The Nation Newspaper

Tag: slavery

  • For the abolition of our predatory legislature: let the campaign start now, before the next cycle of elections

    By a very curious accident of history, slavery in the United States and serfdom in Russia were both abolished around the same time – the early to mid-1860s. However, in spite of this uncanny chronological closeness of the two events, there is no direct correlation between them. Except of course that there is a sort of indirect but indisputable correlation between the two world-historical events in the fact that from the mid-eighteenth century in Europe and the Americas, the so-called Age of Enlightenment had started circulating ideas leading to the eradication of slavery and serfdom, ideas like the inhumanity of slavery and serfdom and the innate dignity and freedom of every woman, man and child. But what does this have to do with the subject of this piece, a call for the abolition of our predatory legislature?

    The answer to this question is unambiguous: slavery and serfdom were legalized systems of predation; before they could eventually be abolished, ideas for their abolition had to have circulated widely. I am suggesting that the same thing, the same process will ultimately have to be applied to our predatory legislature: as a legal and institutional form of predation, we will need the wide and relentless circulation of ideas for its abolition. Are such ideas already in circulation? If they are already in circulation, which politicians, writers, thinkers and visionaries have expressed such ideas? If, on the contrary, they are not (yet) in circulation, how can we make sure that they do get into circulation on a scale appropriate to their need and urgency? These are the questions that I wish to address, in a provisional form, in this piece. For this reason, compatriots, please be prepared to  encounter some unusual reflections and observations in this piece.

    The first unusual observation I propose is this: the very idea of comparing such extraordinary, world-historical events as the abolition of slavery in the Americas and serfdom in Russia to the abolition of our predatory legislature. Yes, the salaries and remuneration packages of our legislators have been roundly and universally condemned at home and abroad as being extremely and unjustly big for a poor, developing country. And yes, what our legislators get as salaries and allowances have been denounced as the largest in the world and in the history of modern parliaments. But as far as I am aware, nobody has ever denounced our legislators’ pay packets as a legalized and institutionalized form and practice of predation and exploitation – like slavery and serfdom. But what else is our predatory legislature if not a modern-day form of slavery or serfdom when the great majority of Nigerians live below the poverty line and most of those who have work or employment of one kind another earn wages and salaries that are a tiny, tiny fraction of the humungous salaries and emoluments of our legislators?

    The second unusual observation that I wish to propose in this piece is, hopefully, simple and uncomplicated. It is this: slavery and serfdom were legalized forms of predation that were not abstractions but policies and practices of exploitation that produced  suffering and immiseration for a vast number of human beings; without such indices as skin color or racial and caste identity as slavery and serfdom did, modern forms of super-predation like our predatory legislature have also produced and are still producing human suffering and alienation of great proportions, sometimes equal – in kind and scale – to those produced by slavery and serfdom. If, compatriots, you think that this is an exaggeration, please go through UNESCO and WHO data and statistics of human trafficking, sexual slavery and the trade in human organs in our own present era. Indeed, when last did you see the dozens, the thousands of youths in our cities and towns hawking wares that fetch them worse than starvation wages? Has this commonplace sight encountered on a daily, perennial basis ever brought into your minds the great absurdity, decadence and injustice of Senators of the Nigerian Republic who earn N29 million naira a month?

    The third and final unusual observation that I wish to propose in this discussion is slightly more complicated than the other two propositions that I have already discussed. For this reason, we need to be a bit more careful in elaborating it. At the heart of the proposition is the idea that only to the extent that we see our predatory legislature as the foundation and the center of gravity of the much vaster order of predation, exploitation and organized thievery that is our unique Nigerian Republic, only to that extent can we be enabled to see the need for the abolition of the kind of legislature that we currently have. Because this is such a crucial point in this discussion, I shall deal with it only summarily here and return to it in next week’s column for a much fuller exploration.

    So, for now, think of this unusual observation in the image of the network of the many parts, the many tentacles of that fascinating organism, the Hydra. It has a center, a nodal point that connects and directs all the parts, all the tentacles, but only in the most indirect and even separate and distinct manner imaginable. That core, that center of gravity of the Hydra is akin to how our predatory legislature relates to the entirety of our barawo “democracy” or republic. In next week’s continuation of the series, I shall give a fuller account of this proposition. For now, the following preliminary explanation should suffice for the present discussion: in the recent general elections, all the violence, all the thuggery, all the slayings, all the mayhem, all the vote-buying, all the ballot-box snatching and the open and flagrant violations of laws imposing spending limits on campaigns, all come out of the center of gravity provided by our predatory legislative order. Compatriots, we must abolish this legislative order or form of “democracy” or it will, in the end, finish us. But we hardly ever hear anyone calling for its abolition.

    It is precisely because this has neither been done nor is about to be done that we seem to be caught on the horns of the following dilemma: in order to end this outrageous practice, the National Assembly would have to pass legislation to that effect; but the National Assembly has shown clearly that it would never pass such a legislation. Indeed, on quite a number of occasions, our legislature has indicated quite clearly that it would discipline and isolate any legislators that dare to propose such a law. But this seems to be a dilemma only because we fail to start with a proposition for the abolition of our predatory legislature itself. As this is the bottom line of this discussion, permit me to now directly address it.

    Ostensibly, the main reason why even its most determined and articulate critics refrain from calling for the abolition of our predatory legislature lies in the fact that they equate such a call to a coup, a return to the rule of military dictatorships in our country. But this is false; it is disingenuous; and it is duplicitous. Why so? Well, the abolition of a predatory legislature is not the same thing as the abolition of the legislative order or system itself; in the first instance, it is the replacement of one form or mode or legislature by another. This is a widespread and commonplace phenomenon in the history of modern legislatures in nearly all the regions of the world, this phenomenon in which more patriotic, egalitarian and humanistic legislative orders replace the more decadent, predatory and retrogressive ones. Like all the legislatures we have had since the return to civilian “democracy” in 1999, from the 1st to the outgoing 8th National Assembly. This means in effect that we are not caught helplessly between a rock and a hard place or between a choice of two evils – military rule or a predatory legislature. We can move from one form of legislative order to another – and without the help of a coup, thank you very much!

    We can and must now pose the challenge that we face as one between the predatory legislature that we have now or a legislature that we should demand and fight for that, once and for all, ends the system of predation that permeates our entire socio-political order at the present time. This is all the more necessary because, as I have insisted, our predatory legislature is the foundation, the heart and soul, the center of gravity of the extreme predatoriness of our republic. But how do we bring this about? How do we abolish this predatory legislature without a coup, without abolishing the legislative institution itself? To put the question more bluntly, how do we make the legislature end pay packages that are the center of predation, exploitation and maldevelopment of our “democracy” when we already know that, by itself, our legislature will never pass laws to end the unjust humungous salaries and allowances?

