Malala Yousafzai, who was shot by the Taliban has taken her campaign for the education of the girl-child to Nigeria following the abduction of schoolgirls by Islamist sect group Boko Haram on April 14, 2014, UK Telegraph reports.
The 17-year-old,one of the early backers of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign arrived Abuja on a three-day visit to Nigeria.She celebrated her 17th birthday in Abuja at a dinner held in her honour at Transcorp Hilton hotel.
“On my 17th birthday my wish is to see every child go to school and I want to see my Nigerian sisters being released from their abduction and I want them to be free to go to school and continue their education,” she said.
Malala was accompanied to the dinner by her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai and members of Malala Fund, including Shiza Shahid, the 25-year old founder of the organisation.
She is expected to meet relatives of the kidnapped girls and also seek audience with President Goodluck Jonathan.
Malala visits Nigeria, almost three months after the abduction of the girls, who were taken by militants from a boarding school in Chibok in Borno State, north east Nigeria on April 14.
Malala will also mark the Malala Day on July 14 in Abuja to champion her cause for free and compulsory education for every child around the world.
The education advocate informed the guests at the dinner that she would welcome ideas and opinions from them on how to ensure the safety and education of every child in Nigeria.
“I also hope to listen to those girls who were abducted and later ran away from their abductors and it would be really nice to listen to the parents of the girls.
“They are the ones who can really tell us what their daughters are suffering and what they are suffering too,” she said.
