Noble Peace Prize Laureate and UN Messenger of Peace, Malala Yousafzai met with Vice President Kashim Shettima, at the Presidential Villa Abuja, Nigeria on Wednesday. She also paid a visit to Babagana Zulum, governor of Borno state, who pledged sustained partnership with the UN and Malala Foundation to ensure the girl-child’s full potential.
The renowned activist who was born on 12th July 1997 declared, ”I am here in Nigeria to celebrate my 26th birthday. Since my UN speech at age 16, I have been going around the world meeting girls from different parts of the world and raising awareness about the issues that girls face.”
She pointed out “In Nigeria, I’m here because girls’ education is important here. It will determine the future of Nigeria. So, I’m here [to]… bring attention to those issues. I’m here to speak as well and share my thoughts with the communities, and also lucky that I was able to meet girls in Abuja. I was also able to go to Borno State and meet incredible girls, visit their schools, and also meet the education activists. It is the work of the education activists, girls and civil society, and government that gives us hope that we can have a better future for the education of all children, especially girls here. I was very lucky that I had the meeting with the Vice President and he gave us his time; he gave us his support…”
Since she was shot in the head by Taliban militants in Pakistan in 2012, Malala has not seized speaking out for the education of the girl-child. She delivered a powerful speech at the United Nations marking her 16th birthday on 12th July 2013 and has since traveled to different countries around the world for the cause of the girl-child.
In 2014, the United Nations named July 12, Malala Day to honor her fearless efforts towards propagating girl-child education across the nations of the world.
