“Racy. Pulsating. That is how I can describe this book. It held me spellbound as I read it, and I could barely drop it to do other things till I got to the last page. I kept telling myself; that Juliana has gone haywire with her pen.”
These are the words Former Special Adviser to former President Buhari on Media and publicity Femi Adesina had to say about Juliana Francis’s book, ‘We Are Priceless,’ during its launch on Thursday, August 31, 2023, in Lagos.
Francis’s book exposes the vulnerability of children who continue to be sacrificed for the pursuit of unbridled wealth by selfish adults who should protect them.
The award-winning Crime Reporter explained that combating human trafficking involves educating and empowering the youth to stand against it. She views her book as a powerful campaign tool to raise awareness about human trafficking and calls on Nigerians to unite against this menace.
Speaking further, Adesina stated, “This is a great advocacy book in the war against child trafficking and some other anti-social acts in the country”.
He however recommended that the book be adopted as resource material by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and other relevant security agencies. “And if it ends up in the school curriculum as a recommended text for secondary schools, it would also be a great idea,” Adesina said in his review.
Former Inspector General of Police and Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Dr. Solomon Arase, praised the book’s focus on tackling issues related to crime and criminality, particularly child abuse and child trafficking.
“I feel very happy that we’re beginning to put topical issues on the table that have to do with crime and criminality. Although this has been something that has been affecting the image of the country and a lot of people have lost their lives dealing with these issues of child abuse, taking them out of their habitats and all that.”
He emphasised the importance of educating young students about the dangers of neglecting their siblings and advocated for the inclusion of the book in primary and secondary school curricula.
“So I’m excited about this and I’m going to appeal to everybody to see how we can put these books in all the primary and secondary schools so that they will start learning to know the danger of not taking care of their siblings”, Arase said.
Director of Research and Programme Development at the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and Other Related Matters (NAPTIP), Dr Godwin Morka, underscored the gravity of human trafficking as a crime against humanity.
He commended Francis for her work in shedding light on this heinous issue and stressed the need for everyone to be vigilant and protect themselves against such crimes.
Veteran journalist and Mentor, Bimbo Oloyede praised the book as a timely and valuable addition to literature, particularly in addressing the specialised subject of human trafficking. She acknowledged the unique contribution of Juliana’s novel in raising awareness and educating the public about this pressing issue.
“It’s a timely and useful addition to literature. Especially literature that is specialised in a subject as this one. I’m aware that NAPTIP has published pamphlets but a novel like this I haven’t seen so I applaud Juliana for this great work,” she said.
Francis, a media consultant, CEO of Youthlens Initiative Development, and publisher of Youthlens.com, has made significant contributions to journalism. A graduate in Literature-In-English from the University of Ilorin, her career began in 2002 at The Sun newspaper.
Her commitment to exposing crimes against humanity, especially those involving young girls, has earned her recognition, including the prestigious Wole Soyinka Prize for Investigative Reporting. As an alumna of the 2017 ReportWomen Female Reporters Leadership Programme, she also mentors aspiring journalists, breaking barriers for female journalists in Nigeria.
