Ekiti Governor’s wife cautions male students against GBV

The wife of Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Olayemi Oyebanji, has enlisted school-age boys in the fight against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) to prevent the occurrence of the menace among students in the state.

Oyebanji made this known in her address at the training of Male Students on ‘Gender-Based Violence Prohibition in Public Secondary Schools’ in the state.

The training was sponsored by the World Bank-assisted Adolescent Girls’ Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE).

In attendance were administrators, teachers, and officials of the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS), the Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM), and the Ministry of Education, among others.

The Ekiti State First Lady stressed that male students needed to be equipped with basic knowledge to enable them to curb the malady in society.

She noted that the battle against GBV in schools and in society in general may not be totally won if schoolboys are not given the right orientation and enlightenment on its evils.

Oyebanji emphasised that it was of utmost importance to adequately educate the male child on the prevention of violence to prevent abuse of fellow students in schools, especially girls, and to ensure a peaceful society devoid of gender violence.

“All the efforts to make our schools and community spaces safe for our female students cannot be effective until the male gender is adequately trained on the causes and effects of their choices and actions.

“I encourage the participating students not to be selfish with the knowledge acquired at the training but rather share it with friends and neighbours to aid in a desired violence-free society,’’ she said.

Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Science, and Technology, Dr. Adebimpe Aderiye, says the government is working out modalities to ensure a brighter future for the young ones.

He urged them to reciprocate the gesture by being passionate and obedient to good counselling.

Similarly, the AGILE State Coordinator, Mrs. Yewande Adesua, encouraged the students to make judicious use of the training and focus their attention both on their studies and other moral lessons.

In her goodwill message, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Sola Adeluyi, said it was dangerous to limit GBV training to girls alone, hence the need to keep the boys aware of the menace.

Also, her counterpart from the Teaching Service Commission, Mr. Michael Omolayo, and Ekiti State ASUSS Chairman, Mr. Sola Adigun, corroborated Adeluyi’s position and commended the state government for carrying the boys along.

During the training session, the facilitators, Mrs. Omolayo Olawoye, a sex educationist, and Prof. Babatunde Olofinbiyi, from Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, took the participants through preventable measures against all activities that could affect their future negatively while attaining puberty age.

The trainers discouraged them against early sexual habits, infatuation, masturbation, and harassment of the opposite sex, among others.