    The answer to that question is, counterintuitively, quite simple and it is this: we must place the project of abolishing this predatory legislature at the center of all our progressive, transformative politics. That is all we need to do. Is it really that simple? Yes, it is, as incredible as this may sound because we have never asked for the abolition of this mode or form of the legislative process. All the time, compatriots, we have been terrified by the blackmail that if the legislature goes, the military – which is always and forever hovering in the background, biding its time and waiting to step in – will come back. We have been appealing to the legislators themselves to do the right thing. Or we have been trying to shame them to do the right thing – all to no avail. It is now time to put an end to this approach or strategy and adopt another one that states clearly and boldly that the present legislative order can and must be abolished without a coup, without relying on the military to do what is necessary.

    And indeed, when we think deeply and seriously about the matter, compatriots, is it not very strange that no political parties have ever placed an end to the absurd pay packages of our legislators at the center of their campaign manifestoes, let alone ask for the abolition of predation and exploitation as the raison d’etre of our current legislative order? The closest that any opposition political party has come to such a demand was when, in one of the televised presidential debates, Omoyele Sowore of the AAC was asked by the mediator what his party would do to deal with this seemingly insoluble challenge of how to end our legislators’ humungous pay packages without a coup. What did Sowore say in response to that question from the mediator? He said that his party, together with the Nigerian people, would bring it about, with or without the legislators themselves.

    Please note, compatriots, that the issue came up in that televised presidential debate as one of the incidental issues of the one-hour broadcast; it was, moreover, an issue that came at the tail end of the program. Thus, it was not one of the central issues considered important enough to place at the center of the debate, this vital project of the abolition of the legislative predation that is at the heart of our barawo “democracy”. But even so, Sowore gave the best possible response to the question in the given circumstance. We will do what needs to be done, what is crying to be done with or without our legislators’ involvement, he said.

    I wish to end this discussion on the ambiguous implication of that response. As difficult as it is to imagine, reform, deep reform, is still possible from within the legislature itself. It is not unknown in the history of modern legislatures for reform of the legislative order to come from a corrupt, morally bankrupt and institutionally decadent legislature itself. Only, first of all, the call for reform, the project of transforming the legislative order must come from outside the legislature itself; it must come from the people themselves. With or without the legislators – this will be our starting point in next week’s concluding piece in the series.

    • Biodun Jeyifo

          bjeyifo@fas.harvard.edu  

     

  • Slavery is still the disease

    Today, complaint is still often made of what we call the failure of the Nigerian dream. We lament how monstrously, forces of society accomplish and fail to fulfil their work. We lament how the ruling class functions in profligacy and chaos. Nigeria laments the insensibility of the ruling class.

    But today, as usual, we fail to look inwards. Perhaps because we fear we would find in you and I, the summary of all other failures and disorganisation. A sort of heart, from which every kind of confusion and horror gravitates in our fatherland.

    Complaint was often made that our problems persist because we refused to convene a Sovereign National Conference (SNC). There is the argument that our problems worsen because President Buhari refuses to implement the recommendations of his predecessor’s shady SNC. Perhaps there is depth and a semblance of truth in such frivolous mindset even as it becomes more glaring that a trillion SNCs will not save Nigeria.

    This is because any consensus or ‘practicable solution’ proffered at the conference would be the result of self-serving efforts of generations of shady characters comprising ex-convicts, hired assassins, treasury looters, armed robbers, advance fee fraudsters, decadent clerics and bloodthirsty political godfathers to mention a few. What manner of humaneness could result from a gathering of such characters?

    There is a tragedy inherent in our customary lamentation every time our conscience is roused with a damning incident or report. Racist politicians and activists tirelessly suggest that we go our separate ways. They tout secession as the only solution to the country’s league of extraordinary problems.

    Secession is the anthem that we should shun. It is the fruit of ‘reason’ that we need to be wary of and I will continue to say this hoping every prospective muscle – the youth – by which the separatists hope to achieve their dreams of dissolution, would listen and let the secessionists risk their hides and children to actualize their platitudes.

    The biggest misconception about ‘secession,’ ‘insurgence,’ ‘self-determination ‘or whatever the separatists choose to call it, is that it could be peaceful and that the end result would be a conscientious and citizenry-centred dispensation.

    It’s all dirty, greedy politics. The separatists want the youth to fly the flags of their dream nations. They want everybody to brandish a bumper sticker that bellows: “Death to the Federal Republic of Nigeria!” They call anyone that’s anti-war and anti-secession: “pacifist,” “traitor” or whatever colourful adjective suits their rage.

    Then they promise the youth a prosperous future and better fate in their dream nation. Astonishingly, youth that ought to know better, buy into their  farce and they begin to dream and talk of the great uprising that would set them free from the living hell Nigeria has become.

    This disillusioned youth engages in bootless pursuits at the end of which he accomplishes too little or nothing. He probably accomplishes some individualized goal – satisfaction of a sentiment or material gain – which to him is everything; but for Nigeria, he accomplishes comparatively nothing.

    Eventually, he morphs into the disgruntled man on the street stereotype; who suddenly realises in his twilight, that he had squandered God’s greatest gifts to him: intellect and talent. Then the smokescreen of youth and hastily prized platitudes begin to peter out and he realises that his miraculous talisman is a paltry plated coin – less suitable for social transaction than a contemptible kobo.

    There is fundamental evil in our souls hence the vileness of our norms and culture. What evils should we set out to abolish in our modern society? To this, I bet very many well-meaning people would answer poverty.

    But poverty is merely a symptom, slavery is the disease. The extremes of riches and destitution follow inevitably upon the extremes of leadership and bondage. We are not enslaved because we are poor; we are poor because we are enslaved.

    Every attempt to conceive imaginatively, a better ordering of Nigerian society is by no means modern; it is at least as old as Plato, whose “Republic” set the model for the Utopias of subsequent philosophers and self-styled revolutionaries.

    The secessionists contemplate a new world in the light of an ideal. They claim to feel a great sorrow by the evils that characterise Nigeria, and they claim to be driven by an urgent desire to lead their ethnic groups or race to the realisation of the collective good. It is this desire which has been the primary force moving the pioneers of anarchism and horrid tyrannies – as it moved the creators of ideal commonwealths in the past.

    In contemporary Nigeria, it is incense for suspicious revolutionaries claiming to fight for the interests of Nigeria’s ethnic divides. This has enabled cynical and anarchist political movements to grow out of the frustrations and hopes of Nigeria’s youth.

    The process of re-sensitising the youth away from the establishment of chaos and genocide advocated by the secessionists will be greatly accelerated by the abolition of the current political order. However, this can only be achieved by the nation’s youth – who are unfortunately enthralled by the platitudes and desperate politics of Nigeria’s ruling class.

