….As 4 out of 10 girls marry before 17years old

…..44percent of girls in Nigeria are married before their 18th birthday

….. 18percent are married before the age of 15 years

By Ebunoluwa Sessou

Olukunle Abosede Olawale, 15 years old SS1 student was pregnant when she was 14 years. This horrible incident as narrated by her occurred when she indulged in a bad peer group.

According to her, poverty propelled her to associate with some friends in her community. It was a mistake of my life.

“I was in the company of bad friends. I was going to a friends’ house and in the process, I was lured. This single act was why I became pregnant.

“My parents were unhappy because of the situation. I carried the pregnancy for nine months. The parents of the boy that impregnated me denied and did not accept the pregnancy.

“Unfortunately, the baby did not survive. Many people in the community deserted me while some were surprised. Even those friends I was keeping were abusing and calling all sorts of names. I felt bad and terrible. But, I am not bothered. I am strong now.

I have learnt so much that it is very wrong to associate with bad friends.

“After the incident, I encountered Bella Foundation which took interest in me. When they heard my story and that I was ready to go back to school and because my parents were poor, the foundation gave me a scholarship.

“I am a child marriage survivor and I am ready to be an ambassador to help other girls who are in this situation.

It is sad to know that 44 percent of girls in Nigeria are married before their 18th birthday and 18 percent are married before the age of 15years.

According to UNICEF, Nigeria has the third-highest absolute number of child brides in the world-3,538.00 and the 11th-highest prevalence rate of child marriage globally.

“Child marriage is particularly common among Nigeria’s poorest rural households and it is driven by gender inequality and the belief that girls are somehow inferior to boys.

It is driven by the level of education in Nigeria as 73 percent of Nigeria women with no formal education were married before 18 years old compared to 9 percent who had completed higher education.

Citing a research conducted by “Too Young To Marry”, the Bella Foundation for Child and Maternal Care, in Ojo local government area of Lagos, of an estimated population of 838,900 people, it shows that 4 out of 10 girls marry before 17years old.

The research shows that some of the girls are impregnated by young men who have no means of livelihood while the girls are forced by parents to marry such men who are responsible for the pregnancy.

Corroborating, Odonghanrd Dorinda, Gender Advocate (Ending Child Marriage Project in Nigeria), Girls Not Brides and Coalition of Civil Society Organisation of Nigeria sponsored by UNICEF lamented that, Nigeria is one of the countries with the highest rate of child marriage.

Dorinda explained that, when tackling the issue of child marriage, it is important to consider the region, tradition and culture. “The way child marriage is handled in the South is different from the way it will be handled in the North.

“In the case of girls exposed to child marriage in the North, it will take the efforts of more than an individual to speak on the case.

“Child marriage is a violation of the girl’s rights. It takes the community, the elders, and traditional leaders to rise up to the case. There is a need to be careful when handling child marriage in the Northern part of Nigeria.

“Right now, many organizations are working assiduously to enlighten the leaders and the truth is that the change will be a gradual thing.

“Child marriage is more prominent in the North and that is why it might take a while for the effect of what is being done to be seen. Once, we are able to talk to the gate keepers, then, the changes will definitely be seen.

In her perspective, Director Chrismercy Academy, Christiana Ihemadu, an Igbo woman said, girls from the Eastern part of the country are also marginalized in those days. According to her, “A woman is not permitted to talk in her father’s house except when there is problem to solve. A woman does not inherit property.

“Most times, the girl children are being used as collateral exchange for something in the family. She is either married out of her wish. Girls are forced to marry wealthy men just to solve family problems. The girls are used as property willed to another man.

“When I was younger, my father said, it is a taboo to train girl children in their culture. The girls were only allowed to go to primary and secondary schools. He said, “In our culture, you do not train the girl children for another man. It was my mother that took it upon herself to train me to a higher institution.

“It is against this background that I decided to allow the girl children to know their rights, to be able to stand on their own so as to be able to take decisions without anyone stampeding them.

“Issues with girl children are what the school has taken as an interesting part of extracurricular.

“As a mother, all my children are boys but I have learnt a lesson from my father as the first child and the first girl of the family. My mum had eight children and five out of them were girls. What I noticed was that the girl child passes through a lot. From my experience, parents focus more on the girls to do house chores”, she said.

Reaching out to some of the schools in the Ojo area of Lagos state through training, sensitization and follow-up mechanism to address child marriage, Founder, Bella Foundation for Child and Maternal Care, Bella Akhagba said, the percentage of child in Nigeria is alarming hence the need to urgently address the trend.

According to her, international organizations including EVOCA Foundation and Nommontu Foundation. While Girls Not Bride-(Global Partnership to End Child Marriage), Rise Up Together and Child Protection Network are providing technical support saw the need to support our vision of ending child marriage and decided to supported the project.

“The project which is 12 months with possible extension will be implemented in five secondary schools in Ojo Local Government communities with high prevalence of child marriage.

“We have organized seminars on Child marriage with the theme ‘Eliminating Child Marriage Through Educational Programs’ for adolescent girls aged 9-17 years in schools including Chrismercy Academy, Emma’s Comprehensive College in Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos State of Nigeria.

“The project was aimed to inform and equip adolescents’ girls with the knowledge and skills to be able to advocate against child marriage in their various communities. When girls are informed it will help to change attitude and behavior which will eventually eradicate it in near future.

“We hope to scale up the project to other communities and local government with high prevalence of child marriage in Lagos state when we have the funds.

“In addition, with the established structure of the ‘Too young to Marry Initiative Club’ put in place in the various schools we will be organizing monthly meetings with these girls to get feedback, share experiences, lessons learnt and challenges. We will also provide counseling services in collaboration with the girls.

“We are using this medium to call on government at all levels to enact laws that condemn child marriage, promote girl child education, promote skill empowerment and access to youth friendly health services.

However, the facilitator, Odonghanrd Dorinda, disclosed that, during the sensitization process, it was observed that the majority of the students were enlightened about the topic through the feedback mechanism. Adding that, if the sensitization continues, the rate of child marriage will reduce drastically. “If the girls know their rights, they will be able to stand for themselves and speak up for other girls.

“The fact that we have a child survivor makes it more human, the child marriage survivors would use themselves as example. When their confidence is boasted, they will be able to sensitize their parents that are not well enlightened as well. One thing about advocacy is that it must start from the home. When the home is enlightened, the community is enlightened as well as Nigeria. And this would help the country to become a better place.

“If this type of sensitization continues at the grassroots to the larger society, then people will be well informed. This will help government and their policies that are geared towards addressing issues of child marriage. The effect of this would be positively felt in the larger society”, she said.

Highlights of the seminar was the inauguration of the ‘Too Young to Marry Initiative Club’ as some of the students became Ambassadors Against Child Marriage with Opeyemi Esther, President, Ayodeji Precious, Vice President, Aniche Chidera, Secretary, Okechi Favour, Asst Secretary, Israel Victory, PRO, Stephen Ifechukwu, Chief Whip.

They are to hold meeting with other students to discuss child marriage issues, and prevention and plan for activities that could help to inform and educate their peers in order to eliminate child marriage in their various communities.