NFF, Ministry of Interior commit to reintegration project for the girl-child in Correctional Centres
An initiative of the Nigeria Football Federation to reform, rehabilitate and reintegrate into the society, young girls who are in correctional centres across the country, has been received with great enthusiasm by the Honourable Minister of Interior, Hon. (Dr) Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.
On the tail of a presentation made to the Minister and Management Staff of the ministry in Abuja on Tuesday by NFF Executive Committee Member and Chairman of the Women’s Football Sub-Committee Madam Aisha Falode, the Minister applauded the NFF for the noble concept, and vowed to set machinery in motion to ensure the realization of the objectives attached to the initiative.
‘I am hugely impressed by this presentation, which shows clearly that the NFF is aware of its responsibilities to the community, aside from preparing our National Teams for matches and tournaments.
‘The reason why there is always an upshoot in the number of persons in correctional centres is that when they are released, they have nowhere to go other than that place from where they ended up in the centre.
‘I see this project as filling that gap for them, giving them hope and the means by which to bring that hope to reality.
‘A ‘correctional centre’ is different from a ‘prison’. While the former is a place of correction, reformation and rebirth, a prison is a place of incarceration.
‘Those in correctional centres should have the opportunity to get reformed and reintegrated back into the society.
‘The NFF has wowed me with this. Sport is not just a means of entertainment; it is the biggest instrument that can bridge the gap between the powerful and the vulnerable.’
Falode’s presentation, titled FootballGood-Naija; EmpowerHer, highlighted rising figures of ladies in correctional centres across the country, as well as those awaiting trial and those already convicted, and was pegged on the ‘Gender Empowerment’ initiative of the Confederation of African Football which pilot programs had taken place in Sierra Leone, Ghana and Liberia.
