A retired school principal, Mrs. Stella Fabanwo has resumed office as the new president of the Girls Brigade Nigeria
She was sworn in on Saturday, February 26 at the secretariat of the Brigade in Abuja in the presence of about 200 officers and girls of the organization.
About Girls Brigade International
Girls’ Brigade Nigeria is an International, Interdenominational, Voluntary and uniformed Organisation.
The goal of the organisation is to help girls to become followers of Jesus Christ by their conduct. The girls are also exposed to a lot of other activities that help enhance their spiritual and physical lives.
So far nine Presidents have run the organisation. Fabanwo is the 10th President.
Fabanwo said in a statement after her inauguration that the Girls Brigade Nigeria is the most strategic organisation for the girl child.
She said the girls’ brigade has what it takes to train the girl child adding however that many girls in the country are yet to take advantage of the organisation.
Fabanwo: My involvement with the Brigade
Talking about her involvement with the organisation, she said she has been part of the organisation since she was 9 years old.
The organisation according to her helped to shape her vision and perspective of life.
“The training we are exposed to builds us to a point of appreciating life better and being able to cope with motherhood. I owe success as a mother to my membership of the Girls Brigade Nigeria.”
She said also that “the body trains girls on how to maximise their spiritual potentials and also on physical exercises that will keep them fit. Beyond that girls are trained on strategic vocational skills that can make them excel in life.”
While disclosing that many members of the Brigade are successful individuals in the country, she said, “Another beautiful thing about the Girls Brigade is that it helps girls to be bold, confident, and cosmopolitan.
“I can tell you the boldness I have today is tied to my membership of the girls’ brigade.”
She urged parents to encourage their female children to join the organisation. Though Girls Brigade Nigeria has over 1 million members only about 25000 are active according to Fabanwo. She decried the non-challant attitude of some church leaders to the organisation adding however that work is going to be done to build up the image of the organisation.
She thanked all those who supported her emergence as the president of the organisation as well as her predecessor in office, Mrs. Magdalene Apeh.
My goal in office
Fabanwo promised to continue from where Apeh stopped “We are going to take the work further during our tenure” She said.
Her tenure according to her will focus on ensuring that the organisation gets more attention around the country.
“We want to take the organisation to places we are yet to reach and drive our membership. We are also going to consolidate the training potentials of the brigade and also make sure we have a lot of digital presence. Right now our media presence is low. We will work on that” she said.
Girls Brigade Nigeria: A brief history
Fabanwo who traced the organisation to Margaret Lyttle in the UK in 1893 said three organisations came together to form the Girls Brigade International which is the parent body of Girls Brigade Nigeria.
“We had the Girls Brigade which Mrs. Lyttle started, we had the Girls Guild and then Girls Life Brigade. They were operated independently of one another for several years until they came together on June 10 1968 to form Girls Brigade International. Nigeria is part of the international body.”
The organization has its roots in many denominations in Nigeria. She however explained that Girls Brigade Nigeria operates with the template of the Girls Brigade International.
She called on the government to always lend a helping hand to the organisation whenever it reaches out to it.
“We hope that government will keep supporting us. Lagos State government has been supportive. But we hope to get more. We are hoping that more states will support too and support well. A trained girl child will reduce crimes like prostitution and guarantee a sane society devoid of violence.” she said.
Other officers of the Brigade
Other officers elected along with Fabanwo, are Mrs. Wonosato Angama Frank, Deputy President, Mrs. Ruth Utulu, National Secretary, Mrs. Vou Bitrus Choji, Treasurer, Ms. Ibinibo Patrick, PRO,
Also elected were Mrs. Dorcas M. Kunda, Vice President Zone 3, Mrs. Yemi A. Ogundana, Vice President Zone 4, Deaconess Inyang V. Akpawan, Vice President Zone 5, Mrs. Eucharia Ogbonna, Vice President Zone 6, and Rev. Ishaku Iliya Abe, Chaplain.