Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Video - Young Nigerians use oral art form to voice their grievances
Young Nigerians are using poetry to express their grievances with the state of affairs in their country.Through spoken word - an oral art form that is slowly finding its place in the country, Nigerians are openly talking about issues ranging from corruption to lack of development and the rising cost of living.
Vicious cycle turns Nigerian sex slaves in Italy into traffickers
Sitting on the floor surrounded by vials, animal bones and sheets stained crimson with blood, spiritual doctor Olor Elemian described how he scares girls into blind obedience with potions and spells known as "juju".
Pimps, madams, smugglers and even parents bring girls to his shrine in Amedokhian village near the southern Nigerian city of Uromi, where they drink concoctions brewed with pieces of their own fingernails, pubic hair, underwear or drops of blood.
"I can make sure she never sleeps well or has peace of mind until she pays what she owes," said the 39-year-old spiritual priest known in his neighborhood as "Doctor".
"Something in her head will keep telling her: 'Go and pay!'"
Juju is a potent ingredient in a cocktail of coercion that keeps thousands of Nigerian women and girls in sex slavery in Europe, mostly in Italy, after making the treacherous journey across North Africa and the Mediterranean in search of better lives.
Combined with crippling debt and threats of violence, it helps perpetuate a cycle of exploitation in which many victims then become perpetrators, returning to Nigeria as "madams" to recruit more girls, police and rights groups say.
In Edo state - a southern Nigerian hub for human trafficking - many girls begin their journey into prostitution willingly. Most have little clue of the nightmare to follow.
Some even visit native doctors like Elemian of their own accord, hoping juju will help them prosper while selling sex in Italy.
"It's not how hard a person works that determines how much money she will make," he said, showing off his new mobile phone and modern bungalow, which stands out amid his neighbors' mud huts.
These trappings of wealth are all funded by grateful clients from Italy, he said.
MANAGED BY MADAMS
According to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC), more than nine in 10 Nigerian women smuggled to Europe come from Edo, a predominantly Christian state with a population of 3 million.
Traffickers in Nigeria are exploiting Europe's migration crisis, moving girls to lawless Libya, before crossing the Mediterranean to Italy, anti-slavery activists say.
"Edo women started going to Italy to buy gold and beads in the early 1980s and saw a thriving market in prostitution," said Kokunre Eghafona, a professor of sociology and anthropology at the University of Benin and a consultant researcher for the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
"They came back and started taking family and friends."
These women, known as "madams" - who make up around half of Nigeria's traffickers, UNDOC says - are mostly former victims-turned-brokers who prey on others to escape prostitution.
Many such traffickers believe they are being helpful rather than doing harm, calling themselves sponsors rather than madams, a more positive title, according to Eghafona.
Speaking from her home in the city of Warri with her one-year-old son crying in the background, madam "Mama Anna" said that with so many girls looking for traffickers to take them to Italy, she no longer needed to deceive or trick them into going.
"Some ask me what they will do when they get there," said Mama Anna, boasting of her reputation as a broker who sends interested girls to Italy to work for her older sister, also a madam.
"I tell them they will go and hustle," she said. "They ask: 'What kind of hustle?' I tell them. Some refuse to go, others agree."
BONDED BY DEBT
For an insight into what drives young women to travel to Italy and sell sex, look no further than Uromi, with its pothole-ridden roads and derelict buildings with wells in front yards – evidence of the town's lack of running water.
One neighborhood stands out. Its nickname is "Little London" and it is known for sleek, modern houses behind imposing iron gates, many said to be funded from the proceeds of prostitution.
Faith, a 23-year-old hairdresser, traveled more than 300 km (almost 200 miles) to Uromi from her home in Akwa Ibom, dreaming of joining the ranks of thousands of sex workers smuggled to Europe each year.
"I want to go to Italy because I want to make money," she said. "If it is prostitution, I'll do it."
In the past, girls like Faith would have been tricked into prostitution, promised jobs like hairdressing or supermarket before being forced to work for pimps.
