Former Liberian President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Mrs. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf says educating the girl child remains one of the most powerful tools for societal transformation in Africa.
She made the call while delivering the keynote address at an event organised by the Rochas Foundation under the theme “Give to Gain: Women, Education and Impact – The Ripple Effect,”.
Mrs Sirleaf also called for deliberate policies to ensure women’s inclusion in governance and decision-making.
She said that progress does not happen by chance.
The former Liberian president commended the Rochas foundation for its sustained investment in young Africans, describing it as a model for long-term development.
She however lamented that millions of girls are still being left behind.
The former Liberian President recalled her visit to the foundation’s institution in Imo State in 2017, where she witnessed firsthand, the transformative impact of its programmes.
“I saw young people from across Africa learning together, growing together, and building a shared sense of purpose, I had not seen anything quite like it,” Mrs. Sirleaf said.
She noted that nearly half of the foundation’s beneficiaries are girls which is a strategic investment in Africa’s future.
“When you educate a girl, you do not just change her life you change the trajectory of entire generations,” she noted.
The former President stressed that education alone was insufficient without pathways to leadership and economic inclusion.
“If we educate girls but fail to create opportunities for them to lead, then we have only done half the work. Every classroom that opens to a girl today is a parliament, a court, and a community that changes tomorrow,” she added.
Gender Equality
Similarly, the European Union representative to Nigeria, Mr Gautier Mignot highlighted the broader developmental impact of gender equality, describing girls’ education as a ‘powerful lever’ for sustainable growth.
Drawing from personal experience, the diplomat recounted a visit to an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in Nigeria, where an 18-year-old girl who had never attended school said her greatest dream was simply ‘to go to school.’
He said, “That moment was deeply moving,. Just hours later, we visited another school where children especially girls were eager and happy to learn. The contrast was striking.”
Mr Mignot stressed that gender equality was not just a matter of fairness but a prerequisite for national development.
“Mixed-gender groups perform better and make better decisions. When women and men work together, everyone wins,” he said.
Systemic Barriers
The EU envoy also pointed to systemic barriers such as poverty, gender-based violence, and lack of basic facilities like sanitary products and safe restrooms as key factors keeping girls out of school.
“There are very few investments as profitable for a community as investing in girls’ education,” he added.
The Director General of the foundation, Ms. Uchechi Rochas challenged participants to move beyond rhetoric, describing the gathering not as a ceremonial event but a “call to duty.”
“Should I say welcome, or should I say sorry you are here?” the speaker asked. “Because there is a problem, and each one of you in this room is part of the ripple so you must fix it.”
She pointed out that the foundation has impacted over forty one thousand young people across Africa in nearly three decades of intervention.
She said that the figure pales in comparison to the scale of the crisis, with an estimated 7.8 million girls out of school in Nigeria and over 10.2 million children affected nationwide.
“If we place 41,000 beside 7.8 million, you will agree the problem is bigger than us, This is not a welcome it is a recruitment. It takes all of us to fix this.” Ms. Rochas said.
She emphasised that its advocacy was rooted in research and lived realities, not sentiment.
She also said that educating a girl creates a multiplier effect that extends beyond the individual to families, communities, and entire nations.
“When a girl is educated, the ripple does not stop with her. It reaches her family, her community, and ultimately humanity,” the speaker noted.
Highlighting the urgency, she drew attention to the realities in parts of northern Nigeria, where many girls are forced into early marriage instead of being in classrooms.
“Education for the girl child is not just literacy. It is empowerment. It is permission to speak. It is permission not to get married at 16,” she said.
She also spotlighted real-life success stories, including that of Zainab, a former beneficiary who has grown into an educator and leader.
“Zainab was once like the girls we speak of today. But because she was given an opportunity, she is now shaping lives. If we fail the girl today, we fail the woman tomorrow.”
The Rochas Foundation reiterated its commitment to expanding access to education while urging individuals and institutions to take responsibility.
“It takes our voices, not our silence, We must create spaces for girls not just seats at the table, but the table itself,” it said.
Stakeholders at the high-level gathering on education and gender inclusion issued a passionate call for collective action to address Nigeria’s worsening girl-child education crisis.
They warned that failure to act now could have far-reaching consequences for the nation’s future.
Participants unanimously agreed that addressing the girls out of school crisis requires a multi-stakeholder approach involving government, civil society, and development partners.