Nothing symbolises in clearer terms the injustice mated out on humans by fellow human beings or greedy extremists like human trafficking. Human Trafficking in Persons has become a subject of great discourse in recent times, especially when considering the selfish gains which traffickers get from it. According to Gozdiak and Laczko (2005), the definitions of Trafficking are often “messy.” The Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary defines Human as: “… people rather than animals, machines or gods.” Trafficking is simply the transfer of persons without his prior knowledge for the main purpose of exploitation or torture. Although, Gozdiak et al find controversies in the definitions of trafficking, The United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, defines Trafficking in Persons thus: “The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, or abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payment or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.”
The trading of humans for selfish gains has become a global business. These people who are trafficked are made to engage in vices such as: child marriage (in the case of children), slavery, sexual exploitation, and others. The rights of these victims are discriminated and they are exposed to different forms of dangers. It was identified on the reports of UNDODC 2018 Global Trafficking in Persons that 72% of the victims of human trafficking were women and young girls. When evaluating the profits generated from trafficking, International Labour Congress (ILO), as at 2014 reported that “forced labour” only (a part of human trafficking) generated an estimate of $150 billion yearly. Over the years, the profits gained from this societal injustice have risen greatly and the dangers grow higher.
Furthermore, with human trafficking becoming a universal business and the third largest crime in the world today, Nigeria has not been left out in the toll. References to the case study of human trafficking in Nigeria have proven Nigeria to be one of the largest centres of trafficking in Africa. UNESCO (2006) reported that human trafficking is the third most common crime in Nigeria, immediately following drug trafficking and fraud. The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) also reported that in 2019, 203 cases of human trafficking were found in Nigeria. Although, the history of human trafficking in Nigeria started in the 15th century during the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade by the European colonialists, the number of cases of human trafficking today in Nigeria has risen greatly. The cases of missing girls keep increasing in the country and a systemic study of this shows that 61% of abducted women or young girls are forced into trafficking.
More so, the causes of human trafficking in Nigeria may not be different from what is applicable in other countries since it is a global issue. Certain economic conditions as well as individuals’ factors have caused this trafficking. Researchers have identified these few to be the major causes of human trafficking. Basically, poverty is identified as one of the major causes. Most traffickers indulge in this act just to salvage their poor state of being and to survive in a recessed economy. To add to that, poor level of education adds to the list of the causes of trafficking. In Nigeria, most of these victims are illiterates who lack basic knowledge of the adverse dangers of human trafficking. They are made to believe the lies of these traffickers who may possess a larger level of intelligence. Also, lack of employment opportunities in the economy contributes a quota to the causes of trafficking. In Nigeria, youths who do not have a legitimate means of livelihood will easily go into trading fellow humans for gains.
Instinctively, human trafficking has numerous effects on the victims. Although death is identified as the gross effect of human trafficking, psychological trauma, health diseases amongst others are the preliminary effects of trafficking. The consistent exploitation or use of force on these victims can cause dangers to their health. For instance, victims who are engaged in forced sex will have mutilation on their genitals due to the forceful penetrations. These victims, especially the younger ones are given a mental picture of forced or overdue sex and these create negative impacts on them, psychologically. Victims of human trafficking go through bouts of depression, fear, insecurity, stigmatisation. Aside these individual effects, human trafficking destroys the integrity of countries who engage in it. It exposes the deficiencies of such countries. For example, Nigeria is rated the thirty-second nation in the list of human trafficking nations in the world today. With this, the integrity of Nigeria will be at stake when considering the issue of human trafficking.
Conclusively, human trafficking has called for global concerns in recent times and certain measures have been adopted as the solutions to it. Private individuals, governmental and non-governmental organisations have put up several strategies to fight human trafficking in our society. Some of these solutions are: advocacy, campaigns, volunteering, and implementation of anti-trafficking laws amongst others. When people are enlightened about the adverse dangers of human trafficking, they will be forced to stop their engagement in it, thereby reducing the rate of trafficking. This education can come from the government or NGOs. For example, in Nigeria, the Roost Foundation, which functions as an NGO has roles to play in curbing human trafficking. Anti-trafficking agencies should be saddled with the responsibilities of promoting regular anti-trafficking programs through different mass media. When all these are considered and fully implemented, human trafficking in persons will be eradicated from our society and the world at large.