Tears flowed freely among women and girls, not as a result of the ongoing economic hardships in the country, but the joy of the hundreds of second-chance girls and women who witnessed a miracle that unfolded in their presence at the inauguration of the Women and Girls Skills Acquisition Centre (WGSAC), Biu, Borno State.

For many years, women’s empowerment support had felt like unfulfilled dreams in the Borno South Senatorial District, comprising nine local government areas (LGAs).

On that unforgettable day, which was last Friday, the vulnerable women’s dreams, however, became a life-changing reality to restore their means of livelihoods in dozens of communities of the eight LGAs.

At the inauguration of WGSAC over the weekend in Biu, Governor Babagana Zulum announced to the stunned audience the granting of N40 million to the 400 women, with a joy of disbelief over such an economic initiative.

“The 400 women vocational trainees are drawn from eight LGAs,” adding that they included women and girls previously blocked by circumstance from completing their education.

“Each of the trainees is to receive ₦100,000 and will be paid in two instalments,” he said.
Zulum explained that the N40 million grant is to support their training in tailoring, catering, knitting and crocheting, and bead making, and to restore livelihoods in communities of the senatorial district.

The governor asked them a simple question: “Who among you has the qualifications for higher education in the country?”

As the women raised their hands in the main hall of the training centre, Zulum unveiled an even bigger surprise by offering instant scholarships for some of the trainees to study nursing and midwifery in the state.

The women’s gasps, however, gave way to tears, smiles that were mixed with trembling disbelief at the event.
Some of the trainees even pinched themselves, unsure whether the N40 million grants and scholarships were real.

Immediately after the governor’s convoy departed, the vocational training centre remained awash with emotion—joy, gratitude, and the powerful realisation that people’s lives had been permanently altered for economic prosperity.

Thursday’s moving scene formed part of Zulum’s intensive five-day tour of southern Borno, a people-focused mission that impacted health workers, teachers, hospital patients, youth groups, and the most vulnerable.

As Borno’s daughters step into the future once denied them, many offered prayers that Almighty God continues to grant the governor strength, good health, and wisdom to sustain the people-oriented projects and programmes to improve their living conditions.