Founder of The Goldfish Initiative For Illiteracy and Poverty Alleviation, Chimanma Rushworth-Moore has called on President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister Education, Adamu Adamu, to raise the standard of education in Nigeria and also make the Nigerian child welfare a priority.
She made the call while addressing the media at De Renaissance Hotel, Ikeja on the organisation’s upcoming walk against child illiteracy.
Rushworth-Moore charged the federal government to do the needful to make education the right of every child.
She stated that many children in the rural area cannot read nor write due to circumstances they found themselves.
“We are calling on President Muhammadu Buhari, Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu and the education minister of state to please help raise the standard of education in Nigeria. There are a lot of children in the rural areas and villages who cannot read nor write in this technology age. Anyone who cannot read nor write does not exist because he or she cannot vote. Many children go to school half naked while many sit on the floor in rickety classrooms to learn. Many Nigerian children lack basic welfare. Children’s welfare and protection should be non negotiable and this is why Goldfish initiative is the voice of these children who cannot speak for themselves,” she said.
She further explained that she and her team have visited many rural areas in different parts of Nigeria. She explained that her chat with the Almjiri young people in the north was an eye opener on how many young lives with big dreams that is languishing in penury.
“Some of the Almajiri’s told our team they wanted to be doctors, lawyers and many other interesting careers. But what got us thinking was the fact that majority wanted to be soldiers. Since they cannot read nor write, no defense academy in Nigeria can accept them. It will be easy for anyone to lure these young people with dreams of being a soldier by just giving them arms and green t-shirt,” she stated.
She therefore called on federal government to make things right by allowing money to flow through the right source to alleviate poverty completely.
The Goldfish Initiative Boss stated that her target of getting rid of illiteracy goes beyond the shores of Nigeria. “We plan to reach every other African country but I am starting from Nigeria which is my father’s father land”.
The walk against child illiteracy took place on Thursday, 26 October 2017.
