The First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Aisha Muhammadu Buhari has commended UNESCO over its efforts towards women’s advancement. She made the commendation during a courtesy visit by the Director-General of UNESCO, Ms. Audrey Azoulay on Monday 13th September 2021 at the State House, Abuja.
The First Lady said, as with UNESCO, Education is one of the areas of focus of Aisha Buhari Foundation; promoting girl-child education and educating the less privileged children through the provision of scholarships, educational materials, and special catch-up programmes. Beyond these, she recently completed a school project.
“I am pleased to inform you that I just built a school in Maiduguri, Borno State to cater for the education needs of the teeming population of orphans and other victims of insurgency in the state,” said Mrs. Buhari, adding that the aim is to provide such children with an opportunity to have access to quality education that will transform and prepare them for a productive life.
Earlier, the Director-General of UNESCO, Ms. Audrey Azoulay expressed happiness visiting Nigeria, a country she addressed as an extraordinarily diverse country, saying UNESCO has many good reasons to enjoy a historic relationship with Nigeria.
Ms. Azoulay noted that the ongoing International Coordinating Council on Man and the Biosphere Programme (ICC-MAB) addresses the relationship between people and their environments. She said some activities that harm biodiversity also have severe consequences for vulnerable people all around the world and therefore called for concerted action to reverse this trend. She commended Nigeria for showing commitment in this regard.
The Director-General was in Nigeria to attend the International Coordinating Council on Man and the Biosphere and was accompanied by the Ambassador of Nigeria and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, Dr. Hajo Sani, UNESCO Regional Director, Dimitri Sanga, and Director-General, Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria and President of the ICC-MAB. Prof. Adesola Adepoju.
