Mariam Abeeb
The Federal Government has urged state governments and local communities to take ownership of the LUMINAH initiative as the success of the policy will not be decided in Abuja but in states and local communities.
Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, stated this in Abuja at a two-day Stakeholder Engagement with LUMINAH 2030 pilot states.
LUMINAH 2030 was launched by the Federal Government in March 2025 to empower one million underserved girls and women by 2030.
Ahmad raised concern over persistent gaps in inclusion, learning quality, and gender equity in Nigeria’s education system despite recorded progress in some areas.
“Let every state become a LUMINAH exemplary state. Let every community become a place where girls can learn safely and with dignity,” she said.
The minister also disclosed the government’s new coordinated roadmap under the Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative, NESRI.
According to her, NESRI represents a “national resolve to rebuild the foundations of learning in Nigeria” and ensure that “no child is left behind, and no girl is left unseen or unheard.”
“Today’s engagement is a moment of reflection, renewal, and recommitment to the future of every Nigerian girl.
“We all saw that emotional video, those girls are our daughters. Girls who wake before dawn to fetch water instead of going to school; girls who walk miles to unsafe classrooms or hawk on the streets when they should be learning. Their cries for learning are not just calls for help; they are calls for justice, dignity, and opportunity,” she said.
Ahmad, who described the event as “deeply personal,” recalled her own experience growing up in a community where girls’ dreams were once limited.
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