By Pwanagba Agabus, Jos
The Plateau State Gender and Equal Opportunities Commission has launched a Metro Bus Awareness Campaign in the Jos-Bukuru metropolis to sensitise residents on sexual and gender-based violence, human trafficking and other vices.
Chairperson of the Commission, Olivia Dazyam, while flagging off the exercise said, “this Commission is mandated to create awareness, and we thought that one way that we can meet the people of Plateau State is to be in the buses with them.”
She also appreciated governor Caleb Mutfwang for the idea behind the metro buses.
According to her, “It afforded us such an opportunity to meet the people of Plateau State and to share with them our responsibilities, and to call on the people to arise to their responsibilities.
Dazyam listed, “child protection”, as a key focus, noting that, “we are beginning to understand a lot of human rights violations of our children.
“Our children are being exposed to child labour, child abuse, human trafficking, withdrawing them from school and sending them to go and serve as house helps.
“Some of them end up being trafficked within and outside the country. Some that have been exposed to human trafficking have ended up as prostitutes, and so we thought that, you know, the kinds of cases we receive at Plateau State Gender and Equal Opportunities Commission.
“We shouldn’t keep quiet with them; we should come out, meet the people of Plateau State, and tell them that these are the things that are already happening”, she maintained.
She said the Commission, went to meet the general manager of the Plateau Express Services Limited, engaged with him.
“We told him that we would require to use the opportunity of the metro buses, so that we can share with the people of Plateau State. And I bet you, such a huge audience in the buses this morning, as we kick started.
“It will continue, we have an itinerary that will go virtually every other day in order to share with the people that we meet, in the buses what we encounter”, she explained.
