IN a development that showcased deep commitment to the Nigerian cause, a domestic airline, Air Peace, recently flew home 78 Nigerian women trafficked to Côte d’Ivoire under false pretences. The airline deployed a Boeing 737 aircraft (registration 5N-BQV) which departed the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on Saturday, May 10, and landed at Félix-Houphouët-Boigny International Airport, Abidjan, before returning with the victims on the same day, entirely free of charge. In a statement issued on Sunday, May 11, the chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, said: “These women have endured unimaginable hardship. They deserve not just to be brought home, but to be treated with care and respect.” He added that the women would receive comprehensive medical care at Duchess Hospital, Lagos. “Air Peace will cover all expenses; not just testing, but any treatment required. This is about making them feel human again. They were dehumanised abroad. Now they are going to see that their country values them. That’s the message we want to send.” Onyema also acknowledged the efforts of social media activist Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, whose advocacy brought the women’s plight to national attention, urging Nigerians to remain vigilant against human trafficking networks.
This is, of course, not the first time Onyema and his airline have airlifted Nigerians out of trouble. In September 2019, Air Peace, following public outcry over the renewed wave of xenophobic attacks in parts of Johannesburg, facilitated the evacuation of Nigerians living in South Africa for free. Some 186 Nigerians, 30 of them children, were airlifted from the O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg around 3:00pm South African time, with many of them declaring that they had been living in fear as the attacks escalated on a daily basis. Again, not a few Nigerians expressed excitement in May 2023 when the chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Honourable Abike Dabiri-Erewa, indicated that an Air Peace aircraft had landed in Egypt to airlift stranded Nigerian students in the war torn Sudan to Nigeria. She wrote on X: “Sudan update: Nigerian Embassy in Egypt has moved all evacuees from the Sudan side to the Egypt side of the Arqeel border, with priority given to the females. They are now being prepared for their departure to Abuja through Aswan Airport.@flyairpeace has just landed. Big gratitude to the Nigerian Embassy in Egypt for their tireless efforts.” Onyema had offered to use the airline to evacuate Nigerians stranded in Sudan for free if they could be moved to a neighbouring country, as Sudan’s airspace was closed for civil aviation flights. The Nigeria Air Force’s (NAF) evacuation team also joined the rescue efforts.
To be sure, the repatriation of Nigerian women trafficked to Cote d’Ivoire is a salutary development. Given that hundreds, if not thousands, of Nigerian youths have perished in foreign countries while seeking the proverbial greener pasture, this development cannot but be cheering news, and NIDCOM and the Federal Government deserve plaudits for listening to public outcry on the issue. If anything, the development has brough joy to parents and family members who have now been reunited with their loved ones. With regard to Onyema, in particular, it is a tribute to his passion, commitment and patriotism that he has consistently offered to fly home Nigerians in distress at great personal cost. It is axiomatic that if Nigerians in his social class approached issues that have to do with their fellow compatriots with the same generosity and with the same passion, things would be far better in the counry than they are at the moment. We commend Onyema for his good gesture and hold him aloft as a good example of what patriotism means in action rather than mere rhetoric.
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The foregoing, however, cannot detract from the underlying issues, which is the economic deprivation that continues to drive vast numbers of Nigerians, especially the youth, to slavery, death and destruction in foreign lands. Almost on a daily basis, Nigerians perish on the perilous journeys to Europe through the Libyan desert, and stories of Nigerians trafficked to different countries are as dispiriting as they are heartrending. Just how can the citizens of an abundantly blessed country like Nigeria continue to be treated like the dregs of existence in foreign lands simply because of economic difficulties at home? For how long will Nigerian girls and boys be butchered and their organs harvested by criminals following their entrapment on home soil by relatives or acquaintances, or even acquaintances of acquaintances, who promised them well-paying jobs abroad? Whether in Iraq, Mali or elsewhere, Nigerian girls, in particular, are being treated worse than animals by their so-called employers who subject them to all sorts of indignity, often in the bid to satiate depraved cravings. With respect to the current development, it is profoundly sad that Nigerian girls were trafficked and enslaved in neighbouring Cote d’Ivoire, and could have died there, like many before them, in extremely horrible circumstances. How do the traffickers beat Nigeria’s security networks?
The government must fight human trafficking to a standstill. It must also address the economic issues that underlie the desperation to escape from Nigeria’s shores. On their part, parents should be wary of traffickers promising their children great deals abroad. Many Nigerians are trapped in foreign lands at the moment, without any hope of ever setting sight or foot on their fatherland before they die. It is a terrible situation that is hard to even think about. We urge the Federal Government and state governments to awake to righteousness and fight trafficking decisively. They will be saving many lives by so doing.
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