Our plan to rescue underage girls from hotels – Ojokoro LCDA

The Ojokoro Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Ijaiye-Ojokoro has revealed its plan to rescue underage girls from doing prostitution and menial jobs in hotels. 
The Department of Education head in the LCDA, Mrs. Abimbola Whenayon, disclosed to Eko Trust that officers of the department would begin the rescue and rehabilitation exercise in April, noting that many underage girls had been lured into menial jobs in hotels, as sex workers and nude dancers after they were brought to Lagos by their relatives in search of greener pastures.
After their rescue from the hotels, Whenayon explained, such girls would be reunited with their parents and subsequently enrolled in schools to become better citizens.
She said: “Many young girls have been brought to Lagos by their close relatives after they succeeded in deceiving them back in the villages, only for the girls to end up in hotels. When I was working in Surulere Local Government, we rescued such underage girls.
“They were rehabilitated and enrolled in schools. Now, here at Ojokoro LCDA, we would repeat such rescue mission, hopefully from April, after the holiday. We would go into it fully to rescue the girls who are being exploited. We will get a place for them, rehabilitate them, send them to school and even seek partnership with private organisations to train those who are not interested in going to school. We will train them in vocational skills that will make them become responsible citizens instead of becoming sex workers or bar girls. After a while, we will link up with their parents or family anywhere in the country so that we can reunite them.”
Whenayon also reiterated the LCDA’s commitment to educate illiterate adults in the area through the Adult Literacy Programme. She said this was in line with the directive of the federal government.
“About 80 adult students are currently receiving classes in 25 different centres within the LCDA. We teach market men and women, commercial bus drivers, meat sellers, pepper sellers and bus conductors on how to read and write. The turnout is good as many of them did not know how to spell their names or calculate their money. Through the adult education classes, many of them can now do basic calculations,” she said.