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 In commemoration of the International Day of the Girl Child, the Educate to Empower campaign was recently launched in Lagos, Nigeria, with a powerful call to action to promote girl child education and empowerment. The campaign, a self-advocacy project, aims to harness the power of storytelling to highlight the advantages of girl child education in Nigeria. 

Efe Omorogbe, CEO and Founder of Buckwyld Media, emphasised the significance of education in transforming the lives of girls. “Education gives a girl confidence, independence, and a voice. It helps her from being seen as a burden into a blessing and life for her family, her community, and the nation at large.” 

Omorogbe stressed that education is key to unlocking the potential of girls and enabling them to contribute positively to society. Notably, the campaign’s goal is ambitious: to renroll almost 50,000 girls back to school, among other targets. Omorogbe highlighted the urgency of the issue, citing statistics that show Nigeria has the largest number of out-of-school children in the world. “Statistics today indicate that there are over 18 million out-of-school children across Nigeria. That’s the largest in the whole world. If we’re not worried about that, then we’re sleeping on our toes.” Omorogbe also explained the campaign’s strategy, which involves using storytelling to change mindsets and promote the advantages of girl child education. “Mindsets inform decisions. Decisions determine outcomes. So our job on this project is to deploy the power of storytelling to help encourage people and share in advantages of girl child education across Nigeria.” 

The campaign featured a documentary film, “ADAA,” which showcases the story of a notable woman who overcame obstacles to achieve her dreams. Omorogbe noted that the film will be screened across various platforms, including television and online media, to reach a wider audience. 

He also emphasised that the campaign will be an annual event, with the goal of making a lasting impact on the lives of girls in Nigeria. “Educate to Empower is going to be an annual event,” Omorogbe announced. “We want to make a significant impact on the lives of girls in Nigeria, and we believe that this campaign will help us achieve that goal.” 

Lucy Ameh, the campaign’s spokesperson, shared her personal experience and emphasised the importance of education in changing lives. “When you give a child a chance, just one child, everything changes,” she said. “I’ve watched the children grow in confidence and it strengthens my belief that every child deserves the opportunity to sit in a classroom and to discover their purpose and to shape their own future.” 

Also weighing in was Dr. Aisha Muhammed-Oyebode, the keynote speaker. She also highlighted the importance of education in empowering girls. ” This meeting will not just stop here. The conversation will continue, and this girl-child situation will turn to the positive”, she noted. The Educate to Empower campaign is a call to action for all Nigerians to join hands in promoting girl child education and empowerment. As Omorogbe noted, “We have a responsibility to use our capacity, our skills, to address one of the really, really important issues that we’re dealing with as a country.” With the collective effort of stakeholders, the campaign aims to make a significant impact on the lives of girls in Nigeria.