"Before, nobody knew - it was a secret thing," said 30-year-old Anita, who was sex trafficked to Italy in 2011, after being deceived into thinking she was going to work as a hairdresser.
"But now, even children know that when you get there, it is prostitution."
After escaping her traffickers, Anita spent days on the streets. She was finally arrested and deported back to Nigeria.
Before arranging their passage through contacts in Libya, traffickers like "Mama Anna" make the girls sign a contract to finance their move - leaving them with debts that can spiral to tens of thousands of dollars and take years to pay off.
Girls are then taken to a spiritual priest, who conducts the "juju" rituals designed to bind them to their traffickers.
Such rites instil fear in victims, who believe that they or their relatives may fall ill or die if they disobey their traffickers, go to the police or fail to pay off their debts.
Fearful that the juju "spell" may be turned on them, many Nigerian parents become complicit, insisting that their daughters obey their traffickers, testimony from Italian court documents shows.
It's then on to Europe via well-trod smuggling routes through Niger and Libya.
"PUBLIC ENEMIES"
At Uromi market, several stalls display secondhand winter jackets and mittens, which one trader, Linus, described as a thriving market due to the number of people heading to Europe.
More than 12,000 Nigerian women and girls have reached Italy by sea over the past two years - a six-fold increase over the previous two-year period - with around four in five of them trafficked into sex work, according to data from the IOM.
Human trafficking by Nigerian organized crime gangs is one of the greatest challenges facing police forces across Europe, according to the EU's law enforcement agency, Europol.
For Nigeria's anti-trafficking agency, NAPTIP, efforts to combat the traffickers are being thwarted not only by the criminals themselves, but also by members of the public.
"Everybody believes that the streets of Europe are paved with gold," said Arinze Orakwe, an official at NAPTIP. "People see us as a problem, as stopping them from reaching El Dorado.
"One mother asked me if I would prefer her daughter to have sex with a young boy in Edo and get pregnant, when she can do the same thing in Europe and earn foreign currency," he said.
NAPTIP officials have been attacked by mobs in Edo while informing people of the dangers of trafficking, and angry relatives often snatch their daughters away from training or rehabilitation centers and threaten the staff, Orakwe added.
"These people, they are enemies, because this country is too rough now," said Igose, a mother-of-eight who relies on money sent by her 22-year-old daughter in Italy to feed her family.
While Igose in Benin City, the capital of Edo state, fears for the future of her family, in neighboring Uromi, Faith is still searching for a madam to arrange her passage to Italy.
Sometimes she is tempted to abandon her dream.
"I see pictures on my phone of people drowning in the sea," she said. "It is risky".
Pimps, madams, smugglers and even parents bring girls to his shrine in Amedokhian village near the southern Nigerian city of Uromi, where they drink concoctions brewed with pieces of their own fingernails, pubic hair, underwear or drops of blood.
"I can make sure she never sleeps well or has peace of mind until she pays what she owes," said the 39-year-old spiritual priest known in his neighborhood as "Doctor".
"Something in her head will keep telling her: 'Go and pay!'"
Juju is a potent ingredient in a cocktail of coercion that keeps thousands of Nigerian women and girls in sex slavery in Europe, mostly in Italy, after making the treacherous journey across North Africa and the Mediterranean in search of better lives.
Combined with crippling debt and threats of violence, it helps perpetuate a cycle of exploitation in which many victims then become perpetrators, returning to Nigeria as "madams" to recruit more girls, police and rights groups say.
In Edo state - a southern Nigerian hub for human trafficking - many girls begin their journey into prostitution willingly. Most have little clue of the nightmare to follow.
Some even visit native doctors like Elemian of their own accord, hoping juju will help them prosper while selling sex in Italy.
"It's not how hard a person works that determines how much money she will make," he said, showing off his new mobile phone and modern bungalow, which stands out amid his neighbors' mud huts.
These trappings of wealth are all funded by grateful clients from Italy, he said.
