A non-governmental organisation (NGO), Devoice Life Builders Foundation (DLBF), has called for total inclusiveness and support for the girl child to excel, contribute meaningfully to society, and reach her potential in life.
DLBF chairman Samson Ogunsami stated this is a one-day football event to mark this year’s 16 days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, which takes place between November 25 and December 10 annually.
Speaking with Tribune Sports over the weekend in Abuja, Ogunsami said the choice of football was arrived at because it is a sport that makes Nigerians speak with one voice despite the differences in ethnic, cultural, and religious beliefs.
Ogunsami said his organisation has enjoyed the support and cooperation of traditional rulers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to reach out to the girls in their different communities. He stated that the football competition was to celebrate the girls and to inculcate in them the will to excel in whatever they do, saying names such as Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Joke Silva, Asisat Oshoala, Ibunkun Awosika, and Blessing Okagbare inscribed at the back of the jerseys were meant to inspire the girls to have a positive mindset about life to succeed.
“The campaign here is about the 16 days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (GBV), which is an annual global event. Our organisation came into being one year ago, and our focus is visits to trenches in the FCT. This will be done through courtesy visits, cooperation, and the permission of the village heads by organising football teams there, as you can see here today.
“We have brought girls from five communities in Abuja—Kuje, Kuchingoro, Dutse Alhaji, Lugbe, and Gwagwalada—to participate in this one-day football competition. Abuja is big; it goes beyond Asokoro or Maitama.
We have told them all of them are winners, no matter the outcomes of the games. The message we are passing on is that they can reach wherever they want to be and should not be deterred by any circumstances they may face. We have talked, sensitised, and campaigned with them about gender-based violence (GBV) and its implications. We also talked to them about health by sharing sanitary pads, with an emphasis on their hygiene.
“We chose football because it is one of the strongest weapons that unites all of us as Nigerians, irrespective of our cultural, ethnic, or religious differences. And don’t forget that girls too are making their marks in football. See the performance of our senior female national team, the Super Falcons, at the last World Cup co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand. They made us proud. We are happy with the support from the Nigeria Women Trust Fund (NWTF), who are our sponsors for this event.
“The names we have chosen here today, like Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Joke Silva, Asisat Oshoala, Ibunkun Awosika, and Blessing Okagbare, which you see at the back of the jerseys, are carefully selected to tell the girls that they can reach their goals in life with a positive mindset and determination. That they are girls should not limit them to wherever they want to be in life,” Ogunsami told Tribune Sports.
Adebimpe Ogunyemi and Itunu Oluwa Abolarinwa, the secretary and programme manager of DLBF, respectively, called on the government, corporate organisations, and rich individuals to give support to the girl child at all times.
One of the players, Blessing Joshua, said in an interview with Tribune Sports that she looks forward to excelling in football like her idol, Asisat Oshoala. She, however, urged parents to give the same support they give to the boys to the girls.
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