Foundation lobbies UK Parliament to tackle Nigeria’s out-of-school challenges
By Sumaila Ogbaje
The officials of IA Foundation, an international charity, are to meet lawmakers in the UK Parliament to lobby them towards getting the UK Government to intervene in Nigeria’s out-of-school problem.
The Founder and Chief Executive Officer of IA-Foundation, Mrs Ibironke Adeagbo, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.
Adeagbo said the visit by the foundation to the UK parliament had been slated for March 19.
She said that IA-Foundation was registered in the UK and had been active in Nigeria over the years, campaigning to ensure mass literacy in the West African country.
According to her, Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation has been contending with out-of-school crisis that has seen some 20.2 million children not attending school.
She said that the visit was the latest initiative of the foundation to draw the attention of the international community to the crisis plaguing the education sector in Nigeria.
Adeagbo said that Nigerians of goodwill should join hands with the Federal Government to tackle problems in the country’s education sector to guarantee a better future.
“On March 18 2023, IA-Foundation staged a charity show in London to raise funds and global awareness on the out-of-school crisis in Nigeria.
“Nigeria should seek the support and assistance of international agencies and governments to ensure that every Nigerian child gets basic education,” she said.
Adeagbo said that it was unthinkable that any Nigerian child could be out of school at this time in the country’s development.
She, therefore, urged President Bola Tinubu to tackle problems in the education sector decisively.
She said that the foundation would stage a fund-raising event in Lagos on March 2, to generate funds to assist millions of out-of-school children nationwide.
“ We had earlier scheduled to hold a special evening with the Mayor of Southwark, Mr Michael Situ, on the out-of-school challenge in Nigeria.”
She said IA-Foundation, established in 2019, has been active in South Western Nigeria, campaigning to ensure that kids are disallowed from roaming the streets, instead of being in the classroom.
“Lingering insecurity in parts of Nigeria, especially the Boko Haram insurgency, has forced millions of children to shun going to school in many states in Northern Nigeria.
“Boko Haram insurgents have been fighting since 2009 to enthrone an unpopular Islamic code in Northern Nigeria, forcing thousands of people out of their homes.
“But the insurgents and bandits have resorted to kidnapping people and demanding huge ransoms, to sustain their deadly activities,” she added. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Saidu Adamu/Muhammad Suleiman Tola
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