BROADCAST MEDIA IN THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST CHILD LABOUR AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING
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BROADCAST MEDIA IN THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST CHILD LABOUR AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
1.2 Background of the Study
Human trafficking, particularly of children, and child labour are examples of severe departures from the concept of a kid’s societal upbringing. The severe exploitation, abuse, and deprivation meted out to these children as a result of human trafficking and forced labour conditions have proven detrimental to their and, by extension, societal development. Continued abuse and exploitation of children would gravely weaken their developing potential, jeopardising the nation’s future.
Nigeria, like most other countries throughout the world, is dealing with a slew of societal issues and crimes. The rate of violent crimes against human beings in Nigeria is disturbing, particularly in this digital age.
Child labour and human trafficking are two of the most horrific crimes against humanity (Abubakar, 2001). Child labour and human trafficking are pervasive in most riverine communities, particularly in Nigeria’s South-South Geopolitical Zone.
This awful deed, however, is not unsurmountable. The employment of broadcast media and a legislative body established particularly for this purpose is one method of combating child labour and human trafficking (Abubakar, 2001).
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and Other Related Matters (NAPTIP) is Nigeria’s public body in charge of combating human trafficking and child abuse.
According to Adebayo (2001, p.67), the majority of children’s needs are those that support their growth and development from infancy to adulthood.
At this time of a child’s development, the most significant concern is the provision of amenities and an enabling socio-cultural environment conducive to the long-term improvement of the child’s mental, physical, and social health, as well as that of society.
The seed of reproduction that Almighty God placed within man secures the survival of the human species throughout history and will endure until the end of time.
This aspect of man’s humanism towards young people dates back thousands of years. Crime has increased dramatically over the last twelve years as people have been misled or coerced into servitude for economic reasons as a result of dissemination.
This act is committed both inside and externally; Nigeria is one of the destinations for human trafficking as the “crime of harming a child physically, sexually, and emotionally” (Maduewesin, 2002). Uchem (2008, p.3) contends that there are no data records of how the media has covered this issue.
Recent research have indicated that human trafficking, primarily for housekeeping services, is a global phenomenon. Also, Lutz (2002, p.24) confirms that house help in various locations were primarily young, unmarried girls aged 14 and up.
Child trafficking in Nigeria has thrived despite constitutional provisions outlawing slavery and forced labour in section 34
(1) of the 1999 constitution, which stated that every individual is entitled to respect for his or her dignity, and that no person shall be subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment;
(b) no person shall be held in slavery or servitude; and
(c) no person shall be required to perform forced or compulsory labour. Sections 223-225 of the criminal code, which apply throughout southern Nigeria, call for sanctions against anybody who engages in prostitution or supports the transportation of human beings within or outside of Nigeria for commercial purposes.
Similarly, articles 278-280 of the penal code, which apply throughout the northern states, prohibit and punish the purchasing and selling of children for immoral purposes, the purchase or disposal of slaves, and unlawful compulsory labour.
In 1998, the Constitutional Rights Project raised the alarm about what they dubbed child trafficking and slavery in Nigeria. According to Adebayo (2001, p.188), it is unfortunate that poverty and selfishness in many homes have corrupted the African culture of fostering, as it has been criminally exploited by traffickers to subject innocent school-aged children to forced labour in homes, factories, plantations, offices, and streets.
According to Nkwocha (2009, p.143), the press employs mass media, which are channels used by professional communicators to disseminate messages widely, quickly, and continuously in order to alert traffickers to the dangers of trafficking vulnerable people, particularly children; and they are channels through which mass, but diverse populations are reached at once.
The broadcast media, particularly television and radio, are effective tools for opinion formation, agenda setting, public debate, integration, and so on.
According to Okunna (2002, p. 273), it generates a lot of power. It has the role of preparing its audience for social change. Thus, the broadcast media is becoming increasingly important in explaining, interpreting, and commenting on societal events.
Nonetheless, the broadcast media’s role in raising awareness about human trafficking and child labour by producing dramatised programming, as well as significant reporting on human trafficking and child maltreatment through films, dramas, and broadcast media programs, is a commendable endeavour.
The broadcast media effort will focus on facts that few people have firsthand experience with, as well as uncovering events related to this plague. As a result, it is considered that the Nigerian media can effect social change in Nigeria by launching a campaign to combat human trafficking and child labour.
1.2 Statement of Problem
I defy every rational Nigerian to understand why such an act as human trafficking, which is similar to slavery, should continue after more than 200 years since slavery was abolished all over the world.
Unfortunately, Nigeria has been indicted as a transit place, despite efforts by the media, government, and non-governmental organisations to find a long-term solution to the problem.
The exploitative and slave-like conditions inflicted on children under the age of seventeen are more accurately regarded as cruelty to Nigerian society. This indecent and wicked act should not be pursued. Every year, thousands of youngsters are purportedly transported across borders and sold as simply commodities.
As a result of this heinous trend, their existence and growth are constantly threatened, and their right to life is jeopardised. However, because children are untapped resources in every society, the pervasive neglect, abuse, and torture meted out on them in the form of trafficking necessitates an empirical investigation.
The question that this study addresses is: What role does the broadcast media play in campaigning against child labour and human trafficking in Nigeria?.
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