Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl-child
education campaigner, who survived an
assassination attempt by the Taliban, has called on
Boko Haram terrorists to free the abducted Chibok
school girls.
Malala, who commenced a three-day visit to
Nigeria on Saturday, celebrated her 17th birthday in
Abuja at a dinner held in her honour at Transcorp
Hilton hotel.
She spoke exclusively after the dinner that ended at
about 10.40 p.m.
“On my 17th birthday my wish is to see every child
go to school and I want to see my Nigerian sisters
being released from their abduction and I want them
to be free to go to school and continue their
education,’’ she said .
Malala was accompanied to the dinner by her father,
Ziauddin Yousafzai and members of Malala Fund,
including Shiza Shahid, the 25-year old founder of
the organisation.
A 32-man guest list at the event included members
of civil society organisations and representatives of
international organisations in Nigeria such as
USAID, DFID, British Council and DFID.
The Managing Director of NAN, Ima Niboro,
presented a birthday card and flowers to Malala on
behalf of President Goodluck Jonathan.
“Thank you Malala for coming to Nigeria, Mr
President personally signed this card, he shares
your vision, your dreams and your ambitions and he
is happy that you are here,’’ Niboro told Malala.
During her three-day visit to Nigeria, the 17-year
old Pakistani girl is scheduled to meet President
Jonathan and other top government officials.
She will also mark the Malala Day on July 14, in
Abuja to champion her cause for free and
compulsory education for every child around the
world.
The education advocate informed the guests at the
dinner that she would welcome ideas and opinions
from them on how to ensure the safety and
education of every child in Nigeria.
“I also hope to listen to those girls who were
abducted and later ran away from their abductors
and it would be really nice to listen to the parents of
the girls.
“They are the ones who can really tell us what their
daughters are suffering and what they are suffering
too,’’ she said.
In his remarks, Malala’s father, Ziauddin said
“since centuries we have been ignoring half of our
population, so we should stop it now.’
“We feel very honoured and I want to share with
you one thing: what you can do for your society as
a social activist, women rights activist nobody else
can do.
“ In the Swat District (in Pakistan’s northwestern
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) I was contributing to my
community in education, I had a school and I was a
poor man in terms of money but I had an institution I
started from the scratch.
“I was able to send 120 students on scholarship to
my school so your existence in your community is
the biggest capital you have, your involvement with
your community is the biggest capital you have
which I have lost.
“I will regain it one-day but the difference I was
able to make when I was there, I can’t make it now
so you should capitalize on your being in your
communities,’’ he said.
In a telephone interview with the NAN, Pakistani
High Commissioner to Nigeria, Amb. Muhammad
Saleem said the High commission “was not
informed of her visit to Nigeria.
“However, we welcome her to Nigeria because she
is doing a great job.
“She is a daughter of Pakistan and we are proud of
her achievements and we hope her visit to Nigeria
will go a long way in resolving the issue of the
kidnapped Chibok school girls.
“She’s a great daughter of Pakistan and we
welcome her campaign for education,” Saleem
said.
No comments:
Post a Comment