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.
