(Part4) Makoko: Lagos Slum With Bulging Teenage Pregnancies

...Continuation Nigeria ranks among the seven countries in the world with the highest level of teenage births. The other countries are Bangladesh, Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, and the United States. Sex education would help create more awareness about teenage pregnancies and so reduce the number in the country, Abah noted. "Parents must also take parenting seriously. We tend to leave that role to teachers," she said. For Mr. Shenebe Noah, proprietor, Whanyinna School, the young girls should also be made to realise that life did not end at Makoko. "There is still a lot they can do for their future," he said. According to him, the school, which he said was built for them by 'white men', currently has 218 children from the Makoko waterside. "Initially, the parents here didn't like taking their children to school, because they only believed in trading and fishing, but things have changed," he said. Another English school, known as the 'floating school' by residents, has since been built. Noah said the school would open on September 23. "It was a project by Mr. Kunle Adeyemi, an architect, and was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and the United Nations Development Programme. It is an extension to the existing school. I will also run it," he added. Education, he agreed, would go a long way in reducing the rate of teenage pregnancy in Makoko, and other communities across Nigeria. For Tobor, health and environmental concerns aside, if the government could allow them to live peacefully in their community, there won't be any problem.