Slavery in whatever form is dehumanizing the real purpose for the existence of man. The first law for the existence of man is freedom. From the medieval era, slavery has been considered as one of the factors used in influencing societies. In my view as an historian, slavery is used as a tool to enrich some and impoverish others. It is from the word go that human society has been polarized using the slavery system.
This system of taking humans as property has been here for long and is not on the verge of leaving any time soon. In the West African sub-region, slavery became the most lucrative business such that arms and ammunition was used in the art of warfare to get more slaves. The Kiriji war between Oyo and other Yoruba states was notable for the first battle where dane-guns were used and many persons were captured and sold into slavery.
Also, the trans-Atlantic slave trade prospered in carting human cargoes to the Americas and other parts of Europe. It was recorded that over a million people were shipped as commodities to the western world, something that explains the dehumanizing treatment the black people faced during the time.
Today, slavery still persists even after it was abolished by the government of the United Kingdom in 1904. The recent methods are even worse. The locals are directly involved in carrying out the dastardly act. Let's examine some of the processes that could be described as slavery in our time.
Forced Labour: Many people are forced to work against their will, mostly under coercion or other forms of violence. Young ladies nowadays are deceived with promises of better jobs abroad only to be forced into serious domestic hardship as househelps with little welfare package.
Child Labour: Children who ought to be in school are still seen around, held against their wish and made to work under hazardous conditions and are mostly not compensated. This slavery condition is more prevalent in our time because of the level.of poverty in the society. Parents or families who are not able to cater for the academic or social welfare of their wards often make them resume in the so-called wealthy people's homes to run errands while getting an education.
Debt Bondage: The inability to pay what is owed has turned some people into involuntary slaves. The creditor often resorts to making the debtor who can not repay work for them for no pay to settle their debts. This is another kind of slavery in modern times.
Human Trafficking: Here, people are often lured with mouth watering offers for a better life somewhere only to resume as sex workers or into forced labour. Some are even abducted via exploitative situations. In some parlance, human organs are harvested and trafficked. This is just the worst kind of slavery the world is currently experiencing.
To solve this problem once and for all, here is my suggestion that would help.
Strengthen Law and Enforcement: When laws that protect the human race are made at any level, the judiciary and police should ensure that those laws are empowered to take full course such that any criminal who has been confirmed be made to age the weight of the law. The law should not be lax or bought with money. When the highest bidder is made to get justice, I mean when the guilty is freed and the innocent becomes guilty, then the offence can be committed more knowing that the law can be bought.
Education: This is a tool that this generation needs to escape the claws of servitude. When people are informed through sensitization, the number of victims would drastically reduce. This is why stakeholders should ensure that enough awareness is created in the public domain so that slavery can be wiped out over time.
Support: People who have ignorantly become victims but are rescued should be adequately supported. As stated earlier, one of the reasons why people could give up their reasoning to become slavery is poverty. As such, rehabilitation, financial and moral support should be given to ensure that they are incorporated fully well into society.
Build The Nation: To stop.people from seeking greener pastures overseas and becoming slaves in the process, the government should build a strong economy where the local currency can compete favourably with the dollar. This is another way we can prevent people from ignorantly slipping into the net of slavery. And when the average man is able to have good roads, water supply, electricity, medical care, and social security, it would be very impossible to turn oneself into a slave or even begin to think of enslaving anyone because there will be no need for it in the long run.
