Similoluwa Sokunbi (Master’s student)
At this point, they made what turned out to be a life-changing discovery. “It was when we were in a friend’s houses that we were introduced to Emmanuel TV. We started watching and praying along with the pastor.”
Almost two years after her trip across the Sahara Desert, Adejoke and her friend embarked on the return journey to Nigeria.
Inspired by the clips they had seen on Emmanuel TV, the television station of controversial Nigerian pastor T.B. Joshua, they decided to make The Synagogue, Church of All Nations (SCOAN) their first port of call.
After receiving prayer for ‘deliverance’ from the ‘spirit of prostitution’ and having listened to their stories, Joshua gave each lady N200, 000 ($1,200) for a fresh start.
Adejoke noted: “God has kept me alive to pass this message across to our youths. Nigerian youths please don’t fall prey to traffickers and be tricked into slavery. These traffickers are everywhere. They are in shops, gas station and hotels. They are also tucked away in fields.”
Human trafficking has turned so many youths with dreams and aspirations into a nonentity. We’ll not lose our future leaders to human traffickers. This is why I bring you the misconceptions attached to human trafficking.
Many people today fall into the hands of human traffickers because they are trying to escape poverty. Many of these people are simply trying to improve their lifestyles and also to support their families.
They are tricked and lured into slavery in foreign countries. When they get to these countries, they discover that there’s no land or country that flows with milk and honey. They also realized that money doesn’t grow on trees or litters the streets of foreign countries.
These young people are taken to overseas on the wings of lies. The promised jobs are never available. The causes of human trafficking are complex and interlinked. These include economic, social and political factors.
Poverty alone does not necessarily create vulnerability to trafficking, but when combined with other factors, this can lead to a higher risk to being trafficked.
Some of those other factors include; corruption, civil unrest, a weak government, lack of access to education or jobs, family disruption or dysfunction, lack of human rights or economic disruptions.
Traffickers often keep the victim isolated, which may be made easier if the child is unable to speak English.
The victim may be locked up and deprived of so many things. Often, victims are told that they and their family owe large amounts of money. They must work to pay this off; sometimes these sums are impossibly large.
Chai! Soon they learn that it’s too late to return home. Why? It’s because their travel documents have been confiscated by their traffickers. They have nowhere to run or hide. They became prisoners to the very person that they had once looked upon as their messiah.
These young folks, especially ladies, are forced into prostitution.
My dear friends get this straight; guarantees given by strangers or even relatives are not often genuine. I beg all Nigerian youths, especially the female, please face reality and don’t be deceived.
The saddest aspect of trafficking our youths, is that many of them, even at that young age, because they no longer know any other way of life, became traffickers. They start lying and luring other youths into modern slavery. And the vicious circle continues.
Many, who went overseas through lies and deceit, are often disappointed. It’s even a huge loss on Nigeria’s part, considering that some of these victims are meant to be the leaders of tomorrow. In some parts of Africa, voodoo, witchcraft or jujus are used to frighten the victims into compliance.
The long-term impact of such practices can be complex and devastating. You may not see the problem, but it’s there. It’s estimated that there are more than 21 million trafficked victims worldwide. Young people are being trafficked every day.
Human trafficking is considered modern-day slavery, and there are more slaves today than at any time in history. So pathetic! You can be a victim of human trafficking in your hometown. At the heart of human trafficking is the traffickers’ goal of exploitation and enslavement.
Sexual exploitation and forced labour are the most commonly identified forms of human trafficking. More than half of the victims are female. Many other forms of exploitation are often under-reported
Any form of exploitation that takes away a person’s right with force, coercion or fraud can be considered trafficking, no matter the location. To bring human trafficking to a stop, let us employ the campaign method; it can start with you and I.
We can start a campaign via our social media handles. The government should do its bit by creating employment, checking insecurity and eradicating poverty.
Concluded
First Published 2019
