Princess Chichi Ojei, the only female presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, has expressed gratitude to the United Nations (UN) for recognizing and raising awareness about the rights of girls by commemorating International Day of the Girl Child.
She stated that the empowerment of the girl child was critical to the society’s prosperity.
In a statement issued to commemorate International Day of the Girl Child, Ojei, the presidential candidate of the Allied People’s Movement (APM), cited a well-known African proverb that says, “If you train a man, you train an individual, but if you train a woman, you train a nation.”
Ojei stated that in Nigeria today, “we are not only a predominantly male society, but our harmful traditional practices have hampered development and the emancipation of the girl-child,” adding that Nigerian women and girls have decided that they will no longer tolerate oppression stemming from the patriarchal mindset of Nigerian society.
“Today, we demand our God-given rights to complement each other, not just as partners in progress, but the opportunity for an equal playing field in nation building,” she said. It is past time for Nigeria to recognize the important developmental role that women play in our various nations, as the old negative narrative about our girls and women must be put to rest, as we cannot continue to make the same mistakes and expect different results.
It is urgent to empower the girl child and women in general for a better, prosperous, safer, and more developed Nigeria.”