By James Sunday, FCAI, MNIIA,
Project Asha stands as a memorial dedicated to creating space for the girl child through the legacy of Vweta Chadwick, whose memory we are celebrating.
The 2025 Vweta Chadwick Poetry Prize, themed “Hear Our Voices, Heal the Land,” reflects Nigeria’s urgent need to listen to the voices of our sheroes, the female counterparts of heroes. These sheroes are using their voices to reawaken the nation to the vital place of the girl child, nurturing her into a woman of affluence, influence, and significance in governance and leadership.
Recently, the world celebrated the International Day of the Girl Child 2025, themed “The Girl I Am, The Change I Lead.” Vweta Chadwick perfectly represents the girl and the change we all desire for our country, a voice that was tragically silenced by death following an unsuccessful surgery. Her passing highlights the urgent need for Nigeria to upgrade its medical facilities, ensuring they can adequately serve citizens and attract medical tourism.
After all, we produce some of the best minds who leave the country to excel abroad. Why not encourage the best among us, our sheroes and heroes, to remain here, rather than risk perilous journeys through deserts and life-threatening environments in pursuit of greener pastures, better education, or improved living conditions? As a nation, we can achieve this by resisting the push factors and strengthening the pull factors within our migration governance framework.
Today, Muhammad Babandede, CON, former Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, has lent his voice in support of training and nurturing the girl child to become one of these sheroes.
Similarly, Mr. Dapo Oyewole, Senior Special Assistant to the President on International Cooperation, spoke as a youth who rose to prominence through poetry. He emphasised how creative expression shaped his journey and referenced the success story of Hon. Hannatu Musa Musawa, Minister of Art, Tourism, and Creative Economy, a politician, lawyer, and exceptional poet who exemplifies the power of nurturing talent and vision from an early age.