Obasanjo, Amosun flay alleged slave trade in Libya

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By Sola AJIBIKE (Abeokuta)

NIGERIA: FORMER President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, is not happy with the resurgence of slavery in Libya, just as the Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amsun, also condemned the development, saying that African leaders should rise to condemn the act.

Obasanjo, who spoke at the opening ceremony of the 2017 Annual Conference of the Comptroller General of Immigration of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) held at the MITROS Residences in Abeokuta, Ogun State, described it as “humanising and undignifying” slavery in the 21st century.

The former President expressed concern over the way Africans are being treated in Libya, and noted that the current development in Africa called for sober reflection for African leaders.

While explaining that leaders must feel a sense of regret on what they ought to do, he also said slavery had reared its ugly head and therefore deserves to be condemned “in the strongest language possible.”

“I believe that slave trade in the 21st Century should be condemned in the strongest language possible and nobody who is involved in it should be excused,” Obasanjo said. He queried: “What can we do and what must we do?  We must ensure that conducive atmosphere is created for genuine exchange of goods and ensure development within our country, sub-region, continent and the world which we live in,”

Obasanjo said “Without movement there can be no development.  And movement means migration.  But then today, migration has a very nasty connotation particularly when you watch the television and you hear the story of thousands of our youths daring to go through the desert.

“Then after they have done such hazardous journey, some of them are being sold as slaves.  Slaves in the 21st century, Africans being sold by Africans and maybe to Africans!

“Making human beings as instrument merchants, property to be sold as commodity; dehumanizing and undignifying what God has created to be dignified and uplifted!”

He also said: “As if that is not bad enough, these people go further and many of them find the Mediterranean Sea as a common grave.  This means they terminate their lives. Why do they do this?  It is because they believe they could get greener pasture elsewhere.  What they believe they lack in their own country may be gotten outside their own country.

“So what does this means?  It means that all of us as leaders must feel a sense of regret and have sober reflection on what we have done or what we have not done to bring this about to our own people.”

Amosun, who declared the conference opened, however, commended the initiative of NIS on the issuance of visa at the point of entry.

The Governor urged the participants at the conference to see the programme as an avenue to brainstorm and come up with practical solutions that would be of benefits to Nigeria.

Earlier, the Comptroller-General of NIS, Muhammad Babandede, had said that the service was committed to safe and regular migration in order to prevent the sad stories of loss of lives and resources of Nigerian citizens and foreigners.

He, however, warned travel agencies, individuals and officers in passport offices at various borders, who engaged in smuggling of migrants, to desist from it.

According to him, anyone found wanting would be made to face the law, while stating that from January, 2018, National Identity Number (NIN) would be part of requirements for issuance of Nigerian passport with the National Identity Management Commission.

Babandede said that the aims of the conference were to review all its service and the e- passport after 10 years of its introduction in order to better the services they rendered.

He declared “I wish to state that Nigeria Immigration Service is committed to safe and regular migration to prevent the sad stories of loss of lives and sources of Nigerian citizens and others occasioned by the desperate journey through the Sahara desert and the Mediterranean Sea.”

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