By SundiataPOST, Abuja
The Comptroller of Immigration in Abia, Mr Crowther Cirbam, has urged parents to desist from giving out their children to relatives or strangers as house helps.
Speaking in Umuahia during a seminar on the ‘Dangers of Child Abuse and Trafficking’ on Thursday, Cirbam said the trend encouraged child exploitation.
He said that in most cases, the children were subjected to difficult assignments such as prostitution and hawking.
He advised parents to endeavour to send their children to school and help them understand that “travelling to foreign lands is not a guarantee for success”.
Chief Jerry Uzosike, the Chairman of Umuahia South Local Government Transition Committee, said the increase in skills acquisition programmes for youths was an effective way to eradicate child exploitation.
Uzosike, who was represented by Mr Kingsley Asuoha, the committee’s chief of staff, said that financial pressures were a prominent factor that made young people to become victims of abuse and trafficking.
He said equipping children with the right information and skills enabled them to become self-reliant and confidently overcome financial pressures.
Mrs Nne Nwaejike, the state’s Commissioner for Women Affairs, said that full implementation of the Child Rights Act was an important tool in the fight against child exploitation.
“According to 2009 NAPTIP reports, children make 50 per cent of people that are victims of trafficking.
“This makes it necessary for the law to be enforced without reservation in order to ensure that the figure is reduced to the barest minimum,” she said.