MANAGED BY MADAMS
According to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC), more than nine in 10 Nigerian women smuggled to Europe come from Edo, a predominantly Christian state with a population of 3 million.
Traffickers in Nigeria are exploiting Europe's migration crisis, moving girls to lawless Libya, before crossing the Mediterranean to Italy, anti-slavery activists say.
"Edo women started going to Italy to buy gold and beads in the early 1980s and saw a thriving market in prostitution," said Kokunre Eghafona, a professor of sociology and anthropology at the University of Benin and a consultant researcher for the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
"They came back and started taking family and friends."
These women, known as "madams" - who make up around half of Nigeria's traffickers, UNDOC says - are mostly former victims-turned-brokers who prey on others to escape prostitution.
Many such traffickers believe they are being helpful rather than doing harm, calling themselves sponsors rather than madams, a more positive title, according to Eghafona.
Speaking from her home in the city of Warri with her one-year-old son crying in the background, madam "Mama Anna" said that with so many girls looking for traffickers to take them to Italy, she no longer needed to deceive or trick them into going.
"Some ask me what they will do when they get there," said Mama Anna, boasting of her reputation as a broker who sends interested girls to Italy to work for her older sister, also a madam.
"I tell them they will go and hustle," she said. "They ask: 'What kind of hustle?' I tell them. Some refuse to go, others agree."
BONDED BY DEBT
For an insight into what drives young women to travel to Italy and sell sex, look no further than Uromi, with its pothole-ridden roads and derelict buildings with wells in front yards – evidence of the town's lack of running water.
One neighborhood stands out. Its nickname is "Little London" and it is known for sleek, modern houses behind imposing iron gates, many said to be funded from the proceeds of prostitution.
Faith, a 23-year-old hairdresser, traveled more than 300 km (almost 200 miles) to Uromi from her home in Akwa Ibom, dreaming of joining the ranks of thousands of sex workers smuggled to Europe each year.
"I want to go to Italy because I want to make money," she said. "If it is prostitution, I'll do it."
In the past, girls like Faith would have been tricked into prostitution, promised jobs like hairdressing or supermarket before being forced to work for pimps.
"Before, nobody knew - it was a secret thing," said 30-year-old Anita, who was sex trafficked to Italy in 2011, after being deceived into thinking she was going to work as a hairdresser.
"But now, even children know that when you get there, it is prostitution."
After escaping her traffickers, Anita spent days on the streets. She was finally arrested and deported back to Nigeria.
Before arranging their passage through contacts in Libya, traffickers like "Mama Anna" make the girls sign a contract to finance their move - leaving them with debts that can spiral to tens of thousands of dollars and take years to pay off.
Girls are then taken to a spiritual priest, who conducts the "juju" rituals designed to bind them to their traffickers.
Such rites instil fear in victims, who believe that they or their relatives may fall ill or die if they disobey their traffickers, go to the police or fail to pay off their debts.
Fearful that the juju "spell" may be turned on them, many Nigerian parents become complicit, insisting that their daughters obey their traffickers, testimony from Italian court documents shows.
It's then on to Europe via well-trod smuggling routes through Niger and Libya.
"PUBLIC ENEMIES"
At Uromi market, several stalls display secondhand winter jackets and mittens, which one trader, Linus, described as a thriving market due to the number of people heading to Europe.
More than 12,000 Nigerian women and girls have reached Italy by sea over the past two years - a six-fold increase over the previous two-year period - with around four in five of them trafficked into sex work, according to data from the IOM.
Human trafficking by Nigerian organized crime gangs is one of the greatest challenges facing police forces across Europe, according to the EU's law enforcement agency, Europol.
For Nigeria's anti-trafficking agency, NAPTIP, efforts to combat the traffickers are being thwarted not only by the criminals themselves, but also by members of the public.
"Everybody believes that the streets of Europe are paved with gold," said Arinze Orakwe, an official at NAPTIP. "People see us as a problem, as stopping them from reaching El Dorado.
