Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has declared that educating the girl-child is the single most effective strategy for breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty and tackling Nigeria's deepest socio-economic challenges, describing it as the "silver bullet" that addresses maternal mortality, malnutrition, and the out-of-school children crisis in one stroke.
Sanusi made the remarks on Saturday, June 20, 2026, while delivering the keynote address at the maiden convocation ceremony of Miva Open University, held at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Creative Arts in Lagos.
"If there is one single silver bullet that goes through many of the developmental issues that we face, it is educating the girl-child," Sanusi told the gathering of 1,212 graduates, policymakers, and academics. "You keep a young woman in school long enough, you deal with problems of maternal death, neonatal death, malnutrition, out-of-school children and intergenerational poverty".
The former Central Bank governor also framed girls' education as the most effective form of family planning, arguing that an educated woman is better equipped to make informed choices about contraception and child spacing. "Education is the most effective contraception you can give a woman," he said. "You educate her, she knows how to find out about contraceptives; you don't have to start teaching her".
Sanusi, who has long championed human capital development as the pathway out of poverty, described education as a fundamental right rather than a privilege reserved for the wealthy. "Education is not a privilege. It is not a reward for those fortunate enough to be born in the right city, to the right family or with the right resources. Education is a right. And when systems are built that deny it, they do not merely fail individuals, they fail nations," he said.
The monarch commended Miva Open University for leveraging technology to expand access to higher education, insisting that online learning is not inferior to conventional schooling. "Quality is not a function of geography. Rigour is not a function of architecture. Excellence does not require that you sit in a particular building in a particular city. What it requires is a learning environment that is honest, demanding and designed around the success of the student," he told the graduates.
Addressing the graduating class, the Emir urged them to become job creators rather than job seekers. "The job market is difficult, but the people who create their own opportunities, who build rather than apply and who solve rather than complain, are the people who ultimately define what the system becomes," he said. He also encouraged them to embrace lifelong learning, integrity, and courage. "Everything else can be taken from you, but no one can take away your education, your integrity, your courage and your principles," Sanusi added.
The convocation, which celebrated 970 postgraduates and 242 undergraduates as the Class of 2026, also featured the investiture of Dr Tunji Olowolafe as the university's first Pro-Chancellor. The event was attended by Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, represented by the Secretary to the State Government Bimbola Salu-Hundeyin; Minister of Education Dr Maruf Alausa; and the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Prof Abdullahi Ribadu, among other dignitaries.
Sanusi's message reinforces a theme he has consistently championed: that investing in girls' education is not charity but a strategic intervention with measurable returns for public health, economic growth, and national stability. In a region where poverty remains entrenched and millions of girls are out of school, his words carry the weight of both royal authority and economic expertise.
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