George-Okoli Francisco Chidi

George-Okoli Francisco Chidi

  • Director of Programs
  • West African Action Network on Small Arms (WAANSA) Nigeria

George-Okoli Francisco Chidi is the Director of Programs at the West African Action Network on Small Arms (WAANSA) Nigeria and the CEO of Tinted M & T Concepts, a media, ICT, and travel consulting firm based in Abuja, Nigeria. He serves as the chief editor of ‘Lugbe Echo Magazine’, which focuses on youth, security, and sustainable development for the Federal Housing Authority Lugbe Youth Association. Before becoming the Director of Programs for WAANSA Nigeria, George-Okoli held positions as President of the Federal Housing Authority Lugbe Youth Association and Organizing Secretary of the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) Lugbe Divisional Headquarters Abuja.
In 2024, he presented the paper “Combating the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) in Nigeria” at the Fourth Review Conference of the United Nations Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons in New York.
He holds a degree in Agricultural & Bioresources Engineering and an Afrihub Universal UMIT Certificate from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Sessions

  • Trends in Irregular and Mass Migration and THB

    According to UNHCR figures by May 2024, more than 120 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide as a result of persecution, conflict, violence or human rights violations. This includes 43.4 million refugees, 63.3 million internally displaced people, 6.9 million asylum seekers and 5.8 million people in need of international protection.
    But it is not just conflict and persecution that drives migration. Economic and educational opportunities are also major drivers and, in the years to come, climate change will play an increasing role in setting people on the move. Human traffickers exploit these people at their most vulnerable to extort money and drive migrants into slave labour and the sex trade.
    Whether it is conflicts, natural disasters or economics, the flow of migrants from poor southern countries to rich northern ones is probably only going to increase.
    So, what are current trends in migration and what further can be done to tackle those bad actors that are ready to exploit these people when they are at their most vulnerable.

  • Challenges and Strategies in Securing Nigeria's Borders Against Drug & Human Trafficking