    It is no doubt the stock in trade of the latter to refer to violent uprisings across the world as worthy indicators of Nigeria’s need to follow suit.

    Whenever they dazzle with such informed commentary, tell them to lead the struggle with their wives, children and closest relatives.

    Many activists, youth leaders and self-acclaimed political heroes today have their wives and children tucked away in secure schools and neighbourhoods abroad even as they goad impoverished, clueless youth back home to untimely doom.

    If it is true that there is appreciable number of Nigerian youth capable of powering revolts for ethnic self-determination, the end of which is dissolution of Nigeria, why can’t the same youth power the social regeneration and reclamation of the Nigerian State from the clutches of the predatory ruling class, ethnic bigots and dissolution activists?

    The current political dispensation and acute racial bigotry must eventually yield to the influences of education and culture, if the youth could aspire to progressive ideals. But such transformation calls for remarkable wisdom and tolerance.

  • Stakeholders condemn trafficking, slavery

    Concerned about the prevalent trafficking in persons and migration of Nigerian youths to foreign lands, the Vicar-General of the Lagos Catholic Archdiocese, Monsignor John Aniagu has said government should step up action to bring perpetrators to justice.

    Aniagu, who spoke during the Feast of St. Josephine Bakhita in Lagos, praised the government for establishing the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), even as he blamed other government agencies such as the Nigeria Customs Service and the Immigration for not doing enough to protect the citizens.

    He observed that many youths have left the country for foreign lands because the country has become unliveable.

    Monsignor Aniagu noted that debilitating poverty has contributed immensely to the high level of criminality arising from the hardship in the land. Lack of jobs, he added, is one of the factors stimulating criminal tendencies in our youths. If our young people are gainfully employed, they will not indulge in these criminal activities.

    Human trafficking and slavery dehumanises and also reduces the dignity of Nigeria.

    He maintained that the government knows what to do to stop the inhuman treatment meted to helpless Nigerians in foreign lands, adding that it has made the country become a laughing stock in the comity of nations. According to him, some of the deals are allegedly carried out in collaboration with government officials.

    He said: “The government should do something about that, all the agencies of government should be alive to their responsibilities in order to tame the wave of illegal migration.”

    He also observed that poverty had contributed to the youth taking to criminal acts. He said: “It is sad that a young graduate will finish university education and will roam the streets for many years without any job in sight. Such a person will be easy to be lured into criminal activities. We may not be able to curb unemployment totally, but the level should be drastically reduced.”

    He further said that the government should evolve policies and programmes that will make the country liveable so that Nigerians would not see the need to leave the country in droves.

    The Monsignor, who spoke on the theme “Migration Without Human Trafficking: Say Yes to Freedom no to Slavery” urged Nigerians to join hands in curbing human trafficking which he described as evil, even as he urged parents to bring up their children in Godly way.

    The Catholic Church celebrated the Feast of St. Josephine Bakhita all over the world, Aniagu explained that St. Josephine was a Sudanese woman who was captured and sold into slavery in the early 20th Century. She was, however, fortunate to have been taken to Italy by her ‘owners’, where she regained her freedom.

    She went on to become a Catholic Nun and a Saint. She was subsequently named the patroness of trafficked persons, as well as those who work to end human trafficking. Her feast, the cleric stated, was also designated the International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking.

    Aniagu said freedom of movement was a fundamental human right, adding that people should be free to migrate, provided they did so within the ambit of the law.

    It is also unjustifiable to lure people away from their homes with false promises of employment abroad only for them to end up being trafficked or sold into slavery.

    According to him, these are not just illegal acts, but extreme cases of man’s inhumanity to man.

    “They are criminals of the worst breed, and they should not be allowed to continue to prey on hapless human beings, whose only offence is that they have somehow landed themselves on alien land illegally.

    “Those in authority should show more concern to change the conditions that make Nigerians to run away from their homes.”

    Director, Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC), Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, Rev. Fr. Raymond Anoliefo, expressed displeasure over the inhuman act of human trafficking and slavery, saying they demean human dignity.

    “It is the real fight because the persons who are actually behind this evil are with us, in our families, in our homes, in our churches and on the streets. So, the more we keep talking about it, we continue to strategise on how best to counter the perpetrators,” he said.

    Continuing, he said: “We all can do something; we can put an end to this crisis. It is becoming a very serious practice in our society. We can help those who are trafficked, government officials can help; we can help civil society groups that are doing some works in order to ameliorate this situation.”

    Anoliefo also noted that poverty in the land had further worsened the situation.

    He said the JDPC would continue to raise the awareness through press conferences and rallies. We would continue to partner government agencies, including the NAPTIP, the Nigeria Immigration Service and the police ensure that whenever we make reports or lodge complaints, we sensitise everybody at the grassroots.

    The JDPC director also emphasised the need for prayers for those who were victims of any form of human trafficking and slavery, adding that we should pray for their safety.

    The Coordinator, the Network of all Consecrated Persons against Trafficking in Persons and African Network against Human Trafficking (ANAHT), Rev Sr. Patricia Ebegbulem, observed the young ones had been tortured, maimed and killed through human trafficking and slavery, urging the government to do something drastically to bring the menace to an end.

    She observed one of the root causes of human trafficking was unemployment. Proffering solutions to the problem, she said the government should provide job opportunities for the young people.

  • THE HARD LESSONS I LEARNT–Nanny subjected to slavery in US by Nigerian couple

    THE HARD LESSONS I LEARNT–Nanny subjected to slavery in US by Nigerian couple

    ON September 29, 2013 when Precious Godwin left the shores of Nigeria for the United States, she had anticipated a new lease of life and the dawning of an American dream. She was brought into Katy, a city in the U.S state of Texas by Chudy Nsobundu and Sandra Nsobundus, a couple whom she worked with as a domestic servant for almost a year in Nigeria. In a ceremony attended by her family where an employment letter was drafted, Godwin was promised a $100-dollar monthly salary and a medical treatment to fix an arm injury which she sustained when she fell off a bike.

    Landing in the United States on September 2013 with a visitor’s visa which was later discovered to contain some falsified claims, Godwin’s expectation of the realization of the American dream soon turned into a nightmare. She became a victim of labour trafficking from the period of Sept 29 ,2013 to October 10, 2015 as she worked round the clock as a nanny and housemaid to the Nsobundu’s and their two adopted children. Not only did she survive physical and verbal abuse, she was denied the medical treatment promised on her arm and also had to sleep on the floor and eat leftovers from previously cooked meal. Her means of communication with her family was gagged and her passport was possessed by the couple, thereby violating the force labour statue in the U.S. Also, the Nsobundus never made the payment of the $100 promised her every month and she was not allowed to move around, except for two short walks per day when she takes the children for a walk around the neigbourhood.

