A Nigerian/Canadian charity organisation, the Blue North Initiative, yesterday staged a peaceful march in Abuja, the nation’s capital, demanding an end to human trafficking.
The march, which started at the Federal Secretariat and ended at the Unity Fountain in Abuja, was to mark the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons (WDATP) in 2025.
Addressing journalists during the walk, the founder of Blue North Initiative, Calistus Ekenna, said human trafficking was an evil that lives among the people hence, the need to create awareness on its existence and harmful impact on the society.
Ekenna said while the federal government through the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons(NAPTIP), is doing its best to curb the menace, the present legal framework needs to be strengthened for effective tackling of the challenge.
He also advocated collaboration between the government at all levels, civil society organisations, families and the entire citizenry to win the war against human trafficking.
The Canadian trained Nigerian child protection specialist said the latest strategy for trafficking in persons is through the social media as traffickers no longer necessarily need be in the location of their prospective victims to execute their evil mission.
“This is an important day because all over the world, we are remembering today as a day set aside to raise awareness about the issues of human trafficking. That human trafficking is alive, around us, it’s within us, it’s within our families, our neighbours and our friends. We need to begin to talk about it, raise awareness for people to know that we need to sharpen our eyes, we need to do better, we need to know better and do better.
“So right now with NAPTIP, the federal government of Nigeria, we have some laws that need strengthening, that can be effective. The most important thing for us right now is to work together with other NGOs, work together with other government ministries and parastatals, work together with communities, faith-based organisations, work together with our neighbours, our offices, our friends and our families.
“The effectiveness of what we do depends on our cooperation. The traffickers themselves, they are working together. They work together perfectly to make sure that what they are doing succeeds. So for us to succeed, we need to work together. The laws are there, but we need to work together, strategise together, have common goals, have common strategies, so that this war will be won.
“Families, you need to watch out your children, you need to watch out your family members, parents, children, siblings, fathers, whoever you are in the community, you need to watch out. We need to start incorporating a different culture, values that we know, we grew up with. Values to know that if I’m parading wealth around, where is the source of that wealth? We do not need to push our siblings, our brothers and sisters, our community members to do things that will make them want to get rich quick.
“The latest strategy is the use of social media. So the traffickers do not need to be in your same location, they can be anywhere and continue to traffic whoever they want to traffic. So in that your cell phone, in that your social media account that you have in your bedroom, someone could be trafficked right from your bedroom. That’s a new strategy,” he noted.
Also speaking, the country director of Blue North Initiative, Boma West,
reiterated the need to create more awareness on trafficking in persons, describing it as modern-day slavery, which must be prevented.
“So we’re trying to create awareness on human trafficking. As we all know, human trafficking is modern day slavery. So we need to see that human trafficking is prevented. That is one way which we can add. This walk is one of the ways which we can add. That is one way which we can add to seeing that human trafficking is being reduced. Because it’s not a day’s work. It’s not a day’s journey but we’ve started a journey. And by the grace of God, human trafficking will end. It will stop. That’s what we’re doing today.
“You see we’re having this Japa Syndrome now where everybody believes that we can’t make it here in Nigeria. That is why you see human trafficking is thriving. Because when they say there’s job here and there’s job there, you know, people move. They pursue it because they want a better life. And that is how they are being deceived. Let’s mothers, I want mothers to talk to their children, to train them well, to be contented. You get, it’s not like, we’re against travelling out of the country but let it be legal,” West stated.
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