In a statement released by the Malala Fund, Gulmakai's champion for C-CAGE, Frances Uchenna Igwilo, stated that there is an urgent need to reverse the predicament of the African child, and particularly so the Nigerian child. The rights of the Nigerian child must be respected as enshrined in the Child Rights Act. She noted that the African child, especially the girl child, is affected by many different types of abuse, including economic and sexual exploitation, gender discrimination in education and access to health, early marriage, child labour, and their involvement in armed conflict.

Furthermore, recent statistics show that child workers in Sub-Saharan Africa account for about 80 million children, or 4 out of every 10 children under 14 years of age, which is the highest child labour rate in the world. Again, more than 1 in 5 of those aged 6-11 and a third of children between 12 and 14 are in sub-Saharan Africa. Of the 15 million girls of primary school age in the world, a whopping 9 million also live in sub-Saharan Africa. Igwilo stated that the Centre is actively working to reduce the challenges faced by Nigerian children, with its intervention targeted at reducing the number of out-of-school children, especially the girl child, in Adamawa state. She enjoined the relevant stakeholders on education, including the government at all levels, CSOs, and traditional institutions in the country, to redouble their efforts in reducing the plight of the Nigerian Child.

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