By Abubakar Baba Ahmad
Misau Emirate Council in Bauchi State has advised the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment AGILE Project to establish a defined role for traditional institutions in the project implementation towards realising the set objectives in girl child education.
The Emir of Misau Alhaji Ahmad Sulaiman gave the advice while receiving the State AGILE Technical Team led by the Project Coordinator Malam Ali Sule Gar on an advocacy visit.
Alhaji Ahmad Sulaiman who spoke on his experiences with similar projects as far back as 2018, noted that many a times there are no clearly defined roles for traditional leaders, a situation that makes it difficult for them to make meaningful contributions.
“I’ve been associated with this issue for quite a long time, in fact since 2018, so when I became an Emir it became a priority amd education is a priority in that we are doing. Just last week we had a meeting and we discussed the problems of education in our Emirate and I think we are in tandem with AGILE project. But the major issue is where does the traditional institutions stand, where does it get involved in the project? we agree that it is the responsibility of the SBMC Chairmen but then the question of reporting to the Emir or District Heads is not very clear and I think they said they’ll address the issue”, the Emir explains.
While assuring of his support and cooperation towards the success of the project, the Emir said the council has established a development endowment fund under his Chairmanship which identifies and addresses issues of concern in the emirate to include education, health, economic empowerment among others.
In their separate contributions, a Senior Council member and Magayakin Misau Alhaji Muhammad Fema Babayo and Sarkin Sudan Alhaji Bala Othman Sulaiman who expressed happiness with the project’s target, called on the team to always consult the council, ensure commitment and perseverance to realise the set objectives.
On their part, the Chief Protocol Officer Misau Emirate and Magajin Rafi Malam Rufai Yamai and Kaigaman Misau Alhaji Mustapha Yarima who appreciated the development, described the project as a prototype of the emirate’s development initiative.
Earlier, the AGILE State Project Coordinator Malam Ali Gar said the project seeks to address the major obstacles hindering girls access to education to include lack of conducive atmosphere for learning, schools proximity, poverty, inadequate teachers among others.
“We have realised that the major obstacles hindering access to education among the girl child in particular include lack of conducive atmosphere for learning, proximity problem, poverty, inadequate teachers among others”, the AGILE PC states.
Malam Ali Gar said the project has so far captured nineteen thousand three hundred girls under the Conditional Cash Transfer component out of the twenty thousand two hundred and fifty targeted under the first cohort.
Education Correspondent Abubakar Baba Ahmad reports that beneficiaries under the project would be given twenty five thousand naira as transition fees, fifteen thousand naira for first term registration, ten thousand naira each for second and third term registrations respectively.
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