Olori Janet Afolabi: Tackling Teenage Pregnancy Through Education in Apomu

The growing number of teenage pregnancy in Apomu Kingdom is becoming worrisome and has led to the birth of a new initiative by the Queen of Apomu Kingdom, reports Vanessa Obioha 

Hundreds of students from seven secondary schools in Apomu land, Osun State recently gathered at the Alapomu Palace Hall for the kickoff of the new initiative by Queen of Apomu Kingdom, Janet Afolabi tagged ‘Stop Teenage Pregnancy ‘. 

Targeted at female junior and senior secondary school students, the initiative strived to educate young girls on sex education and change their mindset about teenage pregnancy which the award-winning journalist Afolabi said is becoming a norm in the community. One of the contributing factors according to Afolabi is early menstruation.

“In those days, a 10-year-old girl child may not have started menstruating. Maybe because of changes in the foods we eat today or civilisation, some girls today, at 11 have started menstruating. And once a girl starts seeing her period, she can become a mother even if her reproductive organ is not fully developed to receive and bear the baby. That is why we have Vesicovaginal Fistula (VVF) because their organ is not fully matured for delivery,” she explained.

Teenage pregnancy is a worrisome trend in Nigeria. A report published on BioMedCentral website disclosed that the rate of teenage pregnancy in Nigeria stands at 104 per cent. Most of these pregnancies occurred in low-and-middle-income households.

In Osun, a state in the South-west region, poor parenting and lack of self-care are leading factors in the high rate of teenage pregnancy.

For Afolabi, lack of qualitative education also contributes to the social issue, as many undervalue education in the community. This, she said, is responsible for the high number of dropouts among female students and has truncated many dreams.

“If a 10-year-old girl gets pregnant today, it’s already a challenge and she will drop out of school because of shame and rejection. No school will want to admit a pregnant girl because at that age they are not expected to be married.

“Some of them are trapped. They can’t go further. A lot of destinies have been wasted because of teenage pregnancy. In my free tutorials with them, I discovered that the girls are even more eager to learn than the boys. I see great potential in them, to continue in that spirit and pursue a career of gaining a school after secondary school,” explained Afolabi.

“During COVID-19,” she added, “a lot of J.S S. 3 female students could not write their exams because they were already pregnant.”

She also pointed out the need to change their mindset as many believed that there is no work available after acquiring an education. The ultimate message she preaches is for the girls to be financially independent. 

Another contributing factor to the increase in teenage pregnancy according to Afolabi is environmental poverty.

“They are generally poor and many of them are farmers and traders. There are a lot of farmland settlements outside the town. So most of the time the parents go to the farmlands and stay for months and leave the children at home with no adequate money for the children to take care of themselves. The children are hungry, they now look for food from wherever. They cannot pay the school fees and are sometimes sent home because of N2,500. They are flogged so terribly sometimes as if they committed a crime. While the boys look for labourers’ work, the girls do not have anywhere to work and therefore fall victim to ‘Okada’ riders who have daily money to spend.  They can give them as low as N100 and take advantage of them. Sometimes they can be harassed into sleeping with them, other times it can be out of a free will. Because they are naive, they don’t know anything about sex education, they end up pregnant. They have no idea what a condom is or other lifestyle tips.”

Apart from poverty, Afolabi said that most of the girls put in the family way are also wayward. Additionally, social acceptance of teenage pregnancy makes it difficult to curb. 

“The women sometimes do not see anything wrong with teenage pregnancy. Sometimes, they even do aso-ebi and invite their friends, throw elaborate naming ceremonies. With such acts, other girls are encouraged to toe that path. Some of them even borrow money to throw these parties. One of my students, an S.S.3 student, came to tell me aso-ebi that the girl he is dating had just given birth. This is a boy I’m still teaching.”

With her new initiative, Afolabi plans to have a mental transformation for the young ones in the community. Stakeholders from Apomu Descendants Union, education and health sectors joined Afolabi in inspiring the young girls to dream higher as well as exposing them to the health dangers of teenage pregnancy.

“The irony is that we don’t have Apomu women in high places such as the House of Representatives, and the Senate but other communities around us produce such highly placed women. So this is a step to the journey of Apomu girls becoming women who will be in high places. We want to encourage them to go into business and succeed, go into politics and other professional areas. We may not be able to erode teenage pregnancy totally but we are laying the foundation.”

But to change their mindsets, it has to start with the parents who do not believe in girl-child education. Therefore, Afolabi and her committee will be having a monthly meeting with the parents as well as campaigns in marketplaces and neighbourhoods to enlighten them. There will also be visits to schools to continue educating the students on the dangers of sex education.