Enough Of Modern Day Slavery

Of all the commitments made by President Muhammadu Buhari at the 71st UN General Assembly and its side lines in New York last week, none should resonate round the continent as the call to end modern day slavery. Speaking at a meeting hosted by British Prime Minister, Theresa May, on the margins of the Main Session of the United Nations General Assembly, President Buhari decried a situation where human trafficking and modern day slavery had created a dangerous political economy of their own. He declared that Nigeria is ready and willing to partner with other countries and international organisations to stop human traffickers that lure unsuspecting victims into forced labour, inhuman treatment, money laundering and prostitution. According to him, the Federal Government does not only have a strong commitment to combating the menace of modern day slavery but will redouble its efforts to prohibit human trafficking, while providing succour to its hapless victims.

Since the 1980s, Africa has become a byword for mass migration and displacement caused by poverty, violent conflicts and environmental stress. The fact that the poverty is induced by unfair international trade regimes and practices is hardly mentioned in the media. Instead, images of massive refugee flows with thousands drowning in the Mediterranean Sea have become all too pervasive in the media and the mind of the world. The figures are telling. In 1960, there were less than two million migrants from Africa and this climbed to nearly five and a half million in 1980. The latest figure available for 2000 shows that nearly nine million people left the shores of the continent. In addition, millions of Africans are acquiring or attempting to acquire resident/work visas or even citizenship in more economically endowed countries all over the globe. In the process, an entire race is on the verge of losing its dignity.

We believe that brain-drain is easier to control and even reverse but the phenomenon of human trafficking reminiscent of the slave trade that thrived into the 18th Century is more devastating to the country and the continent. As the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) stated in a recent report, ‘The system of migrant smuggling has become nothing more than a mechanism for robbing and murdering some of the poorest people of the world.” It also disrupts the development of the nations because an overwhelming majority of the victims are the youngest and brightest.

To get to the root of the economic inequalities bedevilling world peace and progress for all, there is an urgent need for a review of the UN system especially the World Trade Organisation. There are enough human and material resources to make all African countries considerable contributors to the global economy but these are stifled under suffocating systems dictated by the US-based Bretton woods institutions. There are no African countries that are unviable as economic entities and thus no reason for the race to remain in abject and dehumanising poverty. We support the call on well-meaning members of the international community to stimulate development in origin countries through aid, trade and investments. Economic revival is key to reducing human trafficking across the continent.

On its part, the Federal Government should deepen its investments in infrastructure development, education and health for all Nigerians as these would eliminate the push-factor in illegal migration. With youth constituting over 70 per cent of the population in Nigeria, sustained investment in human capital development alone could yield enough economic development dividends to lift the continent permanently out of penury.

We join the President in commending the British Prime Minister for drawing the attention of the international community to such a serious matter to coincide with a time that the global focus was on migration and refugee crisis. We are optimistic that the meeting will go a long way in highlighting what is perhaps the most debilitating crisis on the continent.

LEADERSHIP EDITOR