The Federal Government has unveiled an E-commerce portal which will serve as veritable platform of convergence for buyers, sellers, NGOs, farmers, entrepreneurs, manufacturers and people in other forms of business ventures that will ensure economic emancipation and sustainable empowerment of women as pathway towards ending child marriage in Nigeria.

Prior to the formal unveil of the portal by the Honorable Minister of Women Affairs, Barr Uju Kennedy Ohanenye during a national dialogue on ending of child marriage in Nigeria, the Minister observed that the portal which is tagged “PBAT Cares 4 Women E-Market” will provide a new lease of life for women especially those in the rural areas to properly harness their potentials and skills, have reliable means of earning a living and save money through seamless banking process.
According to her, by keying into the portal, women in registered Cooperative groups will enjoy limitless opportunities that will scale up their socio-economic status “ and also give mothers the voice to say no to early child marriage which has not only demeaned the dignity of our women and the girl child but also erodes the potentials of the female gender”

“As build up towards realizing set goals, the Women Affairs Ministry has started distributing industrial machines and farming equipment among states such as Kebbi, Oyo, Anambra, Jigawa, Kano, Imo, Ekiti and Benue for the first phase of distributions. Other states will be integrated into subsequent plans”
Speaking on behalf of the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, the Emir of Zamfara, Alh. Attahiru Ahmad commended the organizers of the national discourse which according to him, “ will rejig our minds on the socio-cultural and economic consequences of child marriage and work out modalities towards eradication of child marriage in our country” He added that “ the Sultan has championed the same matter over the years and for us, the push to end child marriage in Nigeria cannot be negotiated”. He however, urged the Ministry of Women Affairs, UNICEF and other partners to take the advocacy across the 6 geo-political zones of the country to have the desired impact.
In the words of the Methodist Archbishop of Abuja, Most Rev. Dr. Michael Akinwale who represented the Christian Association of Nigeria, “child marriage is big disservice to the nation’s economic growth and our socio-cultural advancement as a nation because our girls are forcefully married out at unacceptable and unrealistic ages with attendant negative effects to some homes and the larger society”. He therefore urged the organizers to work towards implementation of outcomes from the national discourse.
In the same vein, the Country Representative of UNICEF, Ms. Christian Munduate lauded the Ministry of Women Affairs for coming up with “ this landmark initiative which will redefine the socio-cultural landscape of Nigeria. Child marriage poses a significant obstacle to the holistic development of the adolescent girls, adversely impacting their education, health and socio-economic status”
She also added that “in a recent study by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and the UNICEF (Economic Burden of Child Marriage in Nigeria), the total cost of failing to end child marriage is $10 billion per year and that ending child marriage could boost the GDP of Nigeria by 2.4%”. She urged the Federal and State governments to prioritize investments on health and education to address the obvious consequences of the harmful practice of child marriage in Nigeria.
Aside from goodwill messages from various stakeholders, the event featured panelists with submissions hovering on the urgent need for improved government involvement with strong legal frameworks and collective actions to end child marriage in Nigeria.
Other traditional rulers present at the event include the Emirs of Kaura Namoda in Zamfara state, Lere in Kaduna State, Agaie and Kagara in Niger States, Spouses of Governors, Ministers, UNFPA and other stakeholders.
 
Ohaeri Osondu Joseph, Fnipr, Fcai
Special Assistant, Media