NAN-H-108
Trafficking
Abuja, Sept, 29, 2016(NAN) The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, has called major stakeholders to work toward tackling increasing human trafficking in Sub-Sahara Africa.
The minister made the call when the Vice-Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Sen. Shehu Sani, paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja on Thursday.
He said it was time for the Nigerian Government and other relevant stakeholders to join the West in mapping out strategies toward finding solution to the problem.
Onyeama stressed the need to sensitise the youth, who often fell victim of traffickers, to avoid such exploitation which put their lives at risk.
“The British Prime Minister, Teresa May, raised the issue of modern day slavery and human trafficking at a meeting with President Muhammad Buhari and some other heads of government.
“The meeting held on the sideline of the UN General Assembly held in the U.S. recently.
“A number of the heads of state there talked about what they were doing in their countries to address the situation, including the legal frameworks put in place, enforcement and policy initiatives.
“Mr President spoke about the root causes of the issue, which are security, economy, education among others.
“ One thing was clear; they all acknowledged that it was really a modern day phenomenon.
‘’Everybody was challenged to come up with definitive ways of addressing the challenge,’’ he said.
The minister said it was about time Africans took control of their destiny, adding that there should be less emphasis on seeking solutions from the West.
He commended Sani for leading a fresh campaign aimed at sensitising the youth to be wary of traffickers, who were masters in the act of making fake promises of better opportunities in Europe.
Earlier, Sani expressed concern that many youths from Nigeria and other African countries had died in the course of illegally migrating to Europe for better opportunities.
He added that those who succeeded in getting to Europe were being enslaved by the traffickers or forced to join terrorist groups.
Sani, who said he had embarked on a campaign tagged, ‘The Pan-African Initiative against Illegal and Dangerous Migration’’, said he would stop at nothing to sensitise people to the risks involved.
“In the last few years, we have seen young people from our continent taking perilous journey through the Sahara Desert to the coastal states of Africa bothering the Mediterranean Sea.
“This is in an attempt to cross the sea to Europe, thereby putting their lives in danger and creating scenery in that part of the world.
“These are our young men and women who should be productive at home and useful to their country but they find themselves pursuing life that endangers their lives and that of their families.
“Human traffickers have taken the advantage of this, enticing young men and women who embark on such journeys.
“Such people pose a serious security challenge to the continent and their target continent,’’ he said.
He promised to engage relevant stakeholders from countries often used as transit routes by the migrants towards finding lasting solutions to the problem. (NAN)
CJM/JCE
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Edited by Chukwudi Ekezie