There was this authoritative but dreadful report from a global rating body that stated that Nigeria is the most dangerous place on earth to be born. Aside from the spiralling cases of child mortality and morbidity, Nigeria has been made a dangerous place by political leaders due to unprecedented violence and terrorism all over the length and breadth of Nigeria.
There were two other corollary or corresponding reports that sounded frightening and alarming one of which was released in 2023 which said that Nigeria is the 15th most criminally disturbed nation in the World.
The second report said that Nigeria is the third most terrorised nation after Afghanistan and Syria under erstwhile president Assad. What makes Nigeria dangerous, indeed too dangerous for newborns is due to the collapsing national healthcare system and the fact that the public health care system is non-existent.
The fact is that millions of children are actually born as we speak outside of the hospital environment due to absence of any kind of healthcare facilities. For instance, in Imo state, most populated centres don’t have functional primary healthcare facilities so much so that families travel for many miles to go to Okigwe, Orlu or Owerri to attend the existing private hospitals and the very few poorly equipped publicly owned hospitals.
Again, Nigeria has no centralised agency to care for the children like it is in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and many other industrialised countries. Nigeria has a certain ministry of Women Affairs but there is no ministry of Children Affairs like it is obtained for instance in Great Britain whereby Nigeria gained political independence in 1960. In Great Britain, there is a Minister of State (Minister for Children and Families) with the following
Organisations: Department for Education and these responsibilities as would be disclosed in the subsequent paragraphs.
The minister’s responsibilities include:
*child protection (including protection from child sexual exploitation and safeguarding),
*local authority children’s social care and family law;
*children in care, care leavers and adoption
childcare policy including delivery of the 30 hours free childcare offer, inspection and regulation;
*Early years policy including inspection, regulation and literacy and numeracy;
Other functions of the minister in charge of children affairs are for: *funding for publicly funded schools in England to raise the attainment of disadvantaged pupils of all abilities (pupil premium and pupil premium plus);
*funding and policy on free school meals
special educational needs and disabilities;
*school sports and healthy pupils
cadets and military ethos in the education system; and
Improving social mobility in the 12 opportunity areas.
Some states of the federation have child welfare departments under the ministries of Women Affairs but there is no single structured, institutional and systematic platform dedicated for affairs of children. This absence is the reason there are multidimensional crimes by adults against children including child rape and sexual violations, domestic abuses, child trafficking and the mother of all organised crimes against Nigerian children known as the phenomenon of BABY FACTORIES.
Ben Shemang, an experienced journalist recently penned a historical piece on why Nigeria’s ‘baby factories’ continue to thrive.
He reports that child traffickers in Nigeria often kidnap girls and young women, take them to isolated places, and impregnate them. When they give birth, their babies are sold to childless couples.
A pregnant woman who was freed by police officers with other girls and women that had been held captive in Lagos, Nigeria
Some young female Nigerians told DW that they remain vulnerable because of their poor living conditions.
So-called baby making factories are facilities in Nigeria to which girls and young women are lured, impregnated and held against their will until they give birth.
The “factories” are usually small, illegal facilities parading as private medical clinics that house pregnant women and subsequently offer their babies for sale.
In some cases, young women have been held against their will and raped before their babies are sold on the black market.
The practice is largely prevalent in the southeastern states of Abia, Lagos, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo.
Around 200 underground baby factories have been shut over the last five years, according to Nigerian security agencies, however new facilities open to replace the closed ones.
He reported that earlier last March, police officers stormed a hideout in Abia where they rescued 16 pregnant girls and eight young children.
Maureen Chinaka, a police spokeswoman revealed that the rescued girls were between the ages of 17 and 27 and had been told that they would be paid to leave the baby factories without their babies.
Last June, 22 pregnant young girls and two babies were rescued from a facility in the same state, where they had been held hostage.
Why do factories exist?
There is a thriving market for babies among couples who are struggling to bear their own children. They are willing to pay between 1 million naira (€576) and 2 million naira (€1,152) for a baby.
There is a higher demand for male babies, which tend to be sold at a higher price than baby girls.
Clare Ohunayo, a Nigerian activist and educationist, told DW that as long as there is demand for babies, the practice will prevail.
Supplying a demand
Ohunayo blames it on high levels of poverty and the stigma that comes with being a childless couple in Nigeria.
“The desperation that drives the baby factory has two sets of players. The first set is driven by the fear of poverty as a result of the socio-economic conditions of Nigeria,” she said.
Those who own these facilities where the girls are kept, the men who impregnate them, and the girls themselves are all pushed into poverty, according to Ohunayo.
Some young female Nigerians told DW that they remain vulnerable because of their poor living conditions.
“This baby booming industry, even though it has been in existence, the reason it’s coming up [is] because people are really really stressed in terms of striving for a daily living,” a young resident of Abuja said.
Another Abuja resident told DW that: “We are experiencing an increase in crime rates due to hardship and poverty.”
But not everyone blames it on poverty.
“Actually I think what is causing this menace has to do with moral decadence. Immoral people are desperate to make money. This is why you see this kind of thing happening, but to me I think it’s very bad,” said one Nigerian man.
Giving birth to children is considered significant in many African societies, and often couples unable to have their own children face humiliation, even from family members.
The demand for male children makes the practice especially lucrative, according to police officials.
“On the other side you have childless couples who want to avoid the stigma of [being] childless,” said Ohunayo, describing a major cultural factor behind the baby factories.
A foster family with a difference
Ending the baby factory business
Florence Marcus, a lawyer with the Abuja-based Disability Rights Advocate Center told DW there are laws to help tackle the menace.
“This issue of baby factories is a gross violation of the rights of the victims, especially these young ladies who are often taken to these facilities without their consent,” she said.
“The Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act prohibits all forms of violence against persons, particularly women and girls. The law provides maximum protection and effective remedies for the victims and also punishment for the offenders.”
Several arrests have been made across the Nigerian states in which the practice is prevalent.
Zakaria Dauda, spokesman for the National Agency for the Prohibition in Trafficking in Persons, a government body, told DW that the organization will continue to make arrests and ensure that perpetrators are punished.
“We know [with] the issue of baby factories, most victims are usually young girls. We warn people of the dangers of such vices,” he said.
“And those who become suspects, we take them [in] for people to also know that there is a crime being perpetrated called sale of babies.”
Besides, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP has expressed grave concern over the escalating incidents of baby factories and child trafficking across the country.
The then Director-General of the agency, Prof. Fatima Waziri-Azi, revealed that there had been a surge in reports and public outcry regarding the sale of babies and the existence of clandestine facilities that exploit vulnerable individuals, including young girls and minors.
Waziri-Azi, in a statement signed by NAPTIP’s Communication Officer, Adekoya Vincent, cited the recent uncovering of a baby factory in Abia State by the Department of State Services (DSS) as one of numerous reports.
She said, “One of the most recent incidents occurred in Umunkwa village, located in the Umuafai Ndume Ibeku area of Umuahia North Local Government, Abia State, where ten victims were rescued from a baby factory,” she said.
“The victims, aged between one and twenty-four years, included seven young girls, six of whom are pregnant, one lactating mother, and two boys who are minors. The factory was operated by a 63-year-old woman, Chinyere Nkwocha, who was apprehended by the DSS. The victims and suspects have been handed over to NAPTIP for further investigation and action.”
Emmanuel Onwubiko is the National Coordinator of the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria. He writes in from Abuja.
Disclaimer: This article is entirely the opinion of the writer and does not represent the views of The Whistler.
OPINION: Nigeria’s Crimes Against Children is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
Source: The Whistler
