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- Urges Tinubu to curb human trafficking in Nigeria’s borders
By Sunday Ani
President of the Nigerian community in Cote d’Ivoire, Chief Michael Emeka Obwuchelu has said the Super Eagles has adequate support to win and bring home the trophy at the 2024 African Cup of Nations.
Onwuchelu, who recently appealed to President Bola Tinubu to rescue many Nigerians in Cote d’Ivoire prison, revealed that plans were on grounds for every Nigerian coming to Abidjan to cheer the Nigerian team to victory.
“We have made good arrangements for Nigeria village where travelling Nigerians would feel at home eating the Nigerian foods and feeling the Nigerian culture. This arrangement is also an opportunity to unite ourselves in one voice, exchange contacts, and look for ways to assist ourselves in one way or the other,” he said.
He also spoke on the need for unity among the West African countries to ensure that the AFCON trophy is won by one of the countries from the region.
“We are working in collaboration with the Western Africa States Association which I happen to be one of the representatives as the president. In that capacity, we are organizing ECOWAS village, whereby every West African country will be mobilising for each West African team to come out in full energy to support each other, irrespective of your match day,” he said.
Onwuchelu furher revealed that Nigerian minor girls were suffering largly from human trafficking in Cote D’Ivoire from Nigerian agents. He urged the Federal Government to make an urgent intervention to secure the future of young children in the country.
“I am using this opportunity to appeal to the Federal Government of Nigeria to look into the issue of human trafficking involving Nigerians in Cote’ D’oive. We have many Nigerians in Abidjan prisons not because most of them are criminals but they were unfortunate due to the wrong information or misinformation by individuals who brought them to the country.
“They bring in minor girls in the name of high paying jobs and force them into prostitution. The Federal Government needs to look into this situation; it’s becoming overbearing.
“From May 29, 2021, to date, the Nigerian community has sent 730 Nigerian girls back home and I can still confirm to you that 13 minor girls were also sent back to Nigeria in December 2023. They left Abidjan on December 29, 2023. Records can be traced down to the immigration and NAPTIP. We also have records of what we have done so far in rescuing Nigerians from human trafficking in Cote D’Ivoire.
“As a leader of the Nigerian community in Cote’doire, we are ready to work with the Nigerian government and security personnel to help with some facts and details of how these things are being done and the security measures to put in place,” he stated.
He believes that AFCON 2023 would be a better opportunity for the Nigerian government to visit the prison to rescue many young Nigerians wasting their future in the cage.
“AFCON is a good opportunity for our government to meet the host authority and rescue some of our citizens who are not criminals but dying in prison,” he added.
Ownuchelu warned Nigerians to be more security conscious and be guided at every move from Nigeria in respect of hyper-pay jobs advertising online.
“Nigerians need to be more careful about hyper pay job advertisements. There is nothing like hyper pay jobs in Ivory Coast, and Nigerians should not be deceived by a group of internet fraudsters called Qnet jobs.
“I am using this opportunity to advise my fellow Nigerians coming for the AFCON 2023, that Ivory Coast is a country where the rule of law works. President Alassane Ouattara will not want anything that will jeopardize the peace and tranquility both indigene and non-indigene have been enjoying,” he said.
The Nigeria community spokesperson, Davidson Ogbu Tabel had recently cried out to the Nigerian government over the rate of human trafficking in Cote’ D’ivoire and urged President Tinubu to consider Nigerians Diaspora in the country’s yearly budgeting expenditure.
