NAPTIP BOSS CALLS FOR SPEEDY APPROVAL OF INFUSED TIP CURRICULA

Julie Okah-Donli

The Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking In persons (NAPTIP), Julie Okah-Donli has called for the speedy approval of the Trafficking In Persons infused curricula for Basic and Senior Secondary Schools in Nigeria.

She said that a speedy approval by the National Council on Education (NCE) will go a long way in addressing issues of prevention of the crime from an early age.

 The Director-General made the call today during a strategic meeting with the management of the Nigeria Educational Research Development Council (NERDC). The meeting was also part of her familiarization visit to the Agency’s partners and stakeholders. The Agency and NERDC have worked together in the infusion of trafficking in persons issues into the curricula of primary and secondary schools in Nigeria.

During the meeting, the NAPTIP boss expressed her deep appreciation to the Council for their collaborative efforts with NAPTIP towards mainstreaming Human Trafficking issues into the school curricula which she stressed will go a long way in preventing the crime of human trafficking.

She opined that any delay in the approval of the new infused curricula may become a clog in the wheel of her plan to tackle human trafficking from the root through the schools across the country.

She however, assured to take all necessary steps to put in place all necessary requirements for a proper implementation of the new curricula.

The Director-General also drew the attention of the NERDC team to the ugly trend of human trafficking for the purpose of organ harvesting, and indicated that some of the cases alleged to be ritual killings are murder for the purpose of organ harvesting. She urged the Council to join hands with NAPTIP to create further awareness on the scourge of human trafficking in Nigeria.

She also used the opportunity to enlighten them on human trafficking for exploitative labour, whereby the salary or wages of an employer is paid to a third party who acts as an agent to the employee. She enjoined all employers of labour to pay the employees directly, and not through any other person or agent.

In his response, the Executive Secretary of NERDC, Prof. Ismail Junaidu reiterated his Council’s commitment to seeing the project to a fruitful conclusion. He expressed optimism that the infused curricula will be approved soon and circulated to the schools for onward implementation. He however, pointed out a few outstanding issues to be sorted out before the approval.

The NERDC boss lamented that lack of funding has actually hindered the speedy conclusion of the project, but expressed the hope that the implementers of the project: the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), with funding from the European Union and ECOWAS Commission, would come to the rescue again and assist where necessary to see that the pending components of the project is carried out effectively.

Prof. Junaidu further decried the ugly trends in human trafficking for sexual and labour exploitation, and called on the Federal Government to fully empower and support institutions like NAPTIP to enable them carry out their duties effectively.

She further stressed that prevention remains key to the fight against human trafficking in Nigeria and that the ‘’Catch them young’’ principle of the Agency was worth supporting by all public spirited individuals and corporate bodies.