I am scared of abduction but I won’t stop, says Nigerian girl child activist, Yusuf

Amina Yusuf, one of the five girls who joined child activist, Malala Yousafzai in collecting her Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Sweden in 2014, has declared herself unstoppable.

The 18-year-old Nigerian who has taken the mantle for the girl-child education in Nigeria, sending word to world leaders, has said if no one could stop Malala, no one can stop her.

“I want world leaders to consider attacks on girls’ education: Insurgency in Nigeria means that there is fear in my community and fear for girls’ safety,” she said, while speaking to the girl effect, a girl-child advocacy group.

“Before now, we all thought that school was the safest place but now it’s scary. I’ve heard that many girls in boarding schools have been taken out by their parents or organisations for security reasons.

“People are scared that their girls may be abducted too. I know that I’m scared too, but it won’t stop me from doing what I aspire to do. People weren’t able to stop Malala, and they can’t stop me.”

The mentor of young girls in northern Nigeria said Malala’s Nobel prize was a for all girls around the world, including Nigerian girls.

“While I was there (Oslo, Sweden) I realised that Malala’s award means that girls all over the world – including here in Nigeria – have won the Nobel Peace Prize.

“Malala’s voice is the voice of every girl in the world, and many girls tell me that because she invited me to join her in Oslo, they see Malala in me.”

Amina received a scholarship from the Centre for Girls’ Education, Population and Reproductive Health Initiative, which is a collaboration between The Bixby Centre, University of California, Berkeley and Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria.

Speaking on girl child marriages and poverty as barriers to Education in Nigeria, Yusuf added:

“I became a CGE mentor to give more girls opportunities. If it weren’t for that, maybe I would have been married off by my parents because they wouldn’t have been able to pay for my education.

“I now mentor 15 girls, aged between 11 and 14, and assist one of the senior CGE mentors. My friends and all my younger brothers and sisters call me Malala now!”