The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, has said that giving the girl child access to education is the best thing to do, stressing that Islam is not against it.
Abubakar, who spoke on Thursday in Bauchi during the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment, AGILE project, said when the girl child is educated, she would use it to better the society, take care of herself, her family and the community.
The AGILE project was organised by the Ministry of Education, with support from the World Bank.
Abubakar said: “Islam is not against the education of the girl child. There are a couple of reasons the issue is not tackled here and in other states. The main thing is how it is being done to educate people.
“When I was coming here, I saw some children hawking on the street and I was wondering, I asked some of them and they told me that they have morning and afternoon sessions at school.
“I think it is very important to talk to ourselves. Giving the girl child education is the best thing to do because she will use it to better the society as she will take care of herself, her family and the community.”