"One mother asked me if I would prefer her daughter to have sex with a young boy in Edo and get pregnant, when she can do the same thing in Europe and earn foreign currency," he said.
NAPTIP officials have been attacked by mobs in Edo while informing people of the dangers of trafficking, and angry relatives often snatch their daughters away from training or rehabilitation centers and threaten the staff, Orakwe added.
"These people, they are enemies, because this country is too rough now," said Igose, a mother-of-eight who relies on money sent by her 22-year-old daughter in Italy to feed her family.
While Igose in Benin City, the capital of Edo state, fears for the future of her family, in neighboring Uromi, Faith is still searching for a madam to arrange her passage to Italy.
Sometimes she is tempted to abandon her dream.
"I see pictures on my phone of people drowning in the sea," she said. "It is risky".
Monday, November 7, 2016
Video - Abducted Chibok schoolgirl found with baby by Nigerian army
Another Chibok girl has been rescued by the Nigerian Army. The girl, found with a child, was discovered at a screening centre in the Sambisa forest in Borno state.
Western Union commends Nigeria on resilience
With a record of remittances from Nigerians in Diaspora, Western Union has lauded assessed resilience and spirit of hard work, which it noted, cut across economic spheres globally.
The Regional Vice President of Western Union-Africa, Aida Diarra, while speaking at its 20th anniversary in the country, said Nigeria has become one of the most connected countries in the world when it comes to receiving and sending money.
According to him, the Nigerian spirit of hard work and resilience can be found around the world across all economic spheres.
“Western Union recognises that, at the start and end of every transaction are two people, and they rely on each other, just as much they rely on us to move their money reliably. It is this dual belonging that remains at the heart of our innovation to make it easy for Nigerians to send or receive money,” he said.
Referring to Western Union as the global leader in payments, Diara noted that Nigeria is the fifth largest remittance receiver globally, as attested by the World Bank.
He revealed that more than 195 countries and territories sent money into Nigeria, and 160 received money from Nigeria in 2015, reflecting the extraordinary global connections brought about by the rise in migration of Nigerians to many parts of the world.
“Migration destinations have remained steady since a decade ago, according to Western Union’s own trend analysis. The United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Italy, Australia, France and Netherlands continued to be the favourite destinations, while United Arab Emirates and Malaysia moved to the top 10, replacing Switzerland and Spain.
“Western Union bridges geographical gaps by diversifying the options to send and receive money with reliability, convenience, and speed. From a single location with the First Bank of Nigeria in the heart of Lagos in 1996, Western Union has expanded its walk-in retail Agent location count to more than 5,200, with a presence in every one of Nigeria’s 36 states.
“The company’s channel diversification focus also allows Nigerians to receive money into 2.2 million mobile wallets and into more than 50 million bank accounts.
“More than 20 majority-owned Nigerian businesses form the foundation of an Agent network that connects Nigerians no matter what distance exists between them and the world.
“It is an honour to have served Nigerians for the past 20 years and connect them to and from nearly every corner of the world, moving the money that funds education, healthcare, everyday living and the dreams and aspirations of their families,” he said.
The Regional Vice President of Western Union-Africa, Aida Diarra, while speaking at its 20th anniversary in the country, said Nigeria has become one of the most connected countries in the world when it comes to receiving and sending money.
According to him, the Nigerian spirit of hard work and resilience can be found around the world across all economic spheres.
“Western Union recognises that, at the start and end of every transaction are two people, and they rely on each other, just as much they rely on us to move their money reliably. It is this dual belonging that remains at the heart of our innovation to make it easy for Nigerians to send or receive money,” he said.
Referring to Western Union as the global leader in payments, Diara noted that Nigeria is the fifth largest remittance receiver globally, as attested by the World Bank.
He revealed that more than 195 countries and territories sent money into Nigeria, and 160 received money from Nigeria in 2015, reflecting the extraordinary global connections brought about by the rise in migration of Nigerians to many parts of the world.
