By Leshi Adebayo
Miss Mercy Chrimon, the ceremonial Ambassador of Sweden to Nigeria, has called on the Federal Government to invest in girl-child education.
She stated that the Nigerian authorities should focus their investment in the area of technical and digital literacy.
The 15-year-old made the call during an hybrid (online and in person) forum at the Swedish Embassy when she assumed ceremonial duties as ambassador of the Swedish Mission’s Office, for a day, in Abuja.
The event, in commemoration of the October 11 International Day of the Girl (IDG) 2021, was organised by Plan International Nigeria, the Embassy of Sweden and the TecHer Foundation.
In her speech, Miss Chrimon, a primary six pupil of OakBridge Foundation, said, “Digital Literacy will help us to improve our writing , reading, listening, and speaking skills. Through the internet, we can learn, connect with other girls around the world, express our thoughts and talents, have fun and discover new things.”
“False information makes us doubt ourselves and our worth. False information harms our mental health. It affects our trust in politics and politicians. And most of all? It stops us achieving our ambition,” she added.
Earlier in his remarks, the Ambassador of Sweden to Nigeria, Mr. Micheal Grans said digital literacy and access remain major challenges for girls and the gap between men and women in tech was wide.
Recall that the United Nations had in 2012 declared October 11 as the International Day of the Girl to highlight challenges faced by girls and having public discussion on addressing them.
