The National Population Commission, NPC has regretted challenges facing the teenage girls in Nigeria, pointing out that, “the condition in which majority of the teenage girls live and the challenges they have to surmount on daily basis cut a pathetic picture.
Without education, in poor health, and with little or no control over her their own bodies, the future of the teenage girl in Nigeria is imperiled, and her potential may never be realized. The challenges and obstacles faced by a teenage girl multiply if she lives in a village and is from a poor household”.
This was contained in an address, the chairman, National Population Commission, NPC, Chief Eze Duruiheoma presented in this year’s World Population day with the theme “investing in teenage girls”.
Delivering the address in Port Harcourt, the federal commissioner in charge of NPC in Rivers State, Rev. Dr. C.D. Wokoma alleged that globally, about 20,000 girls between the ages of 15 and 19 give birth everyday in developing countries, adding that in Nigeria the conditions of the teenage girls are not in anyway better, neither are the burdens they carry lighter.
He lamented that the potentials of the teenage girls to transform into fulfilling adulthood is being threatened by low level of literacy, pointing out that “data from the 2006 population and housing census indicate a literacy level was higher among male aged 10-19 (77.1%) than female (73.3%). This has made them vulnerable to early marriage and poor economic status”.
The chairman said, “with the increasing spate of insecurity and organized arms in Nigeria, the teenage girls, more than their male counterparts, have been victims of various types of physical violence and abuse including rape, kidnapping, child trafficking and torture”.
He maintained that the promulgation of the Child Right Act (CRA) is a worthy step in the right direction of protecting the Nigerian children including teenage girls from deep seated practices that stifle their growth into responsible adult. He called for effective implementation of CRA in empowering the Nigerian child. ###
