Vunderkind
Social Member
Yesterday the internet exploded after reports of an interview with Mrs. Aisha Buhari, General Muhammadu Buhari's wife, was published online.
The singular source of outrage was the allegation that Mrs. Buhari had called the women of Edo state 'prostitutes' who she said her husband would liberate and tackle the circumstances that warranted their travelling abroad for a better life.
The feedback was near-instantaneous, largely from social media. Some of the reactions she got from users were:
Reading her speech in Benin city proves to be antithetic to the outrage.
Her words: “In each zone of the country, we have peculiar problems; our problems differ. For me, in this zone, girl-child trafficking should be considered as one of our problems, though I know that there is unemployment. Unemployment is a major factor that contributes to brain drain and also the girl child trafficking.
As Nigeria draws closer to the election date, words will be twisted out of context and it becomes the responsibility of the reader to verify for himself the words that are paraphrased.
If anyone is outraged that she alluded to child trafficking being the problem of the South-South region (and specifically Edo state), then such a person may be trying to be obdurate in the face of unavoidable facts. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes said: "Women, girls and boys are trafficked from neighboring countries like Chad, Niger Republic, Benin Republic, Togo and Ghana to Nigeria for begging, prostitution, domestic servitude, armed conflict, and labour exploitation."
It also adds buttressing stats:
- The first conviction secured by NAPTIP in 2004 (AGF VS. SARAH OKOYA) was from Edo State;
- According to NAPTIP report, 98% of victims rescued from external trafficking for sexual exploitation are from Edo State;
So, is child trafficking a problem of Edo state. Apparently so. Did Mrs. Aisha Buhari call Edo women prostitutes? Apparently not.