    Before the Nsobundus paid for her trip to the U.S, a visa application was made for her at the Lagos consulate office in September. To increase her chances of getting a U.S nonimmigrant visa, the Nsobundus knowingly made false claims in her visa application by indicating that her purpose of visiting the U.S was to attend a niece’s graduation. Not only was her age falsified, Chudy Nsobundu helped her filled an application that she was married. “Chudy Nsobundu knowingly made multiple material misrepresentations under oath on the visa application to increase the chances that the victim’s visa application would be accepted and to hide the fact that she would be working for the Nsobundu family as a housemaid and nanny under conditions not in compliance with U.S. labour laws.

    He submitted the application under oath, knowing the application contained these material misrepresentations,” a statement issued by the U.S department of justice read. During a reporting tour centered on combating human trafficking organized by the Foreign Press Centre of the U.S Department of State, The Nation was granted access to the victim via correspondence through her resource manager in Houston. The 39-year-old woman, prior to coming to the U.S, left secondary school at age 16 owing to paucity of funds. Reflecting on the lessons she has learnt from her ordeal with the Nsobundus, Godwin said: “Potential employers should always tell the truth; do not make promises you can’t keep; do not hurt others. Be a good Christian. Love your neighbour. For potential victims, you are not slaves.

    Even if someone has money, you have rights. Pray to your God. Do not follow someone who is not good.” After spending more two years in labour trafficking situation, Godwin was rescued on October 10, 2015 after a neighbour alerted the National Human Trafficking Resource Centre. After a two-year investigation by attorneys and special agents of the U.S department of states, the Nsobundu’s were on January 5th this year ordered to pay more than $120,000 (N43.2 million) in restitution to Godwin.

    The couple were also sentenced to serve for 14 months jail-term to be served in a federal prison. While Sandra Nsobundu, 49, pleaded guilty to unlawful conduct with respect to documents in furtherance of forced labour, her husband – Chudy Nsobundu, 57, pleaded guilty to visa fraud. Special Agent Kate Langston, an officer with the U.S Department of State Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), told The Nation in Houston that the U.S department of state carried out the investigation on Godwin’s case backed up with DSS assistant regional security officerinvestigator (ARSO-1) and criminal fraud investigator (CFI) based at the U.S embassy in Lagos.

    The team travelled to the eastern part of Nigeria to interview Godwin’s family in order to obtain evidence to probe the Nsobundus, it was learnt. Allaying fears that Godwin may be deported to Nigeria since she was brought into the U.S through a falsified visa, Agent Langston explained that victims of human trafficking, be it sex or labour are provided a temporary immigration relief which makes them to stay in the U.S so long as they are willing to help with investigation. “We would provide victims (of trafficking) a temporary immigration benefit so that they can stay in the U.S if they have been brought over illegally or overstayed.

    This is a mechanism to look out for them because what we have seen is that in some cases, the solicitation started in their home country so we are not going to send them back to that same family member or neigbour,” she said. Also, Ruben Perez, the U.S attorney who prosecuted the case in a chat with The Nation affirmed that it takes a long while for victims of labour and sex trafficking to open up and help with investigations. In the Nsobundus case, Perez said he was able to break Godwin’s ice by learning some phrases in Igbo which he recited when he first met the victim for interrogation. This method, he said paved an in road into the investigation since the victim could not converse fluently in English. Now that she is free, Godwin is in the process of getting a T-visa from the United States. At the moment, she enjoys a continued presence, a process which makes it possible for victims of human trafficking to stay in the United States and work their path through citizenship. Godwin, who had intentions to open a dry-cleaning business in Nigeria after she might have finished serving the Nsobundu’s said she now has plans to live in the U.S because it makes her happy. “I want to get a good job to pay my own path and help others. I want to be “somebody” and “be in good health,” she intoned with glee in her eyes.

  • Journey to slavery

    Journey to slavery

    Despite the odds, including deaths in the desert, Nigerians continue to flock abroad in search of ‘green pastures’. They try to go by rickety boats or as stowaway. Most times, they never get to their destinations. Many end up being sold off as slaves; some are forced into prostitution and others are fleeced of their money. How can this illicit trade be stopped? ADEBISI ONANUGA asks.

    No fewer than 250 Nigerians are repatriated weekly from Libya with the assistance of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the European Union (EU). Among them are those stranded in the North African country en route Europe in search of ‘greener pasture’.

    Last week, three batches of 144, 257 and 164 were repatriated to Lagos. They were received at the Hajj Camp of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja.

    The Federal Government said it had a record of 2,778 migrants registered in “accessible” detention camps in Libya, to be brought home.

    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Tiwatope Elias-Fatile, in a statement, said the country’s embassy in Libya had been visiting detention camps to register Nigerians.

    He said those registered were issued Emergency Travel Certificates, adding that the embassy, in collaboration with the IOM, had so far returned 3,000 people.

    About 168 of them are being rehabilitated by the Edo State Government.

     

    How migrants become slaves in Libya

    For some years, Libya has been a hotbed for illegal migrants. It serves as the transit to the Mediterranean, which connects to Europe for illegal migrants seeking the elusive greener pasture. Yearly, migrants embark on the perilous journey across the sea and the desert to escape the economic and/or political uncertainties in their countries of origin.

    According to Missing Migrants, an organisation that tracks deaths on migratory routes, at least 2,985 persons have died trying to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa or the Middle East this year alone. However, this has not stopped people from trying to make the journey into Europe.

    According to the organisation, while the government’s crackdown on trafficking may have resulted in a drastic reduction in boat journeys, it has, however, left many migrants trapped in Libya for a long time, waiting for their turn to travel. The migrants are mostly held in connecting houses or detention centres that the traffickers and smugglers control. They are later sold or handed over to those who will smuggle them into Europe, if they are lucky.

    Often times, while waiting at the detention centres, the traffickers and the smugglers exploit the migrants, especially when they run out of money to pay as a result of which they become their properties.

    Since most smuggling rings are run by local gangs, militias and corrupt security officials in Libya, many victims are trapped in unfamiliar surroundings with captors resorting to violence.

    Smugglers are known to blackmail migrants into doing free labour or selling them to other militias involved in human trafficking. Other times, they hold migrants for ransom and call their families to pay while issuing threats to kill them.

    Female migrants are more in danger of being used as sex slaves, especially if they don’t have anything to pay their captors.

    A recent investigation by Cable News Network (CNN), broadcast 15 days ago, revealed how a 21-year-old Nigerian, Victory, a migrant from Edo State, was repeatedly sold by his smugglers to engage in forced labour for his buyers who brutalised him alongside many others. According to him, he was also held for ransom, while his mother in Nigeria ”went to a couple of villages, borrowing money” to save his life.

