Gentlemen of the press!
First and foremost let me appreciate our father President Muhammadu Buhari, his wife, our dearest mother, Mrs. Aisha Buhari and the security agencies for rescuing two (2) of the over 200 abducted Chibok girls. This is the best Children’s Day gift for we the Nigerian children especially the girl child. We hope and pray that very soon, all the abducted girls would have been rescued and reunited with their parent.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Education for All Global Monitoring Report (EAGMR) indicates that Nigeria holds the world record of having the highest number of its young people out of school. With approximately 10.5 million kids out of school, Nigeria tops the table of 12 other countries, accounting for 47 per cent of the global out-of-school population.
A whopping 40% of Nigerian children aged 6-11 do not attend any primary school with the Northern region recording the lowest school attendance rate in the country, particularly for girls. Although it is believed that a significant increase in net enrolment rates was recorded in the recent years, it is estimated that about 4.7 million children of primary school age are still not in school in Nigeria.
The Nigeria situation is even compounded by the devastating impacts of the Boko Haram insurgency giving rise to the uprooting and displacement of children from known environment to unknown environments where a large number has further dropped out of school.
Goal 4 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals commits to ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promotes lifelong learning opportunities for all. On its part, Little Miss Nigeria Project (LMNP) has marked out campaign for inclusive quality education as one of strategies for attainment of building “A Nigeria based on inclusive growth and sustainable development”.
As we celebrate this year Children’s Day, I call on government at all levels, civil society organizations and international organizations to support my project CHILD Street-To-School Campaign. Please sacrifice your today so that we your children can have a better tomorrow.
HAPPY CHILDREN’S DAY TO ALL NIGERIAN CHILDREN!
Queen Precious Onwuka
2016 Little Miss Nigeria
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