The group raises the alarm over the decline of girls’ education and youth employment in Nigeria

As the world commemorates the International Day of the Girl Child, Corpers’ Journey Advocacy Network (CJAN) has called on the Nigerian government to implement urgent reforms to address the growing crisis in girls’ education and youth unemployment, describing the situation as “a time bomb for the nation’s future”.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, CJAN founder, Ajayi Taiwo, lamented that millions of Nigerian girls are denied access to quality education and equal opportunities.

He warned that the continued abandonment of girl children poses a grave threat to Nigeria’s socio-economic development.

According to UNICEF, over 7.6 million girls in Nigeria are currently out of school, including 3.9 million at primary level and 3.7 million at lower secondary level.

Taiwo described the data as evidence of a “systemic failure” exacerbated by child marriage, gender-based violence, poverty and insecurity, especially in northern Nigeria.

“The numbers are alarming,” he said. “When more than seven million girls are out of school, it’s not just an educational problem: it’s an economic and social crisis. No country can achieve sustainable development when a significant portion of its female population is left behind.”

Citing a World Bank report showing that 66% of Nigerian girls drop out before completing lower secondary school, Taiwo noted that the lack of interventions targeting student retention continues to widen gender inequality.

He added that data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reveals that youth unemployment stands at 6.5%, while the NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) rate stands at 14.4% among young people aged 15-24, with women being disproportionately affected.

To address these challenges, CJAN has unveiled a comprehensive reform agenda aimed at empowering girls through education, mentorship, and post-service opportunities.

The group’s key proposals include integrating digital literacy, coding and entrepreneurship into NYSC school curricula and skills programmes; establish safe mentoring and reporting channels for female corps members and adolescent girls, particularly in rural areas; and creating post-service empowerment programs that offer startup grants and business incubation support for women former corps members.

CJAN also urged the government to ensure that girls are direct beneficiaries of education and youth initiatives through stronger oversight and monitoring of sex-disaggregated data to improve targeting of interventions.

“Investing in girls is not an act of charity, it is a strategic investment in the stability and prosperity of Nigeria,” Taiwo said. “An educated girl becomes a productive woman, a better mother and contributes to national development.”

She called on the government, private sector and civil society to come together to address gender disparities and build a safer and more inclusive environment for Nigerian girls. “As we celebrate the International Day of the Girl Child, we must remember that progress begins with action,” she added. “Every girl deserves the opportunity to learn, lead and thrive.”