The Abiodun Islamiyyah Adebowale Foundation (AIAF) has officially launched an ambitious initiative aimed at empowering thousands of Nigerian women and girls by the end of the decade.

The launch, which coincided with the 45th birthday of the foundation’s founder, Mrs. Abiodun Islamiyyah Adebowale, and the International Day of the Girl Child, held at the Sam Shonibare Community Centre, Lagos. The event brought together policymakers, gender advocates, and community leaders to endorse the Foundation’s expansive vision for female empowerment.

Mrs. Adebowale, the Foundation’s Executive Director, described the dual celebration as “a divine orchestration — a profound alignment of purpose, faith, and fulfilment.”

She explained that AIAF, which evolved from her earlier Womb-Bearers Support Initiative, is built on a simple but powerful philosophy: “When you strengthen a family, you strengthen a nation. When you empower a girl, you secure the future.”

Describing the foundation as “the dream that burns brightest,” Adebowale said the Nigerian Girls’ Leadership Academy would serve as a model institution for learning, mentorship, and leadership development, targeting girls and young women aged 13 to 30.

She added that the academy will equip participants with essential, future-focused skills — including political education, digital literacy, entrepreneurship, and critical life values necessary for nation-building.

Acknowledging the scale of the foundation’s vision, she noted that its programmes will require significant financial investment but expressed optimism about their success.
“Where there is vision, provision follows,” she said. “Our long-term goal is to impact over 5,000 families and empower at least 10,000 girls across Nigeria and the wider African continent by 2030 through our leadership and family-strengthening programmes.”

Adebowale also called on policymakers, parents, and community leaders to actively support opportunities for girls to thrive.
“Listen to them and believe in them. When we lift a girl, we lift a generation,” she urged.

The initiative received a major boost with the endorsement of the Lagos State Government. Commissioner for Youth Development, Mr. Mobolaji Ogunlende, represented by the Deputy Chairman of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Mrs. Olafare Comfort, commended the Foundation’s commitment to gender empowerment.

She noted that, for the Lagos administration, empowering girls is not charity but smart governance and a moral obligation.
“When girls are educated, healthy, and free to make choices, they become agents of change,” she said, reaffirming the state’s commitment to expanding access to education, skills development, and youth-friendly health services.

She pledged continued government support for initiatives that ensure every girl in Lagos lives with dignity, opportunity, and hope.

Also speaking, the Supervisor for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation in Surulere Local Government, Mrs. Ganiyat Ali-Balogun—who represented the mother of the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila—highlighted the resilience of girls in crisis situations.

Addressing the event’s theme, “The Girl I Am, The Change I Lead: Girls on the Front Line of Crisis,” she said that although girls often bear the brunt of poverty and hardship, they also possess the courage and creativity to be part of the solution.