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Is this another Igbo lifestyle that needs to go? Fist of all, I don't think that the author is Igbo as the name seems to suggest. He made lots of mistake about the Igbo ways and even called Igba boyi Igbas boyi.
THe Story from the Tribune: Nigerian-Tribune
Igbo traders and child exploitation
By Ikechukwu Ezenwegbu
AGAINST the backdrop of the recent campaign launched against child labour and trafficking in some Southeastern States by WOTCLEF, sprouts the annoying issue of the unchallenged existence of a repulsive anathema like “Igbas Boyi” – a corrupt form of slavery , which hitherto enjoyed a free rein among the Igbos, especially in the trading circles. Indeed, this noxious phenomenon really leaves a big question mark on the prim sensitivity and clairvoyance of the southeastern leaders, political and religious alike, for even in the face of its crippling ravages, illegality and immorality , the obnoxious custom is still widely celebrated with the highest degree of impunity and dogmatism. We are all witnesses to the great panache with which the awful shibboleth has lubricated the wheel of low male-child enrolment in the Southeastern schools over the years. We equally behold in disgust the embers of child trafficking as being infernally fanned by the ugly monster. What with the untold manner in which scads of young chaps are consigned to the hollow and suicidal precinct of armed robbery , drug peddling, vagrancy and illicit dealings, all from the inhumane vicissitudes begotten by the stone-age artefact.
Infact, one could be tempted to depict the southeastern region as the cesspit of child abuse and exploitation, otherwise, how could we situate the unchallenged existence of this parlous contraption which has, over the years, turned in the palms of predatory spivs, a veritable tool for milking and dehumanizing underprivileged children. What else in this advanced age of civilization could be pinned as a paradigm of human turpitude than such an infamous arrangement, which allows school-age children to undergo a marathon form of serfdom that starkly opposes every canon of employment rights and conventions on the rights of a child? And when we closely squint into it from the perspective that thousands of hapless striplings have been deprived of education, common sense of humanity and bright prospects therein, we begin to question our perception of the concept of crime against humanity .
This, indeed, is a slavery writ large. However, it appears its invincible bulwark lurks in the fact that its existence has somehow seasoned the rocky terrain of business with alluring and breath-taking ambience. And this luscious atmosphere, to many, must not be smothered for what it offers. As it is, all it now takes to succeed in trading circles is to open shops, and scout around for indigent village idiots to conscript and enmesh in serfdom. It has resulted in a free- for-all. And this line, perhaps explains the reason why many indolent parasites and calculative spongers, neatly secured behind the deceptive veil of traders, are comfortable, even in circles that are plagued with insoluble depression.
Yes, among the so-called traders, only a few still retain the scruples to reckon with workers when making staffing arrangements. Of course, we know that serfs, unlike workers, are never entitled to some inalienable employment rights such as remuneration, liberty , working flexibility and fringe benefits. Serfs, as the concept implies, are slaves and thus, are only permitted some peanuts as “settlement” only after six, seven or even twelve years of mind-bending servitude. And unfortunately enough, this vicious contraption, as anti-progressive as it is, is being sheathed with a brazen charade that it’s a form of apprenticeship.
This is really where the bastion feeds on, and takes sober refuge. People now with indecent impunity, prowl the countrysides and hick towns in marauding style, hunting for impecunious fads to lure out of schools and devour. Even untutored infants, who, perhaps for want of motivation and sponsorship, never saw the four walls of primary schools, are not let out. Infact, they are the most sought-after for they make pliant, stoical and submissive serfs. Luring them out of school often with promises of unrealistic goodies, they are shorn of all human rights and bundled to the cities where they are practically enslaved.
Indeed, this iniquitous system has sanctioned and fostered a lot of depravity and barbarity. For instance, in most cases, these children are unhealthily quartered in squalid hovels, I mean, sordid set-up that sometimes stands on par with pigsty. Some are even domiciled in poorly-ventilated structures as in shops and warehouses. What with the stunning measure of debilitating workload that most of them are daily subjected to, which when summed with the dehumanizing treatments and poor welfare they get, do throw up the sad memories of the infamy that our progenitors witnessed in the plantations of the European slave masters. Even at that, they are still not deemed fit for good foods, stipends, allowances, sprees, furloughs and liberty .And this is our own style of apprenticeship?
