Journalists to raise awareness on human trafficking

A journalist, Theophilus Abbah, at a programme on migration reporting organised by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism in Lagos told over 20 journalists who attended the programme that they should ensure people have the right information and relevant knowledge to make informed choices.
Theophilus, who is the Programme Director of Daily Trust Foundation said, “it was after some media had described what they discovered in Libya as ‘slavery’ that the attention of the world was drawn to the new level of human trafficking and the horrific experiences of migrants seeking for greener pastures.”
Dr Abbah explained that there were many issues around migration which journalists need to unravel to ultimately lead to a reduction in the number of victims of human traffickers and xenophobic attacks.
He added that better treatment of migration would stimulate better policies and also pressurize stakeholders to play their roles effectively.
A sociologist, Dr Franca Attoh said migration was as old as the human race and cannot be wished away, but recommended good governance as a solution to problems associated with it.
Dr Attoh argued that if the needs of the people were met in their home country, migration would be minimized. A trend, ‘brain waste’ where highly skilled professionals and young intellectuals migrate; they are wasting away doing menial jobs instead of putting their skills into use, she lamented.
She said that this had brought more discontents to both the countries of origin and destination and lack of fulfilment on the part of the migrants.
The Associate Professor at the University of Lagos said the media should use graphics, cartoons, photographs, drama and documentaries to pass across messages on migration in addition to their reports, because the youths would prefer an entertaining material, to reading texts.
 
Source: radionigeria.gov.ng