By David Odama (In Lafia, Nasarawa State)
A US based Nigerian medical Doctor, Dr Olalekan Ogungbemi, said in Lafia,the Nasarawa State Capital on Saturday, that lip service and inadequate funding of agencies saddled with the responsibility of effective fight against human trafficking was responsible for the increasing scourge.
He said for the agencies responsible to have a breakthrough, government must fund and develop the political will, ensure proper funding and create an enabling working mechanisms for the agencies to effectively address the menace of human trafficking in Nigeria and in the Africa continent.
Ogungbemi who is also an author of many books to his credit, a renowned public health expert, told Journalists while reviewing his recently published book titled: Samanta’s Story: “One Story, Many Victims” that concrete measure and collaborations must be evolved if the perceived fight is to be realised.
He identified some systemic factors making the cycle of human trafficking hard to curb to include: poverty, unemployment, bribery, social stigma and rejection from family members.
The author of the book however ex-rayed the lead Character of a 17-year-old Samanta Matama who hailed from the Southern part of Nigeria as a victim of human trafficking for prostitution.
He said Matama was just one of the thousands of girls, particularly from Africa and Asia, who were being lured and herded across borders, by both land and sea, with unrealistic promises of a better life, with the help of human smugglers for the purpose of making money as a sex worker.
“The book which has 12 chapters and 89 pages, tells the story of ignorance, regret, anguish, anger, neglect, disillusionment, superstition, shame, deceit, corruption, bribery, organised crime, institutional shortcomings and systemic failures that bred and still breeding human trafficking.
“Although child trafficking happens in all other continents, it is in a high proportion in Africa, particularly Nigeria, as it is being fueled by unemployment, insecurity, poverty, hunger and deprivation that makes the victims more vulnerable.
“The traffickers, fondly called madam, use deceit, financial gift, flamboyant lifestyle, etc, as bait to hoodwink victims to believe that grass is really greener and rosy at the other side.
“And girls are imported by criminal gangs from poor countries in the Northern and Western parts of the continent. They are exported and forced to pay from their daily earnings to be able to pay off heavy debt placed on them by their madams,” he said.
The author who stated that oftentimes the girls while working as house helps, were often told to carry out a sexual act against their wishes. He advised the government to be pro-active in the prevention rather than being reactive, by making such journeys unattractive, illegal movement of girls from the shores of the country.
He further advised parents to be observant to be able to identify traffickers and their job offers to their children that look suspicious, saying that parents found aiding and trusting Children into the hands of the traffickers with the intent of trafficking should be punished.
The renowned medical expert however pointed out that the victims were made to swear to an oath, using their body parts, pubic hairs and blood, to keep them locked up in a cage of their own fear, ignorance and superstitious believe, so as not to escape.
”The book depicts human trafficking as a vicious cycle of cruelty and exploitation in which survival of trafficking, after years of forced prostitution have become traffickers themselves.
“The girl’s story is truly a one-story – many victims as captured in the title by the author as she has lofty dreams of a better future to enable her to assist her family after the death of her father. Unfortunately, it was not all rosy after all as she was infected with HIV in the course of prostitution and she eventually died,” he added.
Ogungbemi said that the book depicted corruption, systemic failure, lackadaisical attitude of the police officers and immigration policies as reasons why human trafficking thrives in society.
While regretting that human trafficking business thrives in spite of the establishment of relevant organisations such as the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the National Agency for the Prohibition of trafficking in Persons ( NAPTIP) and the National Human Right Commission (NHRC)
Ogungbemi, called for effective synergy to stem the tide of this dehumanising business in the country. NNL.