    Before he ended up in a migrant detention centre, Victory said he had spent more than N1 million trying to cross the sea into Europe.

     

    Why human trafficking thrives

    The inability of most migrants to obtain European visas cause them to fall victims to people who take advantage of their situation with promises of easy passage through Libya and better life in Europe.

    Some observers blame the ugly development on the get-rich quick syndrome that has taken over the youth and parents. According to CNN’s report, a Nigerian migrant sells for as much as $400 (about N145,000) in a Libyan slave market that takes advantage of Africans trying to flee to Europe.

     

    Ordeals of returnees

    Those who made it back to the country looked skinny and exhausted. They all gave a chilling account of how they were promised a better life in Europe, fleeced of their money by their “contact person and guide”, transported to Libya only to land in penury and in jail. Some women among them had babies, some mulatos, whose fathers are not known.

    Recounting his ordeal, one of the returnees said: “I left Nigeria with N500,000. I spent six months in a Libyan jail after the man that took my money ran away.”

    Alex Otoide and Osas Blessing were among the 168 returnees camped in Benin. They said they were persuaded to embark on the trip by a Nigerian named “Charles”. While Otoide paid N500,000 to Charles, Blessing parted with N450,000.

    Otoide said 55 of them travelled from Nigeria to Libya, out which 25 did not make it to Libya as they died of exhaustion in the Sahara Desert.

    Another returnee who refused to give his name said another Nigerian known simply as “Biafra” was responsible for many atrocities committed against Nigerian migrants in Libya.

    The human trafficking kingpin reportedly operated several bank accounts with different names in Nigeria through which he collected money from victims.

    They alleged that Charles kept Nigerians for days without food in his camp in Libya.

    Maryanne Uwadiae (25) was deported from Libya six months ago, after spending four years moving from one prison to another. Within the period, she was held captive by Nigerian and Libyan traffickers, who forced her into prostitution and use of hard drugs.

    At 17, she was impregnated by Mike Onogedion, her boyfriend, who left her and travelled to Libya en route Italy unannounced.

    Two years after in 2013, Maryanne met Kelly, who asked if she was interested in travelling to Italy to work.

    She showed interest and accepted Kelly’s offer, but had no money. Hence, she pleaded with Kelly to help her get the visa to Italy on credit. She promised to refund the money after she secured employment in Italy. Kelly reluctantly accepted the arrangement. He requested that Maryanne should get a travel passport. He pledged he would get Maryanne to Italy and also promised to get her a job. That marked the beginning of her ordeal and nightmare.

    During her four-year stay in Tripoli, she was sold into prostitution four times, during which she “doubled her hustle” and slept with about five men daily to pay back, first, about LYD9,400 (about N2.4 million) to the man to whom she was sold to by Kelly.

    Thereafter, about LYD4,000 (N1,028,300) was paid to an Arab lady who bailed her and some others out of prison only to turn them to prostitutes again before they escaped one night.

    With no money, she said she had no choice than to engage in prostitution to get money. So, while working as commercial sex workers at a connection house, Maryanne and her friends made money. But when they thought their tribulations had ended, she and her fellow adventurers came under regular police and armed robbery attacks in the brothel. They were robbed of the money and other valuables during a night raid by the police. She spent several months in prison before a Nigerian bailed them. He took them to Abu Salim Rubbish, a slum close to the prison. There, they were given rooms where men came to sleep with them after paying the Alhaji

    When she found out it would cost her LYD700 to travel to Italy by boat, Maryanne joined a herd of Mediterranean Sea-bound migrants to Italy.

    Luck, however, ran out on her when the boat she was in, was arrested by the Italian water patrol police. The boat was led back to Libya and the migrants fled to avoid being arrested by the Libyan police.

    Maryanne disclosed that desperate nursing mothers and pregnant women embarked on the dangerous journey regularly because Italian authorities considered pregnancy and infants as part of the conditions to fast-track issuance of legal permits to refugees in Italy.

    Maryanne said it was common a occurrence for migrant-laden boats to be attacked midstream by pirates.

    “They took the engines and watched the vessels capsize with migrants on board,” she said.

    After her failed trip to Italy, Maryanne returned to Garage to continue hustling. But at that time, Libyans had started killing black Africans. According to her, many people were killed during the riot. It was there that she was arrested and taken to the deportation camp.

    “I was deported to Nigeria in May,” she said.

     

    Those behind human trafficking in Nigeria

    Observers are worried that nobody has ever been caught for the offence of trans-border human trafficking.

    Those who were deported from Libya have been mentioning the names of those who took them from the country only to dump or sell them in Libya.

    Alex Otoide and Osas Blessing named one ‘Charles’ as the man who trafficked them out of the country. The man is said to operate several bank accounts with various names in Nigeria through which he collects money from his victims.

    Also, another returnee named one Biafra. Like Charles, Biafra also operates several bank accounts.

    “Who is Charles? Who is Biafra? Who are the burgers and connection men? Are they ghosts?” They are in addition asking that even if these names are aliases, why has it been difficult for those empowered by the law to investigate and arrest those who are engaged in human trafficking? How do we stem the flow of young Nigerians in search of the elusive greener pasture in other countries? For those who were forced into prostitution, the victims of sexual assault and slavery, what option is open to the Federal Government for them to get redress and ensure that the perpetrators do not get away with their crime? What are the options available for victims of human trafficking and slave trade in Libya?

    These and more are some of the questions agitating the minds of observers.

     

    Why Nigerian victims of slavery cannot sue Libya

    Lagos lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) said it would be impossible for victims of slavery and other abuses to sue Libya and get redress.

    This, he said, is because the Federal Government is yet to sign the declaration accepting the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights sitting in Arusha, Tanzania.

    Falana said: “Since the jurisdiction of the ECOWAS Community Court is limited to the West African sub-region, Nigerians whose rights are breached in other African countries would have been able to seek redress in the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights sitting in Arusha, Tanzania. But that is not possible as the Federal Government has refused to make a declaration accepting the jurisdiction of the Court in line with Article 34(6) of the Protocol establishing the African Court which provides that “At the time of the ratification of this Protocol or any time thereafter the state shall make a declaration accepting the competence of the court to receive petitions under Article 5(3) of this Protocol. The Court shall not receive any petition under Article 5(3) involving a state party which has not made such a declaration.”

    He, however, urged the government to demand compensation from the government of Libya for the victims of slavery.

