Jigawa Assembly Gets First Female “Speaker”

By Mohammed Abubakar Dutse

As part of the activities marking the 2024 International Day of Girl-Child, (IDGC) the Jigawa State House of Assembly, on Monday held a special plenary to commemorate the day as the Speaker, Haruna Aliyu Dangyatin, yielded his seat to Miss Jamila Aliyu Abdulkadir, 15.

Miss Aliyu Abdulkadir is an SS3 student of Dutse Model International School, who acted as the Pro-tem Speaker.

The United Nations, has set aside October 11 every year as IDGC to focus on education, healthcare, and advocating for girls’ rights. The period is used to avenue to ventilate their desires with a view to attracting actions from the authorities.

Thus, the Assembly, at its special session involving female students from three selected secondary schools in state capital. They included Dutse Model International School, (DMIS), Dutse Capital School and Elpee International School.

To expose the visiting students to the art of lawmaking, the Speaker of the Assembly, Haruna Aliyu Dangyatin yielded his seat to Jamila Aliyu Abdulkadir, 15, an SS3 student of Dutse Model International School, who acted as the Pro-tem Speaker.

While joining other global leaders to celebrate with all Girl-Child on this year’s theme, “Girls’ Vision for the Future”, the Speaker said the objective was to listen to girls and invest in proven solutions accelerating progress toward a future in which every girl fulfils their potential.

The 8th Assembly, he said, has done a lot to empower women and inspire hope in the Girl-Child, saying, “We are already addressing the spate of out-of-school children in the state which is a challenge nationwide. State Legislators have initiated viable interventions to address the problem in their constituencies.

“Few months ago I ordered Honourable Members to move to their various constituencies to investigate the figures of the out-of-school children so that we can synergize and devise lasting solution to the issue.”

Also, he recalled that the 7th Assembly passed into law in 2021 the Jigawa State Child Protection Act, another achievement for children’s rights in Nigeria.

“The domestication of the Child Orotection Law in the state will help safeguard childrens’ rights, including ensuring that parents, guardians, and constituted authorities fulfill their obligations to protect children and prioritize access to health and education, especially the Girl-Child.”

Going spiritual, Dangyatin said the importance of educating the Girl-Child was captured in the Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) where Anas Ibn Malik reported; “Seeking knowledge is obligatory for every Muslim (men or women)”. In fulfillment of the tradition of the Prophet (SAW), the Jigawa State Executive Council is implementing a policy where the Girl-Child receives free education at all levels from primary to tertiary level. The goal is to enable the Girl-Child to reach her full potential in life.”

On this occasion, I salute the girl child across the globe and assure you that the future is promising. And I urge you all to seek role models that will continue to inspire you to greater heights in your chosen endeavours.

Despite the challenges facing girl-child the speaker acknowledged that some successes were being recorded in the state, citing some of the milestones recorded by

“Currently in Jigawa State, we have the first female elected Vice-Chairperson for Malam-Madori Local Government Area who was sworn in a few days ago; Prof. Yamuna Aminu Kani, the first female professor of Gynaecology in Jigawa State; and women representative as Judges, Magistrates, Commissioners, Special Advisers, Special Assistants, Academicians and so on.

‘We will, therefore, continue to support and empower the Girl-Child in the state so that they can make us proud and contribute to the development of the state. May the dreams and aspirations of every Girl-Child in Jigawa State be nurtured and realised”.

The “female legislators” took turns to address the assembly on various issues ranging from girl-child education, female emppowerment, equal opportunities for both male and female children, among others.

The Pro-tem “Speaker”, who opened the floodgates of demands challenged both the legislative and executive arms of government in the to do more than the current efforts to address the myriads of problems confronting the progress of girl-child in the state.

Though, she acknowledged the state government gesture of providing free education to the girls from primary school up to tertiary institution, she believed that the policy would achieve the desired objective, if properly backed by employment.

Esther Maiyaki, who represented the Buji state constituency, said girls, if properly given the opportunity, can play a key role in the healthcare system in the state, as 44 per cent of the state population is female.

She said one of the biggest challenges in the country is the issue of maternal mortality, saying, too many women and girls are dying of preventable causes during childbirth.

“As girls we can become a better advocate for better health care system. On a day like this, it’s good to say thank you to the state government for reducing the maternal mortality rate by providing free healthcare services for women and children and massive training for nurses, midwives the doctors in the state.”