According to a report from Punch Newspaper on Sunday, May 17, A 16-year-old girl from Borno State has painfully revealed why she became a child bride, disclosing that her dream of becoming a doctor was cut short after her family’s livelihood was destroyed by a government demolition exercise.
The teenager, whose identity has been withheld, spoke during an exclusive interview with PUNCH Online at a media dialogue organized by the PAGED Initiative in Maiduguri.
She explained that she was in Junior Secondary School 3 and had just written her Junior WAEC when her education was disrupted. Her father, a mechanic, lost his workshop along the Borno Expressway when the state government demolished the area to build a flyover.
“That demolition really affected our living conditions because work was not forthcoming for him. I could not continue my education as well,” she said.
Three months after the incident, her father presented her with two choices: stay at home without education or get married. She chose marriage.
“I was not forced to get married. I was only given two options… I chose marriage,” she stated.
She added that there was a promise she would eventually return to school, but that plan has not materialized.
“My dream was to become a doctor. I have been bothered and wished to return to school, but then, where are the means?” the heartbroken teenager lamented……See More
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