project so as to ensure that the project is a success considering the huge.resource to be expended.
She further explained that communities will receive financial support in form of grant to implement some of the projects from the World Bank which ranges from 20,000 – 60,000 United States Dollars depending on volume of school enrolment and that the fund will be managed by a committee to be formed at the community level which will have the representative of the traditional ruler in the community and that. is why the support of the traditional rulers is very important and necessary.
Responding, the Emir of Lafia, Justice Sidi Bage Mohammed, JSC, retired, Commended the State coordinator for her brilliance and eloquence in presenting the matter, saying that that chose her as State Coordinator Made the right choice, “giving how articulate you have been in your presentation. I am highly impressed.”
The Emir then said that the Coordinator has simply personified what the girl child should and for that reason no effort should be spared that the girl child is supported to have access to education
He commended the State government and Particularly the Governor for having more that passive interest in the education of the girl child by approving the counter part fund of N150,Million, provision of office and putting in place erudite team to implement the project in the state.
He disclosed that ever before he emerged as the Emir of Lafia he has been committed to the cause of the girl child and that commitment has not shifted.
He promised to ensure the success of the project not only in Lafia but in the State as a whole, adding that he will effectively engaged the traditional structure which comprised of Districts head,Villages head and Ward heads and other stakeholders to ensure they receive maximum support.
As custom demands, the royal father made a presentation of a bag of kola nut to the visiting team while the State Coordinator also made of a roll-up banner which no carries the picture of be the Emir.