By Ibironke Ariyo

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has called on young Nigerians to take up the role of champions in promoting safe and legal migration within their communities.

Mrs Aisha Braimah, UNODC National Project Officer, made the call at a workshop in Abuja on Wednesday during the screening of an infomercial on migrant smuggling.

Braimah said the initiative was under the project “Strengthening Evidence-Based Response to Combat Smuggling of Migrants in Nigeria (Phase II),”

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the project was being implemented in partnership with the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), iLEAD Africa, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and WOTCLEF.

Braimah said that the purpose of the infomercial was to translate the findings of UNODC’s reports on smuggling of migrants, which revealed that young people were disproportionately vulnerable to exploitation by both smugglers and traffickers.

“It is very important that with every sensitisation that we do, we are making sure that we speak to the young people, being the most vulnerable groups.

Braimah explained that the documentary was developed to bridge the gap in knowledge, using real stories, data and visual storytelling to raise awareness on the risks, while also promoting safe and equal migration information.

According to her, the goal is not necessarily for you to leave or stay, but to ensure that if you do choose to leave, it is safe and legal.

She, however, emphasised that the day’s screening was not about awareness raising alone, but also about empowerment.

She said “through the video that will be screened for you and the responses to your questions on the phenomenon of smuggling of migrants and migration pathways, you will be positioned as champions within your own communities.

Braimah said that youth corps members who belong to the Community Development Service (CDS) group, and other participants were best positioned to step down sensitisation efforts within their communities.

She urged participants to reflect deeply on the video and subsequent presentations during the session, in order to play active roles in championing safe migration practices across Nigeria.

“By equipping you with knowledge, advocacy tools and civic responsibility, we aim to strengthen prevention efforts at both grassroots and national levels, and with your help, we hope you can spread the message more widely,”she said.

In her goodwill message, Executive Director of WOTCLEF, Mrs Imaobong Ladipo-Sanusi, stressed that empowering young people with prevention tools against migrant smuggling was key to tackling the menace.

Ladipo-Sanusi said that empowerment and prevention mechanisms, especially through the infomercial, would help young people to make informed decisions on migration.

She said that smuggling of migrants was closely tied to human trafficking, describing the phenomenon as “a benefit for the smugglers and a crime to the state.”

She, however, expressed confidence that the message from the infomercial would help participants to carry the sensitisation far and wide.

“We want the youth to run with this message. They are the speed rangers who will take it across communities. If you want to migrate or ‘japa’, you must do so through safe, orderly and regular pathways,” she said.

She thanked UNODC and partners for convening the session and urged participants to be ambassadors of safe migration in their respective communities.

Participants at the workshop and screening of the infomercial on Migrants smuggling were youth corps members, representatives from iLEAD Africa, UNODC, NIS, OHCHR among others.(NAN)

Edited by Sadiya Hamza