Lagos deputy speaker, stakeholders to schoolgirls: Study, don’t marry yet

The deputy Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Honourable Mojisola Lasbat Meranda, alongside prominent state leaders, has advised schoolgirls in Lagos to prioritise their education and career goals over early marriage.

Speaking at a workshop themed: ‘End Child Marriage and Invest in Girl’s Rights,’ Meranda called for immediate legislative enforcement, robust funding and cross-sector collaboration to eliminate child marriage across Nigeria.

The event was organised by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Lagos State Governor on Basic and Senior Secondary Education to commemorate the 2026 International Day of the Girl Child.

Declaring child marriage a profound human rights violation and a national development crisis, Meranda cited a December 2025 UNICEF report highlighting that 33.4 percent of young women aged 20–24 in Nigeria were married before the age of 18.

The report noted that the figure climbs to nearly 50 per cent in the North-East and North-West zones, while globally, 12 million girls are married annually, averaging one every three seconds.

To combat this, the lawmaker outlined critical responsibilities for governments, communities and families. Pointing to the Lagos State Child Rights Law of 2007, she warned that unenforced laws leave children exposed, asserting that cultural sensitivity must never excuse the violation of a child’s rights.

“Do not prepare a girl for marriage at the expense of preparing her for life,” Meranda charged parents and policymakers. “Let the law protect her. Let education empower her. Let opportunity elevate her, “ she emphasised.

She also advicated a holistic approach to protection, stating that building a safer world for girls requires intentionally raising and educating boys.

“Our boy-child will do better if they know better,” she noted, while urging traditional leaders to challenge harmful norms, schools to identify at-risk girls and the private sector to fund secondary education and mentorship.

Princess Damilola Sonayon-James, the All Progressives Congress (APC) deputy governorship candidate in Lagos State, also urged the schoolgirls to focus entirely on their books rather than early marriage, declaring that every girl deserves “a book, not a wedding ring.”

She charged stakeholders to move past mere rhetoric and implement concrete structures to safeguard young girls.

“A girl-child deserves a book, not a wedding ring; a classroom, not a forced marriage; and the freedom to shape her own future,” Sonayon-James stated.

She added: “We must move beyond words into deliberate actions through initiatives that keep the girl-child in school, provide scholarships, promote digital skills and empower families to reject child marriage.”

 Corroborating the charge, the State Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Mr Jamiu Alli-Balogun, stated that investing in girls is a prerequisite for a sustainable future.

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He challenged the stereotype that STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) fields are exclusively for boys, noting that Lagos State is actively equipping young women with the tools they need to lead.

He also commended the workshop’s convener, Mr Opeyemi Eniola, the SSA to the State Governor on Basic and Secondary Education, for his commitment to girl-child development.

Similarly, the Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, Mr Mobolaji Ogunlende, underscored the importance of education as the bedrock of personal development, warning students against detractors.

“If anybody tells you that education is a scam, know that such a person is a scammer too.”  “Ensure you dream big, remain determined and stay focused on actualising your dreams,” Ogunlende told the students.