    Falana said: “Having regard to the facts and circumstances of the illegal human trafficking in Libya, the Federal Government should demand payment of monetary damages by the Libyan government to the victims. Although the Libyan government has not been proved to have been involved in the illicit trade, it is liable for failuring to curb the crime against humanity. In the case of Hadijatou Mani Karaou v. The Republic of Niger (2008) AHRLR 182; (2008) CCJLR (Pt 3) 1, the Community Court of the ECOWAS held the State of Niger responsible for failing to protect one of its citizens from enslavement by passively tolerating the practice. The Court awarded damages of CFA 15 million to the Applicant who was found to have been enslaved through a forced marriage. The defendant complied with the judgment and abolished slave trade in Niger Republic.

    “In addition to the demand for payment of compensation to the victims of the illegal slave trade in Libya, the Federal Government ought to take urgent steps to facilitate access to the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights by aggrieved Nigerian citizens and Non Governmental Organisations by depositing the declaration accepting the jurisdiction of the Court pursuant to Aarticle 1 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights which has imposed a duty on the Government of Nigeria to recognize the rights, duties and freedoms enshrined in the Charter and undertake to adopt legislative or other measures to give effect to them,” he added.

     

    Way out of human trafficking

    Lagos Zonal Commander of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and other related matters (NAPTIP) Mr Joseph Famakin said the agency was ready to act on the information provided by victims  to bring to book those involved in human trafficking.

    Famakin said the agency has powers to investigate, arrest and prosecute any person who engage in human traffic and related offences. He said the law enacted in 2003, amended in 2005 and further amended in 2015 prescribes to 14 years’ imprisonment for culprits without option of fine.

    He said the zone has 56 cases in court and has recorded 71 convicts in the last two years. Famakin advised victims to provide information in their states and assured that NAPTIP wouls follow up and get justice for them.

    To stem the tide, Famakin urged Nigerians not to leave the fight to NAPTIP but to get involved and discourage people from “leaving the known for the unknown. When people are desperate and because of the get-rich- quick syndrome, they become gullible”.

    He said the agency was embarking on aggressive sensitisation on the antics of human traffickers and why they should resist them.

    The Nigeria Police have advised victims to report to the police and file complaints against the human traffickers who lured them on the trip.

    Force headquarters spokesperson Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Jimoh Mashood said if victims named the traffickers, provide description and where they live, among other information, the police would take the matter from there, follow up and ensure justice is done.

     

     

     

  • Why Nigerian victims of slavery cannot sue Libya, by Falana

    Why Nigerian victims of slavery cannot sue Libya, by Falana

    •Fed Govt urged to accept African Court’s jurisdiction 

    Lagos lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) yesterday explained why it will be impossible for aggrieved Nigerians, who are victims of slavery to sue the Libyan government.

    He explained that the Federal Government is yet to deposit its declaration accepting the jurisdiction of African Court on Human and Peoples Rights at the court’s registry in Arusa, Tanzania.

    Falana gave the Federal Government till December 31 to deposit its declaration accepting the court’s jurisdiction.

    He said: “If this request is not granted before December 31, 2017, I will not hesitate to approach the Federal High Court for an order of mandamus to compel the Federal Government to deposit the declaration at the registry of the African Court with a view to empowering Nigerian citizens to secure the enforcement of their human rights in the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights”.

    The senior lawyer said this yesterday in a statement in Lagos titled: “Why Nigerian victims of slavery cannot sue Libya”.

    Falana said unless government deposits its declaration with the registry of the African Court, it will be impossible for aggrieved Nigerians who are victims of slavery to sue the Libyan government.

    The activist, however, advised government to demand for payment of monetary damages by the Libyan government to the victims in view of the facts and circumstances of the illegal human trafficking in Libya.

    Noting that Libya has not formally accepted the jurisdictional competence of the African Court, Falana contended that the victims of the illegal slave trade could have submitted a petition to the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights and thereafter apply that the communication be referred to the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights for judicial determination.

    The senior lawyer, who admitted that there was nothing to prove that Libyan government has been involved in the illicit trade, contended that the government was liable on account of its failure to curb the trade in slaved, which he described as crime against humanity.

    In addition to the demand for payment of compensation to the victims of the illegal slave trade in Libya, Falana advised the Federal Government to take urgent steps to facilitate access to the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights by aggrieved Nigerian citizens and non-governmental organisations by depositing the declaration accepting the jurisdiction of the court.

    He said this is in pursuant to Article 1 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, which imposed a duty on the Government of Nigeria to recognise the rights, duties and freedoms enshrined in the Charter and undertake to adopt legislative or other measures to give effect to them.

    Falana noted that over the past 20 years, his law office has been inundated with complaints from Nigerians who were brutalised in some African countries. Falana explained that some of the complaints pertain to the barbaric killing of 18 Nigerians during an armed invasion of the Nigerian Embassy in Guinea Bissau on October 8, 2013.

    According to him, it is common knowledge that Nigerians living in South Africa have been subjected to xenophobic attacks, which have led to loss of lives and destruction of properties on several occasions while other Nigerian have been brutalised or killed gruesomely in some other African countries.

    He noted that of recent, there have been reports of young men and women who were killed in North Africa while crossing the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea on their way to European countries for greener pastures.

    Falana said in the process of such trips, many of the travellers have been captured and sold into slavery in Libya.

    He noted that Federal Government has ordered the evacuation of thousands of Nigerian youths held in notorious slave camps in Libya.

    He added that Nigeria has itself to blame for the tragedy in Libya for blindly supporting “the illegal resolution of the United Nations Security Council which authorised the invasion of Libya to effect a regime change”.

    “Today, not less than five armed gangs are laying claim to the leadership of the country. It has been confirmed that the arms and ammunition looted from the armory in Libya were sold to the dreaded Boko Haram sect. It is also true that the shameful slave trade which Nigeria is battling with is part of the fallout from the removal and brutal killing of President Muammar Gaddafi by armed gangs supported by the allied forces of imperialism led by the United States under President Barrack Obama,” he said.

  • Olanipekun: let’s create jobs to end slavery abroad

    Olanipekun: let’s create jobs to end slavery abroad

    •Unemployment could spark revolution

    Eminent lawyer Chief Wole Olanipekun  (SAN)  has said the massive unemployment is a time bomb that can cause a revolution.

    Olanipekun urged governments and privileged Nigerians to create jobs for youths to stop them from going into slavery in foreign lands.

    He noted that a situation where PhD holders roam the streets for jobs and beg for survival is shameful.

    The legal icon was reacting to the footage of youths in dehumanising conditions at a slave camp in Libya.

    He said privileged Nigerians have abandoned the youth, adding that this may not augur well for the nation’s future.

    Olanipekun addressed reporters at the weekend at his Ikere-Ekiti home after the inauguration of the town’s Hall of Fame and launch of the community’s anthem at the palace of the Ogoga, Oba Adejimi Adu Alagbado.

