How corruption breeds enslavement of Nigerian youths in Libya, Saudi Arabia

“From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment. Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire; your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate as overthrown by strangers” – Isaiah 1:6 – 7, KJV.

In Nigeria, corruption is both endemic and systemic and it manifests itself in various forms and shapes. Sometimes it can appear in form of betrayal of trusts when Public Office Holders and Top Civil –Servants dip their hands into Government Treasuries and loot the money or funds that are entrusted to their care. This kind of financial misappropriation can also be referred to as outright stealing or fraud.

There have been cases of Senior Civil Servants that have been caught with more than 35 exotic cars. Same goes with some disgraced Military Service Chiefs whose properties worth billions of naira and millions of hard currencies buried in soak away pits whose properties were confiscated by the Federal Government. Another case that readily comes to mind is the ongoing drama of Mainagate.

And it is one of the several cases of how highly – placed Civil –Servants and other Public Officials are living above their means. Speaking with journalists outside the venue of the House of Representatives Adhoc Committee investigating the disappearance, reappearance and reinstatement of the embattled former Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reform Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, Ibrahim Magu who is the Acting Chairman of the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), recently made an appeal to Nigerians to stop glorifying corruption in the country, wondering how Maina would explain the N2.7 Billion found in his account. Magu went futher to state that “His son (Maina’s son), Faisal Abdullahi, has N1.5 billion in his account and he is just seven years old and people are glorifying him. He has mansions scattered all over, with which salary did he acquire such assets?’’ (Vanguard, Friday December 1, 2017, Pages 1& 5).

As if to buttress or lend credence to the alleged wide spread of corruption in the country, David Cameron, the immediate former Prime – Minister of the United Kingdom once reportedly remarked that the United Kingdom would have gone under, if the amount of money (Trillions of naira) that was stolen in Nigeria in the past few years took place in his country. And we cannot agree less.

Apart from incidences of financial misappropriation, frauds, or outright stealing, another form through which corruption manifests itself is through nepotism which has become cancerous in the nation’s socio – economic and political system. Under nepotism, some crucial appointments into certain offices are made on the basis ethnicity, family attachments or religion at the expense of merit, fair play and equity. Even recruitments of qualified applicants into certain establishments/organizations can be hampered through nepotism.

The resultant effect may be the mad rush of our youths into foreign lands to try their lucks when similar opportunities were denied them in their own country on the basis of family, ethnic and religious backgrounds. While the skilled/trained labour who migrated as a result of lack of equal opportunities to foreign lands like the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of American (USA) end up adding value and contributing their quotas to the Gross Domestic Products (GDPs) of their host countries, the unskilled among them sometimes are transformed to be hewers of wood and carries of water. And in extreme cases, their evil Taskmasters may turn them into sex – slaves or sold into other forms of slavery.

In more bizarre cases, others end up on the slaughter slabs of very wicked criminals in those foreign countries who killed them and harvested their vital organs for the medical needs of patients who need organs – transplant for their survival.

In recent times, video clips have been circulating on the social media where our brothers and sisters who were rescued from the enslavement of Libyans where they were telling/ recounting tales of woes of the level of dehumanization they suffered. Some of these tales were unimaginable and too horrific to be printed out. And these Nigerian youths suffered all these high levels of human degradation, maltreatment and embarrassment in their quest to seek for the so – called “greener pastures” outside the country.

Ironically, many adventurous Nigerian youths found themselves sold into slavery in Libya and Saudi – Arabia at a time when monumental frauds are being uncovered among the past and the present Ruling elites despite the declaration of war on corruption by the administration of President Muhammed Buhari. And it should be noted that this current Administration rode into power on the back of change – mantra with the promises that it wouldn’t be business as usual as far as the cankerworms of corruption which was the handwork of its predecessor, is concerned. Although this government may be trying its best, however with the recent can of worms that are being opened in the public square within its circles, the government must try harder in order to win the battle against the monster – corruption.

While we agree with the Federal Government that it is not obligated to give job to every Nigerian that are employable, it can at least ensure that suspected high incidences of nepotism are reduced to the barest minimum so that equal opportunities can be given to every Nigerians irrespective of their differences in family, ethnic or religious backgrounds. Most Nigerians, especially the youths are fleeing the country in their droves, not because of greed but because of not been given equal opportunities to show case their talents and contribute their own quotas to the development of their nation.

As we have earlier noted, nepotism is another form of corruption. And it is the sole responsibility of the government of the day to deal with it. This is the time for President Muhammed Buhari to proof himself right that he belongs to nobody and that he truly belongs to everybody.

And in order to rehabilitate hundred of Nigerians that are rescued from slavery in Libya (not to leave out Saudi – Arabia), government should mop – up the recovered loots from our suspected corrupt officials and put them into judicious use or create more enabling environments in our Agro – Allied Industries, the Manufacturing and the Solid Minerals sectors where these youths can be gainfully employed. One of the returnees from Libya has revealed in a video – clip that about 35 refugees’ camps having hundreds of Black – Africans including Nigerians scattered all over Libya are indeed slave – camps. And we are admonishing the Federal Government to put contingency-plans in place, as recommended above, in order to accommodate and rehabilitate them. Otherwise, the government may begin to witness an increase in crime waves that are associated with youth mass – unemployment.
This should be the focus and the concerns of our politicians and the Ruling Elites now and not jostling for power in 2019.

Gbemiga Olakunle, JP is General Secretary, National Prayer Movement gbemigaolakunle@yahoo.co.uk