Akwa Ibom State has been identified as one of the four states with the highest incidence of child marriage in Southern Nigeria. A special report written by a dynamic Journalist/ researcher, Ntiedo Ekott two days ago, captured the state as the third-highest in the South-South region
Ekott premised his report on the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, 2018, in which the adolescent (15-19 years) pregnancy rate in Akwa Ibom State was estimated at 12.8 per cent, Bayelsa 19.9 per cent and Cross River 14 per cent.
The report also stated that in Akwa Ibom, early marriage, teenage pregnancy deprive many girls of education. “Most of them are impregnated at an early stage, some at 14 years old and some at 15 or even less, once that happens, they will move in to stay with the man that is responsible for the pregnancy, and that often means dropping out of school.
“In 2018, Akwa Ibom had the second-highest number of out-of-school children in the country, second only to Kano. The state recorded 581,800 children who were not in school while Kano had 989,234, according to the Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC.”
The report also revealed that in terms of gender spread, Akwa Ibom had the highest number of out-of-school female children in the country with 298,161. Their closest contender, Sokoto, recorded 270,586.
The State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Ini Adiakpan, who also acknowledged that teenage pregnancy remains a problem in the state, said the Government of Akwa Ibom State has put in place some legal framework to protect the child.
Adiakpan outlined the framwork to include; the Child Right Act, the Gender Policy among others. “We also have free and compulsory education, which embraces both the male and female children in which every child is expected to be in school,” she echoed
Meanwhile, the Akwa Ibom Government has said it has campaigned intensely against early marriage and the results have been coming in. The Deputy Director in the Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Justice who is also a Director in the Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Response Unit, Akwa Ibom State, Emem Ette, revealed that in 2020, the government enacted a law banning marriage below the age of 16.
She said while the Nigerian government through the Child Rights Act recognises 18 as the age of adulthood, it is 16 years in Akwa Ibom. “We have our own Child Right Law in Akwa Ibom State and the set age is 16 years,”
She said the government is against child marriage, therefore such practice is an offence in Akwa Ibom State.
She further said that the government’s effort was paying off, and there were fewer cases of child marriage. What the government is more concerned about now is dealing with teenage pregnancy.
According to her, since coming to power, the Udom Emmanuel administration of Akwa Ibom has given attention to the menace, with inspiration drawn from Mr Emmanuel’s wife’s declared passion for the girl-child.
“Mrs Emmanuel in 2015 launched the Family Empowerment and Youth Reorientation Programme (FEYReP) to address the problem of teenage pregnancy.
It will be recalled that Mrs Emmanuel Udom had, during the launch of the programme, said, “One of the major focuses of FEYReP will be on how to prevent teenage pregnancy. Some of these girls are victims of rape and other forms of gender-based violence”.
Unfortunately, despite these efforts, the problem persists. More young women are leaving education due to pregnancy and childbirth. The report stated.
Suffice this to say that while child marriage is predominant in northern Nigeria, with Jigawa having the worst situation with 90 per cent of girls less than 18 marrying in the state, the phenomenon also exists in southern Nigeria – albeit at a relatively lower scale.

By: Sylvia ThankGod-Amadi