By Hon. Safiya Alkali Ajikolo
Member, Borno State Children’s Parliament
“Every Girl-Child Deserves a Childhood, Not a Wedding.”
At fourteen, Hauwa should have been in a classroom practising algebra and dreaming of the future. Instead, drums beat through the dusty streets of Maiduguri, Borno State, as neighbours cheered her wedding to a man three times her age. Her parents, lured by the promise of a new house, called it a blessing. Hauwa knew it was the sound of a childhood ending.
Soon after, pregnancy followed. Her small body could not bear the weight of early motherhood. Prolonged labour tore through her young frame, leaving her with vesico-vaginal fistula (VVF) – a debilitating injury that causes constant leakage of urine. While her peers sat for exams, Hauwa sat alone, battling stigma, infection, and the slow erosion of dignity.
Hauwa’s story is not unique. It reflects a crisis stretching across Northern Nigeria. According to UNICEF, more than 23 million Nigerian girls and women were married in childhood, giving the country the highest number of child brides in Africa and one of the largest globally. A Save the Children report (2021) found that in Northern Nigeria (the North East and North West combined), 48 percent of girls are married before age 15 and 78 percent before 18. Within Borno State itself, older Demographic and Health Survey data show that over 89 percent of women aged 15–49 were first married before 15 – a figure that underscores how deeply entrenched the practice has been over decades.
Early marriage is not merely a cultural tradition; it is a public-health emergency and a human-rights violation. A girl pulled from school is stripped of her right to learn, her confidence eroded by isolation. She faces heightened risks of maternal mortality, VVF, and exposure to HIV. Many die giving birth. Those who survive often carry lifelong trauma, anxiety, and depression, only to be told by society to “be patient.”
The drivers are complex. Poverty plays a role, but so do greed and entrenched gender norms. Some parents, though physically able to work, accept a suitor’s lavish gifts over their daughter’s education. Where a child suffers, parental complicity often lurks beneath.
Breaking this cycle demands bold, coordinated action. Education is the first vaccine: every additional year a girl spends in school reduces her risk of child marriage. Economic support for families can weaken the financial lure of early unions. Legal enforcement is critical: Nigeria’s Child Rights Act sets 18 as the minimum marriage age, yet several northern states have not fully adopted or enforced it. Healthcare access, particularly reproductive and maternal services, must expand to prevent needless deaths and treat survivors of VVF. Above all, community engagement – from religious leaders to local elders – is vital to dismantle the harmful norms that allow this trade in innocence to persist.
Change is possible. In Borno, grassroots organisations and women’s groups are creating safe spaces for girls to learn, while advocacy campaigns push lawmakers to harmonise marriage laws with national standards. “Child marriage is not destiny,” says Dr. Aisha Bukar of the Borno VVF Centre. “Education is the vaccine, and communities are the cure.”
Childhood is meant for discovery, not dowries. Each girl denied the right to grow, learn, and dream is a loss not only to Nigeria but to the world’s shared future. Protecting her is not charity, it is justice.
The drums that once announced Hauwa’s wedding must give way to another sound: the laughter of girls free to choose education over exploitation, freedom over fear. Ending child marriage in Nigeria’s North East is not just about saving girls—it is about securing the promise of an entire generation.
Sources for Key Statistics
● UNICEF Nigeria (2023–24): Nigeria has over 23 million child brides, the highest in Africa.
● Save the Children, State of the Nigerian Girl (2021): In Northern Nigeria, 48% of girls marry before 15, 78% before 18.
● Demographic and Health Surveys (various years):Historical prevalence of early marriage among Borno women aged 15–49 exceeds 89% in some local surveys.
Hon. Safiya Alkali Ajikolo is a young Nigerian child rights advocate, poet, and parliamentarian from Borno State, known for her work in youth empowerment and peacebuilding. At just 14 years old, she is the chairperson of the inter-parliamentary committee for the Borno State Children’s Parliament and has received accolades such as being named best student in her school for three consecutive years and winning an early achievers award. Her advocacy extends to international platforms, where she has participated in events like the Geneva Peace Week 2025, focusing on themes such as poetry as a tool for peace
