By Chinenye Offor
Abuja- Mr Arinze Orakwue, Director, Public Enlightenment, NAPTIP on Thursday called on stakeholders to synergy more in the fight against human trafficking.
He made the call at the Anti-Human Trafficking Advocacy training for Corps members in Abuja, organised by Devatop centre for Africa Development, an NGO, in conjunction with US embassy.
According to him, human trafficking campaign does not have an end, saying that as such, people need to know more about the menace of human trafficking with a view to curbing it.
“There is no end to the campaign; we are carrying out this campaign because people are dying, the greatest danger facing Nigerian youths today is human trafficking and illegal migration.
“Who else will do better in this task if not getting the youths involved and enlightened so they that they can also educate their peers.
The director noted that the organisation encouraged people or group of persons ready to work with it to further its campaign against human trafficking.
“NAPTIP is doing a lot; we are speaking with our partners and also working with the National Assembly members.
‘’We need a lot of materials such as flyers, jingles, programmes to create awareness; we call on stakeholders to support us in this fight.
He called on corps members not to discourage by the challenged they might be encountering in the course of their service to their father land.
According to him, problems should be seen as a challenge to enable them contributes toward the fight against human trafficking.
He stated that the training was to equip the trainees to become as advocates as well as empowering them with resources that would help them carry out community projects in combating human trafficking.
Orakwue also said that the young people were the best tool for the project because 80 per cent of trafficked persons were young people.
The director stressed the need for all hands to be on deck in the fight against the menace.
He also said that after the training, NAPTIP would monitor the projects of the trainees.
According to him, each of the participants was expected to reach out to about 100 people in a community, to educate them about the dangers of human trafficking.
He said the effort would help to reduce the influence of human trafficking in the country..
The initiator of the project, Mr Joseph Osuigwe, a 2013 corps member, said that human trafficking remained a great threat to the young people, economic development as well as human capital.
He said that the menace had weakened the potential of Nigerians by frustrating the aspiration of young people in the society.
Osuigwe, who noted about 80 per cent of persons trafficked were young people, stressed the need for youths to actively participate in curbing human trafficking to the barest minimum.
“With over 150 volunteers across Nigeria and three countries, we have witnessed an increase in participation of young people in the fight against human trafficking.
“In 2015, we selected 120 youths and women from 6 states, trained them on how to mobilise resources to combat human trafficking and after nine months, they sensitised 6,000 community members.
“By 2018, we are looking at the possibility of starting a project “TALK AM”, a mobile application that people will anonymously report cases of human trafficking and other human rights abuses.
“This project seeks to educate young people on dangers of illegal migration and also empower communities to act collectively to combat it,” he said.
Osuigwe, however, said that the centre was using the project with locally led, cultural and modern communication methods to adjust the beliefs of youths on travelling illegally for greener pastures. (NAN)