Ezekwesili urges FG, States to enforce 18-year minimum marriage age
Former Nigerian Minister Obiageli Ezekwesili is calling for the strict enforcement of an 18-year minimum marriage age to protect girls' education. She emphasizes that foundational literacy is essential to preventing child marriage and improving human capital.
Why it matters
Child marriage remains a significant barrier to gender equality and economic development in Nigeria, affecting millions of young girls.
Obiageli Ezekwesili, former Minister of Education, has called on the Federal Government and state governments to enforce 18 as the minimum age of marriage across Nigeria, warning that child marriage continues to undermine girls’ education and the country’s human capital development.
Ezekwesili made the call in a statement on Sunday to mark the 2026 International Day of the Girl Child, in which she urged African governments to strengthen girls’ access to education and protect them from early marriage.
She said Nigeria had 23.6 million women and girls who were married before the age of 18, the highest number in West and Central Africa.
According to her, the situation is particularly alarming in parts of Northern Nigeria, citing Jigawa State, where 78 per cent of women aged 20 to 49 were first married before 18, while 63 per cent of women left school to marry.
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