In modern-day 2017, Africans have been found being auctioned off to new owners and slave masters, in scenes which are reminiscent of the 16th to 19th century when the transatlantic slave trade held sway. In scenes which were previously captured in historical accounts of the slave trade era, auctioneers advertised a group of West African migrants as “big strong boys for farm work”, referring to them in Arabic as “merchandise”.
Video footage by an international TV station has revealed buyers bidding for African migrants who were sold off for as little as $400 each, or 144,000 when converted to Naira. This is the value placed on African migrants, many of them Nigerians, an amount that cannot be used to buy fleshy cattle in markets around the country. Some of the now rescued “former slaves” spoke of how they were beaten even when working, and treated as though they were anything but human.
READ ALSO: Video gives new prominence to charges of the Libyan slave trade
The sad part however is that this auction which was caught on camera, was not taking place in the Americas or Europe, but in Libya; on African soil. The value attached to the life of the average African is continuously on a decline, and we begin to wonder if Nigeria still exists as a force to be reckoned with.
In the video clips which was the product of an investigative report, Nigerian migrants who were trapped in Libya as they attempted to cross into Europe through the Trans-Sahara route, we’re recounting the hellish experiences they have been subjected to.
Several days after, and the Nigerian government is yet to make up its mind whether or not it should express outrage over the development, or to perhaps hope that the “sold slaves” will contribute towards Diaspora remittances. After all, the country is in dire need of foreign exchange. Guinea, Senegal, and even other non-African nations who consider the events in Libya inhumane and unacceptable have however been speaking against it and demanding thorough investigations.
The African Union also announced that it has launched an investigation into the sale of African migrants as slaves by armed groups in Libya. The AU has even said that it would try to get access to illegal detention centers in which migrants were held without charges.
According to Moussa Mahamat, AU Commission Chair, Libyan authorities have been asked to facilitate the ongoing inquiries, and the perpetrators will be dealt with through the justice system.
Nigeria, where the bulk of the migrants who get trapped in these unfortunate situations come from, however, needs to stop being a sleeping, inconsequential giant. The country which prides itself as the continent’s largest economy can no longer have her citizens being auctioned off as merchandise.
The country has failed to provide an economically viable environment for most of the citizenry, leading many to seek greener pastures out of desperation, and getting trapped in unpleasant situations where they die on the journey to Europe, get murdered, or sold into slavery. But as the country has failed to provide the enabling environment for her people to prosper at home, it owes them a responsibility to be defended.
READ ALSO: Senate seeks urgent end to the alleged slave trade in Libya
This month as well, 26 “women” of Nigerian origin, with most of them aged 13 – 18, were found dead as they attempted to get into Europe. They were buried without the Nigerian government making any representation, without any remarkable efforts to show it cared about the lives of its people, or whatever unfortunate circumstances they are entangled in.
This must stop. A country that wants investors to troop in and entrust it with billions of dollars in investments, must start showing it is capable of protecting these investors and their interests. For as long as Nigeria is incapable of adequately protecting the interests of Nigerians; home and abroad, it will remain doubtful how much it can protect those who flock to it for business and other purposes.
