Combating human trafficking

ONE of the major problems in Nigeria is human trafficking. A lot of people fall victim of it. Traffickers may use force deception, coercion and other mean methods. It is estimated that 60-80 percent of sex workers in Italy are from Nigeria. Why is this so? Some women in Italy, due to poverty and illiteracy level, have been turned to sex slave workers. The causes of human trafficking in Nigeria are poverty, lack of education, immigration policy, environmental conditions, featured families and lack of good job opportunities. There is no doubt that these conditions create a toxic cocktail of vulnerability. Nigeria is quite a tumorous country with Biafra conflicts in the south and Boko Haram in the North. At the same time, those that are not trying to leave for anywhere can also become victims of human trafficking if they stay in the epic centre of the armed conflict or traffickers barge into homes and kidnap people.

Complete disregard for human rights is also a cause of human trafficking. Women and children are often viewed as objects that can be sold. Thus, they are sold into slavery and sexual exploitation. People are often unsatisfied with what they have. Even if they have perfectly decent living condition, they still try to go out in search of more. Despite the fact that Nigeria has one of the biggest and fastest growing economies in Africa, many of its citizens cannot find jobs. Many people cannot get a proper job. Therefore, they try to seek somewhere else which leads them to encounter fraudster that might lure them into something terrible under a false pretence of employment abroad.

Furthermore, gender inequality is common among women in a society. Some societies believe that it is a waste of time for women to be sent to school. Meanwhile, women are often seen as  responsibility of men. Every community needs to learn about human trafficking, those who are vulnerable are member of our communities. All individuals have to be educated on human trafficking. To eliminate the problem, the government has to pay more attention on creating employment opportunities and skill acquisition. Government should try and create job for the masses as a large number of people being trafficked were lured into the act due to unemployment and poverty. Centres should be established for people to earn a living; they should also work with the immigration office to monitor emigrants in order to protect people in the country.

Also important, is the need to raise awareness. By raising awareness against human trafficking, more people will get to know about the dangers in some of the alluring offers that are often used to trap the victims. Holding a fundraiser and donating money can help to fight human trafficking and also bring awareness to the issue.

• Faizah writes in from Babcock University, Ogun State.