“I was 16 years old and a stark illiterate when I married my husband" - Bauchi First Lady, Aishatu Mohammed

Aishatu Mohammed, wife of Bauchi Governor, Bala Mohammed has revealed that she had no formal education when she married her husband.

In her words, “I was 16 years old and a stark illiterate when I married my husband. We were 100 girls in our family; none went to school; I only started school after my third child,” she said.

She decried the high rate of illiteracy and early marriage among young girls in the state, blaming the situation on parents who believed formal education for the girl-child was a mere waste of resources.

“We were 100 girls in my family, but none of us had formal education; I had never been to primary school in my parent’s house. This is because our parents never believed in educating the girl-child; I struggled to go school, but they refused.

“I picked the challenge to be educated from my brothers and after I had my third child, I insisted my husband gets me a home teacher. That’s how I started and I later went to secondary school. Today I am a graduate of Public Administration from the University of Abuja,” she narrated.

Mohammed who emphasised the importance of educating not only the girl-child, but young people in the society, added that such move would curb crimes and social vices in the society. She called on relevant government agencies and organisations to ensure that parents and caregivers were adequately sensitised on the need to allow young boys and girls go to school.