In a bid to check the increasing rate of child theft and trafficking, the National Orientation Agency (NOA) in partnership with the Children Re-Orientation, Peace and Development Initiative is to embark on a state-wide campaign to curb the menace in Akwa Ibom State.
The Akwa Ibom State director of the Agency, Mr Mkpoutom Mkpoutom made this known when he received the coordinator of Children Re-Orientation, Peace and Development Initiative Evangelist Ekemini Robert Udoh in his office in Uyo, the state capital.
Mkpoutom noted that the challenge of eradicating child theft, human trafficking and other social vices in the society cannot be tackled in isolation.
According to him, It requires a concerted effort of both the state and non state actors adding that this “will create a comprehensive platform that not only addresses the symptoms of child theft, human trafficking and other related vices but also tackles their root causes with reference to the alarming statistics on human trafficking.”
Quoting statistics from the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) he disclosed that an average of 250,000) children are being trafficked from Akwa Ibom annually.
The Director who lamented the recent trend of signing out graduation practice among students in institutions of higher learning, said it had become prevalent and unacceptable and urged parents to join in the campaign to kick against the practice.
He explained that while the practice might initially seem harmless, ‘it harbors significant negative implications for both individuals and society at large,”; adding that “it is against our culture of decency, projecting our country’s image in bad light abroad as well as having negative implications on the family’s economy.’
He blamed parents who were in the habit of ignoring the safety of their children at home and during school sessions and advised parents to partner with teachers and the government in the fight against children trafficking in the state.
The State Director urged NOA officers in the 31 Local Government Areas to include child trafficking in the ongoing sensitation against bad behaviour in the society.
