Girl-child education: ‘Woe betides anyone who wants to relegate my child’: Obasanjo

I vowed that whatever I can do for girl-child education, I will always do.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has narrated how his childhood expereince influenced his decision to prioritise girl-child education in the Olusegun Obasanjo Foundation (OOF).

Speaking on Tuesday, November 15, during the commemoration of the World Diabetes Day, Obasanjo recounted that himself and one of his sisters were doing well in school when they were young, Sahara Reporters reports.

However, the former president revealed that along the line, his father, with the notion that females have the kitchen as their place in life, withdrew his sister from school while he went ahead with his education.

According to him, this is what made the difference between him and his sister.

He said:

“That singular action made the difference between her development into adulthood and my development into adulthood. And, I thought that when I come back from UK, I will send her to school. And by the time I came back from UK, my father had given my sister to marriage and that ended my sister’s education.

“Then, I vowed that whatever I can do for girl-child education, I will always do. And this unfortunate idea of girl-child education ending in the kitchen is unimportant. The culture of giving preference to a male child over female child is an idea and culture that must be killed.”

Having learnt a great lesson from his experience, Obasanjo declared that “Woe betides anyone who attempts to relegate my eldest child, Iyabo. Iyabo will crush such person, be he or she.”

Olusegun Obasanjo sends another important message to Nigerians

Obasanjo has advised Nigerians to be united in purpose to attain development in every sector.

Obasanjo who is the chairman of the Aig-Imoukhuede Foundation Leadership Council gave this advice, at an event hosted by the foundation in Lagos.

He said:

“It is important that Nigerians have unity of purpose or a common objective towards which everyone is working before an elite bargain for development can occur. Right now, everyone is focused on their agenda and the country is suffering as a result.”