Blue Bus: Everything you need to know about this anti-human-trafficking campaign

The Blue Bus is traveling around Nigeria, enlightening people on the dangers irregular migration and the sensitizing them about the real threat of human trafficking that lies all around us.

Tell me more about this Blue Bus

The “Blue Bus” project is funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) as part of the unending efforts to prevent trafficking in Persons in Nigeria. This traveling awareness-raising exposition aims to contribute to the fight against human trafficking in Nigeria through the use of an awareness-raising bus which is to tour parts of Nigeria, driving home the message of how negatively our societies and communities are affected by trafficking in person.

The project was conceived based on NAPTIP’s visits to Switzerland where they took interest in the Swiss-funded IOM project.

What more do you need to know about the project?

The project is currently in phase 2 which is focused on community-based sensitization. Phase 1 was implemented in 2019/2020 and was focused on purchasing, equipping and refurbishing of the bus to be fit into an exposition bus.

The Blue Bus is a one-stop shop where vulnerable migrants, including community members, can get information on risks associated with trafficking in persons, where to report cases to, and get on-the-spot counselling services.

Additionally, the campaign uses sunglasses as a symbol of the key message, “Shine your Eyes” which is a Nigerian pidgin phrase, meaning open your eyes, or be aware. It alludes to the fact that community members should always be on the look-out for signs or potential signs of human trafficking.

What are the locations the Blue Bus will visit?

The campaign targets three states in Nigeria namely Edo, Delta and Lagos State. The main reason for prioritizing these states is the prevalence of cases in those regions. For example, the majority of 21000+ migrants being returned by IOM in collaboration with the Federal Government of Nigeria from April 2017 come from these locations.

However, the plan is that with subsequent funding and resources, IOM and NAPTIP can expand to other States in Nigeria.

What modes of execution/activation will be used in the campaign?

The activation of the Blue Bus campaign will be uniform in all the three states. This involves community outreach and advocacy where NAPTIP officials pay advocacy visits to respective community leaders and institutional heads on where the sensitization will hold.

Thereafter, the Blue Bus sensitization commences in the respective community/location. The essence of the advocacy is to help with crowd mobilization; thus ensuring that the campaign reaches out to more of its target audience. Additionally, community advocacy is instrumental in ensuring that the campaign is owned by the respective communities where the exposition will be conducted.

The Blue Bus project is funded by the Government of Switzerland.

Follow Blue Bus on Facebook: Blue bus Facebook

On Instagram: BluebusbyNAPTIP Instagram

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