Our Alumni
AIG SCHOLARS IMPACT STORY
2020 AIG Scholar Murjanatu Audu-Kamaldeen is the Special Assistant to the Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), which is the national agency tasked with combating human trafficking and other similar human rights violations.
Murjanatu says that the opportunity to be an AIG Scholar and undertake the Masters of Public Policy (MPP) at the University of Oxford is one she would forever cherish and be grateful for.
“I have beautiful memories of meeting new people, learning about different cultures, appreciating novel perspectives and challenging the status-quo approach to dealing with issues.”
As an AIG Scholar, Murjanatu benefited from the special opportunities on offer to engage with Nigerian leaders in the Oxford University community. She says she had particularly fond memories of one to one AIG Scholars community meetings with mentors including Mrs. Enase Okonedo, Ifueko Okauru, HRH Sanusi Lamido, Arunmah Oteh, Professor Attahiru Jega and many more.
“We were able to have honest and insightful conversations about the state of our nation and options for the way forward. I personally consider the nuggets from these meetings invaluable..”
Although her experience in Oxford was mostly positive, Murjanatu was negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and had to spend a term studying remotely from Nigeria. The absence of an ideal study environment was difficult for her learning but with the assistance of fellow AIG Scholars and other Blavatnik School communities, she felt fully supported. She also benefited from the wisdom and experience of the AIG Scholars alumni community, who helped her to navigate choices and decisions that seemed initially complex.
Murjanatu says that the knowledge and skills she gained during the MPP have enabled her to positively influence decision making on pertinent issues that affect the general public.
“According to the Global Organised Crime Index for 2021, Nigeria ranked among the top ten criminal markets in the world for human trafficking, making it a source of threat to our human, national and international security. In NAPTIP, I am working to curb the scourge of human trafficking by seeing to the implementation of the policy framework and response to human trafficking as contained in NAPTIP's National Action Plan.”
She says one of her greatest achievements in her work was the facilitation of the Nigerian Federal Executive Council’s approval for NAPTIP's National Action Plan (2022 - 2026), which provides the national blueprint for coordination of anti-trafficking interventions in Nigeria and aligns the country’s strategic anti-trafficking actions with international standards.
Murjanatu is currently woking on the implementation and monitoring and evaluation framework for the NAPTIP Action Plan and on the ongoing revision of the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act (TIPPEA) 2015.