Brief – The importance of keeping girls in schools was highlighted at an awareness conference held in Abuja on Tuesday, February 1.

The theme was “African Traditional and Religious Leaders Taking the Lead in Keeping Girls in School”.

The aim was to encourage engagement with traditional and religious leaders to ensure that all girls are enrolled into schools. The event was organised by the Girl Child Concerns non-government organisation with the support of the Nigerian government.

The Shehu of Bama, Alhaji Umar Ibn Kyari Umar El-kanemi, opened the conference. “We thank the Nigerian government and other partners because without their effort and sacrifice, we would not reach here and, as traditional leaders, we always try to encourage our people to enrol their children into schools, especially girls,” he said.