Muhammad Sanusi II, the 14th Emir of Kano, has advocated for scaling up of girls’ education and women empowerment in sub-Saharan Africa.
He called for deliberate policy change that would cater for marginalized groups in government institutions and the society in general.
Sanusi spoke at a three-day ‘Transforming Education Summit’ on the sidelines of the ongoing UN General Assembly in New York.
The former CBN governor said he had devoted his life to advancing the cause of the girl-child, women empowerment and gender equality.
“I have had a lifetime commitment and advocacy to access to quality education and gender equality. In my work as governor of the central bank, I pushed for gender representation at the highest levels in the boards and management of the banks,” Mr Sanusi said. “And as emir or Kano, I pushed for the codification of putting law to address the rights of women.”
He added, “As an SDGs advocate, I have focused on girl-child education in particular, as the main SDG that I’m focused on are SDG four and SDG five.”
Mr Sanusi pointed out that providing the girl-child education and the opportunity to earn income and contribute meaningfully to society was a silver bullet that would address many other SDGs.
“I am often asked why I advocate for the girl child, and my response is simple: if you educate the girl child, you deal with so many other socio-economic issues and make progress towards breaking the intergenerational cycle of illiteracy and poverty,” he explained.
The ex-CBN governor said it had become imperative to emphasise the importance of quality teachers in curbing inequalities in learning outcomes, particularly in under-served regions.