President Goodluck Jonathan has promised
to sponsor the education of the abducted schoolgirls of Chibok, Borno
State, in other parts of the country.
The president made the promise at the
State House in Abuja yesterday while meeting with 17-year-old Pakistani
advocate of girls’ education rights, Malala Yousafzai.
Yousafzai came into the world’s limelight as education campaigner after she survived an assassination attempt by the dreaded Taliban group in Pakistan.
Addressing journalists after the one-hour closed door meeting, Director of Operations, Malala Foundation, Eason Jordan, said Jonathan promised scholarship for the missing girls and those who escaped.
Jordan said the president also assured that any moment from yesterday; he would be willing to meet the parents of the girls.
“The president told Malala that he can guarantee that all the girls that have been kidnapped, including the ones that escaped, will be given scholarships to go to school in other parts of the country. These were the things that he said and we hope that he will be able to bring them to pass,” Jordan said.
Earlier, Malala told journalists that her foundation had raised $200, 000 for the abducted schoolgirls’ education.
“We’ve set up the Malala Fund and through the Fund, we’ve raised $200, 000 and we want to use it to contribute to those children’s education. We’ve started working with two organisations here in Nigeria to be able to help these girls continue their education,” she said.
Malala, who noted that she visited Jonathan mainly over the abduction of the schoolgirls, said she intimated him with the affected parents’ demands, especially their desire to meet him.
She said the president promised her that he would do “something” for the abducted girls and that they would be released as soon as possible.
She however added that despite the president’s promises, she would not stop talking and campaigning until the girls are released from captivity.
“I’m here in Nigeria on my 17th birthday for a price which is to see that every child goes to school. This year, my objective is to speak up for my Nigerian sisters, about 200 of them under the abduction of Boko Haram, and I met President Goodluck Jonathan for this purpose. I conveyed the voice of my sisters who are out of school or who are still under the abduction of Boko Haram and for those girls who escaped from the abduction but still don’t have education.
“I highlighted the same issues which the girls and their parents told me in the past two days. The parents said they really want to meet with the president to share their stories with him. And I asked the president if he wants to meet with the parents of the girls. The president assured me that he’d meet with them,” she said.
Malala tactfully cast doubt on Jonathan’s promises, saying “He has made promises, but in politics, nothing is clear. But the president said these girls are his daughters and he’s pained by their sufferings”.
Yousafzai came into the world’s limelight as education campaigner after she survived an assassination attempt by the dreaded Taliban group in Pakistan.
Addressing journalists after the one-hour closed door meeting, Director of Operations, Malala Foundation, Eason Jordan, said Jonathan promised scholarship for the missing girls and those who escaped.
Jordan said the president also assured that any moment from yesterday; he would be willing to meet the parents of the girls.
“The president told Malala that he can guarantee that all the girls that have been kidnapped, including the ones that escaped, will be given scholarships to go to school in other parts of the country. These were the things that he said and we hope that he will be able to bring them to pass,” Jordan said.
Earlier, Malala told journalists that her foundation had raised $200, 000 for the abducted schoolgirls’ education.
“We’ve set up the Malala Fund and through the Fund, we’ve raised $200, 000 and we want to use it to contribute to those children’s education. We’ve started working with two organisations here in Nigeria to be able to help these girls continue their education,” she said.
Malala, who noted that she visited Jonathan mainly over the abduction of the schoolgirls, said she intimated him with the affected parents’ demands, especially their desire to meet him.
She said the president promised her that he would do “something” for the abducted girls and that they would be released as soon as possible.
She however added that despite the president’s promises, she would not stop talking and campaigning until the girls are released from captivity.
“I’m here in Nigeria on my 17th birthday for a price which is to see that every child goes to school. This year, my objective is to speak up for my Nigerian sisters, about 200 of them under the abduction of Boko Haram, and I met President Goodluck Jonathan for this purpose. I conveyed the voice of my sisters who are out of school or who are still under the abduction of Boko Haram and for those girls who escaped from the abduction but still don’t have education.
“I highlighted the same issues which the girls and their parents told me in the past two days. The parents said they really want to meet with the president to share their stories with him. And I asked the president if he wants to meet with the parents of the girls. The president assured me that he’d meet with them,” she said.
Malala tactfully cast doubt on Jonathan’s promises, saying “He has made promises, but in politics, nothing is clear. But the president said these girls are his daughters and he’s pained by their sufferings”.
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