Obiageli Ezekwesili: Nigeria Must Enforce 18-Year Minimum Marriage Age

• Obiageli Ezekwesili, former Minister of Education, advocates for strict enforcement of Nigeria's 18-year minimum marriage age.
• Nigeria records 23.6 million women and girls married before 18, the highest in West and Central Africa, with Jigawa State showing 78% of women married before 18.
• Child marriage is projected to cost the global economy up to $175 billion annually and nearly $2.5 trillion by 2040 due to lost productivity and health risks.
• Ezekwesili emphasizes that foundational literacy and secondary education are critical for preventing child marriage and fostering human capital development.
• African governments are urged to increase domestic funding for girls' education and integrate it into the African Union's 2025-2034 education decade.

Any girl-child should be a student, not a bride. She should learn, then lead.

Obiageli Ezekwesili, a former Minister of Education and founder of Human Capital Africa, has issued a compelling call to both the Federal and state governments in Nigeria to rigorously enforce the 18-year minimum marriage age across the nation. Her recent statement, released on Sunday to commemorate the 2026 International Day of the Girl Child, underscored the severe detriment that child marriage poses to girls' education and the broader development of Nigeria's human capital.

Ezekwesili highlighted Nigeria's alarming statistics, revealing that 23.6 million women and girls were married before reaching the age of 18. This figure represents the highest incidence of child marriage in the West and Central African regions. The situation is particularly critical in parts of Northern Nigeria, with Jigawa State cited as a stark example where 78 percent of women aged 20 to 49 entered their first marriage before 18, and 63 percent of these women subsequently left school to marry.

Effective Nigerian child marriage law enforcement necessitates a collaborative approach, as advocated by Ezekwesili, involving governments, traditional leaders, and religious authorities to ensure the 18-year minimum marriage age is upheld in both law and practice across all communities and states. Beyond legal frameworks, significant socioeconomic barriers impede girls' access to education, particularly in rural areas. These include the financial burden of school fees, uniform costs, and transportation expenses, which often prevent girls from progressing to secondary school.

Ezekwesili emphasized a crucial link between foundational literacy and the prevention of child marriage, asserting that a girl cannot remain in secondary school if she lacks basic reading skills. She pointed to estimates indicating that 89 percent of children in sub-Saharan Africa suffer from 'learning poverty,' meaning they cannot comprehend a simple text by age 10. Girls who struggle with fundamental literacy are more prone to academic setbacks and dropping out of school, thereby increasing their vulnerability to early marriage. She urged governments to prioritize foundational learning as a child-protection measure, ensuring every girl achieves reading comprehension by age 10 through proven teaching methods.

The economic ramifications of child marriage are substantial and far-reaching. A report from Columbia University, featuring analysis by the Center for Global Development, estimates that child marriage could impose an annual cost of up to $175 billion on the global economy, potentially escalating to nearly $2.5 trillion by 2040. These costs stem from lost productivity and increased health risks associated with early marriage.

Despite these grim figures, progress is achievable. Estimates suggest that 68 million child marriages have been averted over the past 25 years, largely due to concerted efforts in girls' education, legal reforms, and social protection initiatives. Significantly, each additional year of secondary education a girl receives is correlated with a reduction of five percentage points or more in her likelihood of marrying before the age of 18.

In light of declining foreign aid, Ezekwesili urged African governments to boost domestic funding for girls' education. She also called for systematic tracking of girls' learning outcomes, their transition rates to secondary school, and child marriage statistics to better inform policy and intervention strategies. Furthermore, she advocated for placing girls' education and retention at the core of the African Union's Decade of Accelerated Action for the Transformation of Education and Skills Development in Africa, which spans from 2025 to 2034.

Ezekwesili firmly believes that if every African girl were to complete secondary education, the continent could achieve a significant reduction in child marriage rates. Her advocacy, part of a broader Human Capital Africa initiative, underscores a fundamental principle: "Any girl-child should be a student, not a bride. She should learn, then lead."

Lawyers and compliance officers should monitor ongoing advocacy and potential legislative or enforcement actions concerning Nigeria's 18-year minimum marriage age, as stricter implementation could impact human rights litigation, corporate social responsibility, and supply chain due diligence.

Source: Original reporting based on statements from Obiageli Ezekwesili.