Cross Border Human Trafficking and Its Effect on Nigeria’s National Image

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume III, Issue VI, June 2019 | ISSN 2454–6186

Cross Border Human Trafficking and Its Effect on Nigeria’s National Image

Chinemerem Winifred Ojiego

Department of History, International Studies and Diplomacy, Godfrey Okoye University, Ugwuomu-Nike, Enugu State, Nigeria.

Abstract – Human trafficking is regarded as modern day slavery. The phenomenon has generated a lot of attention among local and international communities. The menace has become a lucrative criminal business and Nigeria has acquired a reputation for being one of the leading African countries in human trafficking with cross-border and internal trafficking. This study examined the effects of human trafficking on Nigeria’s national image. The study adopted political economy theory as enunciated by Karl Marx as its theoretical framework, given the fact that the approach stated that while crime increase in the society is because of the unjust conditions in the society. This research adopted ex-post-facto research design and data was generated through secondary sources. At the end of the investigation, it was discovered that human trafficking has flourished due to the lackluster attitude of law enforcement and a weak legal framework thus, creates bad image for Nigeria. The researcher recommended that the government should provide employment opportunities for youths, and create an encouraging environment for the private sectors to invest.

Keywords: Human, Trafficking, Nigeria, National Image, Cross Border.

I. INTRODUCTION

Human trafficking is mostly recognized as modern day slavery and as such it is not historically new. The issue of human cross border trafficking is a complex, multi-faceted phenomenon involving multiple stakeholders at the institutional and commercial level. Human trafficking is a demand-driven global business with a huge market for cheap labour which is often confronted with insufficient or unexercised policy framework or trained personnel to prevent it. Virtually no country in Africa is immune from trafficking. These countries are all affected as either countries of source, destination, transit or a combination of all three. Trafficking of persons is the third largest crime after arms trade and drug trade and it comes in many forms; of sexual exploitation, forced labour and organ harvesting. (UNESCO, 2006)

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