But then, I guess that everyone knows the dividing line between apprenticeship and child slavery. Chief among them, I suppose, is that apprenticeship, as universally practised, makes for Day release system, which allows the apprentice a scope for education. On the other hand, slavery’s benchmark distinctly encapsulates: exploitation, dehumanization and dimution of freedom, and these are the principles that form the conceptual framework of slavery. Now, viewed against the foregoing, what we have here is much undoubtedly an undiluted form of thralldom, which we know is a heinous crime against humanity. Moreover, as far as I am concerned, there’s yet to be a line of trade that would cost a child learner, even a scatterbrain, more than two years to perfect in. Anything beyond such time frame is obviously teetering on the brink of servitude. Or can we justify that a child is supposed to spend about six years in apprenticeship for trading lines like motor spare parts, electronics, cosmetics and other less skilfully-demanding business precincts, where we watch these children wasting their precious lifetime.
However, I still feel that if the money these children are “settled” with at the bitter end of the hellish purgatory, were always commensurate with the measure of their input and sacrifice, no much row would be made. But the fact is that, most often, the insulting pittances they get at the tail-end fail to average out to half the annual salary of a minimum wage earner. In most cases, the monies don’t even buy common trade tools. I know of many that were settled with about N20,000 for seven years and as well, I have witnessed some hapless ones, manipulated to slave for up to 10 years or more only to get as “settlement” spurious allegation of one sort or the other. And worse still, the percentage of those that are eventually “settled” far outweigh that of those that are left “unsettled” at the end of the day. A good number of them either quit in the throes of it or are expelled for one frivolous, ludicrous excuse or the other. And when they are out, they turn to dead beats, wholly traumatized, depressed, bereft of common knowledge, marketable skills, jobs, money and prospects. Many indeed, have had to either end up as robbers, fraudsters, touts, nuisance or take to street hawking and bike riding, being unemployed and unemployable.
Moreover, for the fact that the nauseating system allows for hire and fire, many traders have turned into a gravy train. At least, an average trader maintains a turnover of about a serf each year. And it is this crazy trend of arbitrary hire and fire that sets me on this offensive course. But more unfortunate is that some sticklers of the noisome system are taking up the cudgels, hinging on the absurd logic that the callous landmine has at least produced a lot of powerful entrepreneurs in the country’s trading industry. As if the abolished trans-atlantic slavery had not acted as stepping-stones and leg-up to some of its victims.
This is really where the veil of deceit lies. Truly, some of the victims have lived to excel. Some have equally gained foothold through it but that is not ample to justify the iniquity. That there are few people who possess strong immunity to a dangerous malaise does not necessitate or make acceptable a negligence or levity on the scourge. And come to think of it, no reason whatsoever should justify denying a child education opportunity. It’s rather a sheer obscurantism – a strong offence punishable by death in some progressive-minded nations.
But then every of the justification obviously borders on sophistry for I have never for once come across any of the sticklers or perpetrators of the crime who could agree to allow their offspring pass through the mind-warping tunnel, even when tightly pressed by circumstances. They’d rather their children stay unemployed than to walk through the landmine.
Please, let’s stop feeding ourselves with suicidal charades and deception. The ugly situation has so degenerated repulsively that the prevalent atmosphere in Southeast now instills a hazardous haze. Many people now find it difficult to draw a distinction between employment and clear cases of bondage. As a result, more and more children are apt to quit school and join the ranks of serfs. Everyone now sees slavery as a hallowed standard practice. Perhaps, this is why children from Southeast remain the main and only targets of child trafficking syndicates. Infact, just recently, it was statistically revealed that about 242 Nigerian children predominantly from the Southeast were exported to Gabon alone from October last year to February this year. And just last two weeks, about ten youths from the same region were intercepted at the nation’s border on their way to Lybia for slave labour. Indeed, people now see opportunism as a way of living and unfortunately, it has even begun spilling over.
We really need a stop at this inferno. We need somebody to squash it. Our people deserve to be thoroughly tutored on their inalienable human rights. An arrangement whereby a child is denied education for servitude is a serious form of infanticide. Equally, a system in which the remuneration of a worker only comes after a long period such as in a year, five, six or ten years, is nothing short of slavery – a villainy of satanic dimension.
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