    The Ikere Hall of Fame was inaugurated by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II.

    The monarch urged Ikere sons and daughters, led by Olanipekun, to support their royal father for further development of the town.

    Olanipekun said the emigration of Nigerian youths to Benin Republic, Niger Republic, Chad Republic, Cameroun and their tortuous journey through the desert to Libya showed their frustration at home.

    The former President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) recalled that he had at least six job offers after graduating from the University of Lagos (UNILAG) in 1975 and more job offers after leaving Law School but chose to go into private law practice.

    He said: “It is a shame at this period that Nigerian youths still travel abroad and the routes they take are very tortuous, very winding, very dangerous and very daring. They don’t even mind if the ship they are travelling in capsizes.

    “Why are they leaving? Some of them believe that ‘let me leave Nigeria because the Golden Fleece is somewhere else’; that the green pasture is outside Nigeria in Cotonou, in Cameroun, even in Niger Republic and Chad Republic.

    “Nobody sympathises with them. You can see the fate of our youths nowadays. I want to say those of us who are very successful are selfish and greedy. We are not speaking the truth to our government.

    “Our youths are going through another slave trade, and how do we stop it? The only way we can stop this is that we should create jobs for our youths. Government can encourage small scale and medium scale enterprises for our youths.

    “If we don’t take care of our youths, if we do not sympathise with them, empathise with them and do not create a better tomorrow for them, we are – directly or indirectly, advertently or inadvertently – planting a revolution for the future.”

    Olanipekun advised government not to muzzle the private sector but to empower it with good policies to enable it absorb jobless youths who migrate to foreign lands.

     

    Olanipekun is voice of the Yoruba, says Ooni

    The Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, has described eminent lawyer, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAW), as an asset to the Yoruba race.

    The frontline monarch spoke at the weekend when he visited Olanipekun at his native home at Ikere-Ekiti in Ekiti State.

    The Ooni poured encomiums on Olanipekun for his “legal feat and patriotism to the Yoruba cause”.

    He added: “I am here to pay a private visit to Asiwaju Wole Olanipekun and to commend him for the great work he is doing for the Yoruba race. He is one of our shining stars in Yoruba land. He is the voice of the voiceless and a legal icon, who has made us proud.”

    Oba Ogunwusi said he had been following his progress before he ascended the throne, adding that “Olanipekun is a brand the Yoruba is happy to flaunt”.

    He said: “You are our pride and joy in Yoruba land. I am happy to be here and I am most humbled by this reception.”

    Olanipekun described the Ooni’s visit as “symbolic and historic”.

    The eminent lawyer said he would forever cherish the visit.

    He said: “Today is the day the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it. To have a foremost traditional ruler, Ooni Enitan Babatunde Ogunwusi pay me a visit is worth cherishing forever.”

    Olanipekun extolled the virtues of the Ooni, describing him as a king, who prepared himself for the throne.

    He said: “Since he ascended the throne, he has been doing so much for the unity of the Yoruba race. He has gone to visit the Alaafin. Only a few days ago, he was at the coronation of the Akarigbo of Remo. He has gone to Efon Alaaye, Ijero Ekiti and other towns in Yoruba land. He has been going round the world to promote peace and unity among our people. Sometimes, I wonder where he draws his energy from. May God bless you, sir.”

    The Ooni presented a souvenir to the lawyer.

  • Ita-Giwa decries slavery, trafficking

    Former Presidential Adviser Senator Florence Ita-Giwa yesterday condemned the migration of Nigerians, which led to slavery in Libya and death of girls in the Mediterranean.

    Speaking with The Nation in Calabar, the Bakassi leader urged the Federal Government to create more jobs and make the environment conducive so that people would stop seeking greener pasture.

    She said the situation had been going on for a long time and it had to stop.

    Ita-Giwa hailed the theme chosen for this year’s Carnival Calabar, which is Migration.

    Ita-Giwa, the band leader of Seagull Band, one of the five competing bands, which won in last year’s edition, praised the idea of using the platform of the carnival to address migration.

    ”I use this opportunity to hail the government for making Migration the theme of this year’s carnival. Cross River has highlighted the horrible issue of modern day slavery through the carnival.

    “I speak as a band leader and the present champion of the carnival. It is a platform to carry this message because of the publicity it has. It has become a tool for dissemination of information. From my experience and feedback I got from all over the world, Climate Change, the theme of last year’s carnival, was well exposed.

    “People all over the world talked about how a state in Nigeria could take up the issue of climate change to that extent. The carnival is a good platform to send such messages about issues that affect humanity. It has a good structure that we should hold on to. It is a visual thing and the presentation catches the attention of people more than any other thing.

    “The carnival has a lot of mileage. I was surprised when I went to other parts of the world and I was celebrated because of my role at the carnival. As you know, I was the champion of Climate Change last year. I praise the government for bringing in interesting topics that are germane and affect humanity.”

  • Return of slavery

    SIR: Slavery was abolished internationally over 200 years ago so it came as a rude shock to many when a video filmed and produced by CNN reporter Nima Elbagir surfaced both on CNN and on the New Media showing Africans mostly Nigerians being auctioned off as slaves in Libya. In the video, the auctioneer is seen selling able-bodied men as slaves for $400 dollars. This video which has sparked international outrage with condemnation coming from several quarters has only revealed what has been going on in Libya since the overthrow and killing of the former Libyan Leader, Muammar Gadhafi in 2011. Though he was no saint, Gaddaffi used his power to create a peaceful and prosperous Libya not just for Libyans but for all Africans which prompted many Nigerians nay Africans to settle in Libya and engage in legitimate businesses and pursuits. We also did not hear of slave camps during Gadhafi’s long reign in power but those who attempted to migrate illegally to Europe through Libya were sent to prison. Illegal migration is a crime clearly enshrined both in the United Nations statutes and that of almost all the nations in the world, so Gadhafi merely acted in accordance with the law. He also successfully prevented his people from engaging in atrocious activities against Black Africans due to the well-known hatred and disdain harboured by Arabs against black people. Some have suggested that Gadhafi’s love for black people clearly manifested by his almost single handed sponsorship of the liberation movements in many African countries including South Africa and Zimbabwe.

    That is now history as Arabs tribesmen in Libya, Morocco and Tunisia have returned to their pastime 200 years ago of selling black Africans as slaves. Yes, Morocco and Tunisia are also reportedly involved in these dastardly acts though black Africans do not frequently follow that route to Europe so the atrocities perpetuated against illegal black African migrants there are less reported by the media. Historical evidence suggests that more black Africans were sent to the Arab world as slaves than the New World over 200 years ago. Many of them did not make it alive to the Arab world. They were simply thrown into the sea as food for fishes, sharks and other aquatic animals. It is clear that the hatred of the black man by the Arabs did not start today and what is currently going on in Libya is only a re-enactment of what their ancestors did over two centuries ago.