“Migration destinations have remained steady since a decade ago, according to Western Union’s own trend analysis. The United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Italy, Australia, France and Netherlands continued to be the favourite destinations, while United Arab Emirates and Malaysia moved to the top 10, replacing Switzerland and Spain.
“Western Union bridges geographical gaps by diversifying the options to send and receive money with reliability, convenience, and speed. From a single location with the First Bank of Nigeria in the heart of Lagos in 1996, Western Union has expanded its walk-in retail Agent location count to more than 5,200, with a presence in every one of Nigeria’s 36 states.
“The company’s channel diversification focus also allows Nigerians to receive money into 2.2 million mobile wallets and into more than 50 million bank accounts.
“More than 20 majority-owned Nigerian businesses form the foundation of an Agent network that connects Nigerians no matter what distance exists between them and the world.
“It is an honour to have served Nigerians for the past 20 years and connect them to and from nearly every corner of the world, moving the money that funds education, healthcare, everyday living and the dreams and aspirations of their families,” he said.
Minister of Petroleum Kachikwu faults NNPC on fuel price increase
Nigeria Minister of Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu on Sunday condemned the recent increase in fuel price in Nigeria National Petroleum (NNPC) filling station.
Kachikwu made the statement after receiving an award at an event organized by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
“First, I am not aware that the NNPC has increased price. I need to look into that. It is a bit of surprise for me, because there are processes in doing this, if they have done that, it means they are doing it wrongly.
“Let me find out what the facts are,” he told journalists
According to him, the government cannot fix a new price for petrol without putting into cognizance the market variables that gave rise to the current petroleum pricing template.
“What we ought to be doing was watching the prices, making sure that they are not taking advantage of the common man; making sure that the template is respected.
“One of the things I think we had hoped to do, which we should still do, before we embark on any price increase is to work on those templates,” he said.
NNPC had been selling fuel at N141 but on Thursday, increased it by N4 to the government benchmark of N145.
The pump price of petrol in Nigeria rose to N145 per litre earlier this year after President Muhammadu Buhari removed fuel subsidy.
The government said the decision to remove the subsidy was as a result of the fall in oil price and non-availability of foreign exchange.
The government however, said the liberalization of petrol supply and distribution will allow marketers and any Nigerian entity willing to supply PMS to source for their forex and import PMS to ensure availability of products in all locations of the country.
According to the government, the resultant fuel scarcity has created an abnormal increase in price, resulting in Nigerians paying between N150 and N300 per litre as prevalent hoarding, smuggling and diversion of products have reduced volumes made available to citizens.
Kachikwu made the statement after receiving an award at an event organized by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
“First, I am not aware that the NNPC has increased price. I need to look into that. It is a bit of surprise for me, because there are processes in doing this, if they have done that, it means they are doing it wrongly.
“Let me find out what the facts are,” he told journalists
According to him, the government cannot fix a new price for petrol without putting into cognizance the market variables that gave rise to the current petroleum pricing template.
“What we ought to be doing was watching the prices, making sure that they are not taking advantage of the common man; making sure that the template is respected.
“One of the things I think we had hoped to do, which we should still do, before we embark on any price increase is to work on those templates,” he said.
NNPC had been selling fuel at N141 but on Thursday, increased it by N4 to the government benchmark of N145.
The pump price of petrol in Nigeria rose to N145 per litre earlier this year after President Muhammadu Buhari removed fuel subsidy.
The government said the decision to remove the subsidy was as a result of the fall in oil price and non-availability of foreign exchange.
The government however, said the liberalization of petrol supply and distribution will allow marketers and any Nigerian entity willing to supply PMS to source for their forex and import PMS to ensure availability of products in all locations of the country.
According to the government, the resultant fuel scarcity has created an abnormal increase in price, resulting in Nigerians paying between N150 and N300 per litre as prevalent hoarding, smuggling and diversion of products have reduced volumes made available to citizens.
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