The report that Nigeria ranks among the top 10 countries with the highest number of their citizens trafficked into modern slavery is alarming and distasteful, given the country’s resources and potential which, if properly harnessed, should attract people into the country and not lure Nigerians away. The Anti-Slavery International defines ‘modern slavery’ as when an individual is exploited by others for personal or commercial gain; whether tricked, coerced, or forced through human trafficking, forced labour, or debt bondage.
Recently, the Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim reportedly said that 1.4 million Nigerians mostly women and children are trapped in modern slavery around the world including 50,000 women engaged in forced prostitution in Europe. Quoting figures from the 2023 Global Slavery Index, she added that Nigeria ranks among the top 10 countries with the highest number of their citizens trafficked into modern slavery. This ignoble list is topped by India, including, Turkey and the United States.
While the United Nations say that modern slavery occurs in varying degrees in almost every country in the world, it is shameful that citizens of Nigeria so blessed with resources can belong to such a group. But this is the reality emanating from bad governance and corruption, endemic in the country.
People are driven into modern slavery for many reasons but above all, by poverty. Other reasons are civil strife and armed conflict in the polity, discrimination against and marginalisation of different types within society, natural disasters, and weak or outright non-enforcement of the rule of law, often being a factor of a corrupt system. Sadly, these factors are rife in this country, caused by inept political leadership, making its environment increasingly hostile.
At a point, this country was ranked as ‘the poverty capital of the world’ by the World Poverty Clock (WPC) in 2018 because 87 million fell into extreme poverty that year. Indeed, the social research organisation Statistics reported that 88.425 million lived in extreme poverty living on $1.90 about N2,850 a day. Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) is calculated in terms of deprivation of more than one of the following: food security, health facilities, clean water, decent housing, education, employment and so on. It is no wonder then that the best of Nigeria’s human capital are emigrating to more accommodating climes.
Nigerians who can find their way out of a stultifying environment are on the move by hook or by crook. And therein enter the human traffickers who exploit to their nefarious advantage, the gullibility and desperation of people to escape poverty. ‘Hope for Justice’ defines modern slavery as ‘where a person controls another for profit by exploiting vulnerability.’ By facilitating the out-of-the-country travel of the vulnerable, the victim is ensnared in bonded or forced labour, and domestic servitude.
The remit of Sulaiman-Ibrahim ministry is in the words of its stated mission: “To serve as the national vehicle to bring about the speedy and healthy development of Nigerian women, children, the socially disadvantaged and physically challenged, and the main-streaming of their rights and privileges in the national development process.” In her words, ‘over 60 per cent of Nigerians attempting to migrate irregularly are women and girls, many of whom are trafficked for forced labour and sexual exploitation.’ She further quotes the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) that ‘more than 80 per cent of Nigerian women who arrive in Europe through irregular routes are potential trafficking victims.’
The issues are well-defined. The question is what is her ministry doing about this? It is neither enough, nor is it acceptable to say, as she was quoted, that ‘if we fail to act decisively, we risk losing an entire generation of young women to exploitation, violence, and despair’. What thought-through and decisive steps does the ministry have to solve the problem as they pertain directly to women and children?
The National Centre for Women Development, an agency under the Ministry of Women Affairs is ‘primarily [charged] with the responsibility of stimulating consciousness towards the attainment of higher levels of development and activities for Nigerian women…’ Its six-point mandate includes facilitating the formulation of policies affecting women in all sectors and primarily in areas such as employment, health, agriculture and finance, providing training in skills development, and acquisition, income generation activities and serving as a training ground for managers and leaders, providing a forum for guidance, counselling and mobilisation of women in both urban and rural areas, and liaising with National, Regional and International agencies involved in women development programmes.
Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim’s work is well cut out and waiting to be done. President Bola Tinubu’s Action Plan for a Better Nigeria
‘manifesto’ devotes eight pages to articulate what the present government commits to doing about these nagging social problems. All the minister should do is seek presidential support to ‘act decisively’.
In respect of youths, the Renewed Hope 2023 document promises ‘a coherent, structured policy of social economic, and political empowerment of young people.’ This plan includes easy access to credit, business mentorship for youths, a Youth Advisory Council, and a reform of the NYSC programme.
Other ideas promised to be implemented by the Tinubu-Shettima presidency are the creation of business incubation centres and a ‘biannual State of the Youths’ survey that provides a platform for youth’s feedback to the government. A Tinubu administration also promised to ‘create new job opportunities for young Nigerians from poor and underprivileged backgrounds’. A ‘task force headed by a special czar will be created [to address the problem of out-of-school children]’.
On ‘Women Empowerment’, the current administration gave their word in writing to promote female employment in all government offices, ministries, and agencies, and increase women’s participation in government to ‘at least 35 per cent’.
Furthermore, commercial banks will be encouraged to support women-owned businesses with concessionary loans and incentive schemes, and ‘social investment programmes [to support] the development of micro, small, and medium enterprises particularly among the poor’. The government’s proposed social programmes also aim to provide ‘conditional income support to very poor households’, and unconditional income support to elderly, extremely poor, and disabled persons.
Poverty in its various dimensions is the main reason that drives modern slavery. A faithful implementation of these laudable social programmes will first, reduce the pressure on desperate Nigerians to seek an escape out of their country and second, remove the country from that unenviable group.
There is not the least doubt in the mind of reasonable Nigerians that the financial and other resources needed to implement the Renewed Hope 2023 social programmes are abundantly available in this country. Urgently wanted are first, a consistent political will to deliver what is promised, and second, the self-discipline of the executors to transparently, judiciously, and efficiently apply the funds and other resources provided. The ideas are lofty; making them work is now up to the minister, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, and the president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Nigerians can’t wait to see action and results.
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