11/10/2024
GOODWILL MESSAGE BY THE MEMBER REPRESENTING OSHIMILI SOUTH STATE CONSTITUENCY, DELTA STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY, AND CHAIRMAN STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HOUSING, WOMEN AFFAIRS, HUMANITARIAN SUPPORT SERVICES, AND GIRL CHILD DEVELOPMENT FOR THE COMMEMORATION OF 2024 INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE GIRL CHILD, HELD FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2024.
It is a great pleasure and I am delighted to congratulate and felicitate with the girls in our country and the world over on this occasion of the commemoration of the 2024 International Day of the Girl Child.
Celebrated every year on October 11, International Day of the Girl Child is a day set aside by the United Nations (UN) to recognize the rights of girls and the unique challenges they face around the world.
It is a day used to focus attention on the need to address the challenges as well as promote the human rights and empowerment of girls.
During the past three decades, our country has witnessed tremendous progress and improvements in the life of the girl child.
Just name it — education, healthcare, social recognition, protection against child marriage, female circumcision, r**e, and other forms of gender-based violence, remarkable progress has been made with girls breaking age-old boundaries and barriers.
The awareness for the rights of girls in our country also witnessed significant increase during the period.
Happily, there is, more than ever before, a greater recognition and appreciation for the girl child in the country today. The awareness is, however, now beginning to wane with the gains realized over the years now on the reverse and eroding fast.
Since covid-19 pandemic the well-being and protection of the girl child in our country have taken a turn for the worse.
The number of girls who are out of school, the number of girls in prostitution, the number of under nourished and malnourished girls, the number of girls who use illicit drugs, the number of homeless girls in the streets are all alarmingly on the increase.
Teenage pregnancy, child marriage, female ge***al mutilation among girls r**e and other forms of sexual violence perpetuated against girls are rampant and on the rise everywhere in the country.
Yet we cannot afford to abandon our shared aspiration and vision for a Nigerian society in which all girls are protected respected and empowered.
This is because when girls are empowered, their rights recognized and respected, every good thing happen.
Families, communities and economies are all stronger and our future as a nation brighter and more secure.
The development and empowerment of girls is a strong building block and foundation for achieving gender equality.
It is also an indispensable step stone for the achievement of Sustainable Development goals (SDGs).
The world now knows too well that without gender equality, building a just and inclusive world with economy that works for all and an environment that serves not only the present but also the future generation would be very difficult to achieve.
In the next few days Delta State House of Assembly which I am privileged to be a member will pass a bill to amend the state child's rights law that was first passed by the House in 2008.
When the bill becomes law, it is expected to breathe a new lease of life and bring new dynamism into the implementation of the law and the recognition of the rights of children in the State.
The effective implementation of the law will go a long way in helping to promote and protect the rights and well-being of children in Delta State. But it will not be enough to achieve the desired end.
So as we join the rest of the world in commemorating this year's International Day of the Girl Child we must all redouble our efforts and commitment not only to recover the lost ground but to continue to walk to accelerate progress towards building a society where girls will fulfill their potentials.
This calls for greater investment towards the development and well-being of girls. It calls for strengthening of policy framework and implementation mechanisms.
It requires us to intensify advocacy and awareness creation on the importance of the rights and empowerment of girls.
I urge all of us — government, private sector, development partners, civil Society organizations, individual citizens to work closely together for a world where girls have equal chance as boys to excel and achieve their potentials.