    There is really no clear cut solution to the human tragedy currently unfolding before our eyes in Libya. But I will say two things. One, that the European Union and Italy place more pressure on the Libyan Transitional Council to stop this modern-day slavery of illegal migrants to Europe. This can be easily done as the EU currently gives annual aid worth millions of euros to the Libyan Coast Guard-the body responsible for intercepting illegal migrants on the high sea and sending them to detention centres. Two, all countries and international organizations that have condemned the human bazaar currently ongoing in Libya and made promises to that effect should put words into action. They should transcend the realm of rhetoric into the realm of activities.

     

    • Peter Ovie Akus,

     Ifo, Ogun State.

  • Scourge of human trafficking and slavery

    Recently, I was in Italy for few days where I participated in a conference specifically convened by the President of Italy’s Chamber of Deputies, Her Excellency, Ms Laura Bodrini, to discuss a very topical issue -”Women Empowerment and the Fight against Trafficking in Persons. The Partnership between Nigeria & Italy”.

    The conference was convened in the aftermath of the very tragic event of November 5 at the shores of Italy which resulted in the death of some 26 mostly Nigerian girls having embarked on what has now become the riskiest journey on earth, attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.

    It could be recalled that the House of Representatives passed a Resolution (HR. 151/2017) on November 9, to investigate this tragedy. And also on November 29, another Resolution on a related subject matter was passed.

    If you thought the horrific events that led to the deaths of our girls were appalling just as we prepared to leave Italy, we received the terrifying news that another set of 30 migrants had died in the Mediterranean Sea while 200 were rescued.  To our collective shame, these kinds of deaths have become a recurring decimal on account of which the Mediterranean Sea has become the cemetery where Africa’s future which our young represent, is buried. Our findings reveal that the deaths are under-reported as the figures more often than not do not take into account those deaths for which the corpses are not recovered. It must be noted that in most cases some of the immigrants are deliberately dumped into the sea like bags of weed.

    To add salt to injury, humanity’s conscience was recently jolted by the CNN report of auctioning of black African migrants as slaves in Libya where these migrants are normally held in servitude in human cargo holding facilities. I believe most of us have seen the atrocious pictures of black Africans in such overcrowded holding facilities were they are packed like sardines and often mercilessly beaten and terrorized by their captors in order to keep them subjugated. These pictures which the social media is replete with have moved even the brute and the cruel to tears.

    For those who wonder why a fellow human being would strip another of his dignity in this beastly manner, the answer is money. They do it for the money. Slavery is so lucrative especially now that it involves human organ harvesting. It was and it is still a money spinner. In the past, it was so lucrative that a part of the sweet Land of Liberty fought a vicious civil war to keep slavery until the abolitionists won.

    It is significant to underpin the historical difficulties in dealing with slavery. The author of the finest line ever written by man, “we hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal”, himself a slave owner, was once forced into deep introspection about the ideals he had lifted to cosmic heights and the fact that he himself own slaves. Because slave trade and slave labour brought him so much wealth and influence, he couldn’t himself live up to the eternally truthful ideals he had so brilliantly espoused. He wrote to the effect that keeping a slave is like holding the wolf by the ears, it’s a job you hate to do but you dare not let it go. He placed justice and self-preservation on a scale but pathetically self-preservation won over consideration of justice. This is the case with modern slave masters; justice and life have no meaning to them; all they care for is self-preservation. It’s a trade the mafia and their local collaborators dare not leave because of the money involved.

    What is consistent with the lessons of history is that unless slave masters are forced to stop, they won’t on their own put a stop to the criminal enterprise. We have a duty to stop them and we must begin by accepting responsibility for what is happening now. The question is, what have been done either as individuals or corporately to force these forces of evil to stop this trade in humans? Where is our conscience? Are we not troubled by the unfolding scenario where human beings are bought and sold for any amount much more for as low as US$400 barely the cost of a local cow or horse?

    It is my considered opinion that we are all involved in this crime either as perpetrators or those who are aiding and abetting human trafficking by standing aloof for we are ultimately responsible for what we allow or permit. There is a place for Nigeria in all these. As the most populous black nation on earth, we must accept the fact that if any black man or woman falls, it would be because Nigeria lacks strength. Until the last modern slave is freed, we would have done nothing and our generation will bear this shame forever.

    The legal framework to combat human trafficking is fairly well developed. What is required is the political will and the muscle to execute the laws and policies already in place. As parliamentarians, we have a responsibility to use our legislative tools of oversight to ensure that all agencies empowered by law to fight this scourge are made to account to our people. This we must ensure it’s done with dispatch.

    It is in this regard that I directed that the Public Hearing on House Resolution (HR. 151/2017) which ordered an investigation into the death of the 26 girls recently in the Mediterranean Sea and the Resolution passed mandating relevant committees of the House to investigate the slave trade going on in Libya be consolidated and immediately scheduled for hearing in spite of the pending work on the 2018 Budget. The relevant committees should make sure that all relevant parties and stakeholders are invited to dig out the facts and proffer workable solutions to this heinous crime against humanity.

    Furthermore, the House of Representatives would soon convene a major conference on human trafficking and modern slavery as part of our intervention to help put an end to this evil. This would afford experts the opportunity to make recommendations on possible legislative and executive actions required to tame this evil trade. We must also sensitise and activate, as soon as possible, the ECOWAS parliament and other inter-parliamentary bodies such as IPU, CPU and other affiliated bodies to wade into this matter.

    I therefore call on the President and Commander-in-Chief to lead this struggle for total and unconditional emancipation of the unfortunate victims of this scourge. History beckons on our President with a gold pen and a page reserved for only Africa’s great statesmen if he successfully leads the campaign to eradicate modern slavery. The President should, if necessary, deploy Nigeria’s diplomatic and military clout on this matter. We would like to see an immediate convening of emergency session of the ECOWAS and African Union (AU) to launch a rescue operation as soon as possible. As it is, the voices of ECOWAS and AU are unacceptably too feeble on this devastating issue.  We commend the French President, Emmanuel Macron for taking a principled position on this matter and applying pressure on the UN to take urgent steps in dealing with this scourge. We expect other nations who value freedom and the dignity of the human person to join France in working out a permanent solution to this resurgent evil.

    Finally, let me once again commend the forceful words of His Holiness, Pope Francis who said: “Human trafficking is a scourge, a crime against the whole of humanity. It is time to join forces and work together to free its victims and to eradicate this crime that affects all of us, from individual families to the worldwide community”.

    Now and not tomorrow is the time to act, the world must not shrink from this responsibility.

     

    • Barrister Dogara is Speaker, House of Representatives.