Ezekwesili Urges African States to Ban Child Marriage

Former Minister of Education, Obiageli Ezekwesili, has urged African governments to enforce 18 years as the minimum age of marriage to protect girls from child marriage.

Ezekwesili, founder of Human Capital Africa, also called on traditional and religious leaders to support efforts to end the practice.

In a statement on Sunday to mark the International Day of the Girl Child, she warned that child marriage remained a major threat to girls’ education and Nigeria’s human capital development.

“A girl who learns is a girl who is not a bride. Today the world is asked to end child marriage and invest in girls’ rights. I join that call wearing three hats: as a member of the advisory council behind Columbia University’s report Accelerating Efforts to End Child Marriage; as Civil Society Representative on the Steering Committee of the African Union’s Decade of Accelerated Action for the Transformation of Education and Skills Development in Africa (2025–2034); and as the leader of Human Capital Africa, an organisation that has spent years arguing that Africa’s human capital crisis begins in the early-grade classroom,” she said.

Ezekwesili cited figures showing the scale of child marriage in Nigeria, particularly in the northern part of the country.

“In Nigeria, 23.6 million women and girls were married before 18, the largest number in West and Central Africa. In parts of the North the situation is a national emergency: in Jigawa, 78 per cent of women aged 20–49 were first married before 18, and 63 per cent of women left school to marry.”

Child Marriage Threatens Economic Development

The former minister warned that child marriage carries high economic and social costs, including lost productivity and increased health risks.

“The cost of inaction is high. Our Columbia report includes new analysis by the Centre for Global Development. It estimates losses of up to $175 billion a year, or almost $2.5 trillion by 2040, from lost productivity and higher health risks caused by child marriage.

“The report also warns that aid cuts, weakening global commitment to women’s rights, and rising conflict could slow or reverse progress. Child marriage is not a side issue in development. It directly drains a nation’s human capital.

“Progress is possible. An estimated 68 million child marriages have been averted over the past 25 years through girls’ education, legal reform and social protection.”

Ezekwesili said governments must strengthen legal protections while addressing educational barriers that make girls more vulnerable to early marriage.

Ezekwesili Calls for Domestic Funding

She urged African governments to increase domestic funding for programmes that protect girls, arguing that local budgets and philanthropy would become more important as foreign aid declined.

“Fund this domestically. As foreign aid shrinks, African budgets and African philanthropy must take over. Measure and publish. Track girls’ learning, their transition to secondary school, and child marriage rates in national accountability systems.

“The AU Decade of Education gives Africa ten years and a continental mandate. As a member of its Steering Committee, I will press for girls’ learning and retention to be at the centre of how the Decade’s success is measured. A Decade that does not end child marriage will not have transformed African education,” she added.

She stressed that efforts to improve African education must prioritise girls’ learning, continued school attendance and protection from early marriage.