A former Minister of Education in Nigeria, Professor Chinyere Obaji, has raised the alarm over high rate of trafficking in persons in Nigeria, noting many Nigerians are trafficked daily in the country.
She rang the alarm bell in Abeokuta at the opening of a three day training programme for 74 teachers selected from Colleges of Education across the southwest, on the infusion of TIP issues into the Minimum Standards for Nigeria Certificate of Education
The training of trainers programme was organised by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) in collaboration with the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).
Obaji, who is also a Consultant to ICMPD, explained that issues of human trafficking in Nigeria had become a serious social menace which required drastic solution.
She, however, declared that the best way to curb the menace is through education, hence the need to train the teachers in partnership with NAPTIP.
Her words: “We’re here because of a very serious matter; trafficking in persons. It’s a global issue but unfortunately for us, Nigerians are also being trafficked and most of the people being trafficked, their organs are harvested and for the girls, they become sex objects to people that are not of their choice.
“Luckily for us in Nigeria, the International Centre For Migration Policy Development which is funded by the EU and have Nigerians working in this organisation felt worried about the issues of trafficking in persons. And they also felt that the best way to curb the menace is through education, so they worked with NAPTIP and the National Commission for Colleges of Education, to work out a methodology on how TIP issues will be integrated into the minimum standards of NCE”.
The Acting Director, Planning, Research and Statistics, NCCE, Mchviga Abelega, said the Commission had been collaborating with the ICMPD to mainstream teaching Trafficking in Persons issues into their minimum standard curriculum.
He disclosed that no fewer than 178 teachers from 21 federal, 48 state and the remaining from private colleges of education would eventually be trained throughout the country.
The Senior Project Manager, ICPMD West Africa Office, Mojisola Sodeinde, noted “this programme is our response to the request that we got from NAPTIP, to help develop a curriculum to use in our schools to raise awareness on human trafficking”.
THE SUN, NIGERIA