NORTHERN NIGERIAN FESTIVALS OF THE MAIDENS AND GIRL CHILD EDUCATION AS TOOLS FOR SOCIETAL WELLNESS

Abstract

The Festival of the Maidens is the celebration of the Nigerian girl child. The Northern people of Nigeria have cultural celebrations which promote the innate beauty shrouded in the girl child. The festival seeks to inculcate in the girl child ethical standards but prevents them from having western education, a tool for societal wellness. Maidens drop out of schools to fulfill the age-long traditional rite. This has led to educational backwardness and redundancy in the North.