21st Century Slavery Narratives and West Africa’s Man Inhumanity to Man

By Daniel Nwofor

Slavery is the height of man’s inhumanity to man, whether you look at it through the prism of transatlantic or sub-Saharan slave trade; there is no excuse for subduing another human being to satisfy your ego. Burrowing into it, one would see the bold lines of classism, ethnocentrism and other ideologies of dominance written all over it. Forever, the marks of the transatlantic slave trade, particularly in sub-Saharan, will be boldly reflected on the map of Africa. Its wounds remain unhealable in Africa’s history, reflecting in the continent’s politics, culture, religion, social and everyday life. In commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first recorded African slaves in North America, I encountered a report by Angela Ukomadu and Nneka Chile in Reuters, and it came with a shocking revelationtheperpetration of slavery by Africans on their own kith and kin. The examples are far and wide. From the story of a six-year-old girl, Blessing, who worked as an unpaid housemaid to a family in Abuja who pledged to fund her educational dreams, only to treat the poor girl with disdain. To Osadolor, who dropped out of the university in search of the golden fleece in Russia on an all-expense paid trip in June 2021. Sadly, she ended up as a sex slave for three years, sleeping with 20 men a day and a huge percentage of her earnings going to a certain sponsor. The case of Omovhie, who paid an agent almost a million naira, to smuggle her across the Sahara Desert to Libya, with Europe as a final destination, was not different. Her dreams, like a flame that flickered out too soon, died when she landed a job as the cleaner of a well-off Arab family in Tripoli who did not pay her for three months. Interestingly, these stories had a positive turnaround with help coming their way through the support of anti-human trafficking groups like Women Trafficking and Child Labour Eradication Foundation (WOTCLEF), and Nigerian charity Pathfinders Justice Initiative who help refugees and migrants return to the country and reintegrate them to the society. But the scars like the narratives in African literature remain as the victims picked the pieces of their lives. A 2017 report by Walk Free Foundation and the International Labour Office defines slavery as “situations of exploitation that a person cannot refuse or leave because of threats, violence, coercion, deception, and/or/abuse of power.” It further revealed that Africa has the highest prevalence of slavery, with more than 7 victims for every 1,000 people. This supports the United Nations’ position that says “over 40 million people are estimated to be trapped in forced labour, forced marriages or other forms of sexual exploitation.”

Is there a way out? 

The hideous fact is the menacing face of poverty which made Blessing’s mother trust the mental abusers of her daughter. The cases of Osadolor and Omovhie are symbolic for the average young Nigerian who seeks greener pastures because of the uncertainties in the country, such as unemployment and other societal challenges that deny people of the good life. A 2016 BBC article The world of Nigeria’s sex-trafficking ‘Air Lords‘, revealed a troubling insight into the internationally sex trafficking network and their devious machinations around it. The scene was faraway Barcelona, Spain. An early morning raid involving two hundred and fifty officers of twenty-two raiding a residential building led to the arrest of the leaders of a Nigerian-based group running an international sex-trafficking ring in Barcelona- identified as the Supreme EiyeConfraternity (SEC), or the Air Lords. Twenty-three people were arrested with European arrest warrants issued for those who have left the country. According to Xavi Cortes, head of the anti-trafficking unit, Catalan Police Headquarters, Barcelona, the operation took 18 months of planning which involved monitoring more than a million phone calls, tapping dozens of mobile phones and months of surveillance. Further investigation revealed that it involved recruiters in Nigeria whose job it is to find girls who are either approached directly or through their families with offers of fake jobs abroad in a supermarket, or as a cleaner. In some cases, some girls or women approach the recruiters with full knowledge of what they are getting into, sometimes as full-time sex workers in European countries. And in the scariest of circumstances, some parents, get in touch on behalf of their children. The beautiful side of things is that there are organisations working towards the redemption of these victims. These stories of redemption give hope and promise. Some of these rescued persons should be made ambassadors to speak against these acts. It makes these stories relatable and the experience valid, creating awareness on the risks of the overseas ventures. In the case of child labor under the guise of training or any form of empowerment, there should be punitive measures for defaulters. Governments, in conjunction with these organizations responsible for the welfare of these victims, should come up with stringent laws that punish people who take advantage of others. Although these stories call for deep introspection, it is time the script opened the curtain for men and boys, slavery cases show that abuse is gender-fluid, a human decadence that continues to corrode our society