Rising baby’ factories, trade and effect

 We have lost character as people. It has been a case of uncertainty of some sort if you know what makes some orphanage homes, hospitals and clinics, religious centers masquerading as syndicate in the baby industry and trade, in local and illicit international market space.

Then you will weep for humanity. As baby’s farming syndicates have strong network and background voice, to beats your imagination. Some may even be operating next door to you without you knowing, and I wonder how their antics always beat security personnel for that long. This business is spinning and more people are rolling into it everyday. In this market, demand is always higher than supply. There is ready made market,ready cash transfer and deposit is no big deal. Making money by farming babies for sales in Nigeria is a serious illegal business meant for those who can pay the highest. In hospitals, the case is same as body parts of patients are missing unnecessarily. These parts are trafficked for transplanting abroad, and are for those who can pay bills. So many things are happening these days that I can no longer talk.

Inside Story
 

  Baby factory trade is not new though. It has been there years back and has been functioning behind the scene silently to grow. It has grown and is rapidly growing. People involved in the trade as agents, sellers and buyers. They are connected with the powerful, the rich and influential in our society, so I've got to watch my back as I write.

They can pay to have their way for almost all: pay to be blank most times to security lenses, bend rules to  their favor and escape the laws from being enforced on them. They are the ones our society respects and fear. To the extent that everyday citizens are intimidated if they attempt to volunteer information to security agencies, they are out rightly sold out. You can report these clique to authorities. Reporting them to security would be the highest risk anyone could do or think of. So reflect and think who really cares about what goes on in our local communities for community policing? That’s how we got it wrong all the other times.  

Adolf Hitler prompted what has come to be baby’s factories by experiment. When he wanted to produce a super race whose attributes would portray super German as only and most superior race on earth prior to World War II. He lured and brought German girls to a room to mass-produce offspring to replace the killed Jews. But he failed in it, when Nazi was dismantled. Anyhow, that is bye gone but only used as preamble to my point.

In Europe, Athens, Greece is the capital of illegal babies’ trade. Migrants from other countries are lured and converted to baby making machines for European market. Market demand for babies varies globally and for instance-  Britons prefer Indians, America prefers Chinese and or Latin American. And the trade goes on and on and on.

In Africa, Nigeria is profiled as Africa baby’s trade capital and have potentials to service global market abundantly. Nigeria’s babies have international market acceptability and these babies are bought and brought abroad solely to become slaves. They grow up to live as slaves workers  in factories, mining and other laborious works among others. I am of the strong view that slave trade has not ended, it is still ongoing in disguise. Don’t doubt me.  

My pain is that Africans are the ones still selling Africans as commodities to Europe and America, like in the days of old. So when will Africa learn? 
    

In Nigeria particularly, and in the southern part of the country, orphanage homes are used as factories for making babies. Young girls within the age of 13-24 years are targeted and organized in hidden homes. In some of these homes, are up to 30 adolescents or more confined under the supervision of a syndicate. The syndicate usually contracts or employs the service of a young man as sex machinery for the girls at a low cost. The young man’s duty is to sleep with these girls and impregnate them at random. But serious enough, no one can ascertain the health and safety condition of the young man and the girls’including vulnerability to infection. However, in some cases syndicates are medical personnel whose duties are to attain to the girls pre antenatal  from pregnancy to delivery.

The trade and effect

When the girls delivers, babies are immediately taken away from them and sold off to ready made market, and syndicate makes sure that the girls can never trace or track baby forever. The girls after delivery normally return home with a financial gratification of N20, 000 ie less than $60 for the deal.

The young man’s share per impregnated girl is N50, 000 ie close to $100. In common parlance, - the more  girl produces babies the more money she makes. Equally, this also applies to the man too. As if this is not madness! Babies are sold into reasons you can't understand and into slavery at birth, majority are sold to be used for rituals as Africans still believes that crunching babies into powdered form is the best form of voodoo. I am imagining when these babies cries before they are killed, if those cries and blood will not affect the future of Africa.

In other similar cases, poor girls with unwanted pregnancy are lured in for cover up of shame in dedicated homes of syndicates till delivery. After delivery, they are rewarded with N20, 000 from the sales of the baby, and the girl returns home as if nothing happens. In this kind of dedicated homes, almost all the girls do so voluntarily. In baby market, the cost for male babies are more expensive. A male baby is sold between $5,500-7,000, while a female baby is sold between $4,000-3,000 in the illicit international market price.

But before I forget, I made attempt to unravel what could be the rational for a young pregnant girl, to walk away without emotions or feelings to her new born baby of nine months pregnancy? To me, this is a big concerned on  how careless people could be in knowing the whereabouts of their babies immediately after delivery.  I also pondered on the point that, if parents do know where their children are, as they read this post. And I was made to know that, before the girls are accepted into the homes, they had entered into agreement at times with the parents.

In some cases, parents gives flimsy excuses that poverty is number one thing that made them vulnerable.  I was speechless listening to them and almost lost myself. Then I remembered the wisdom of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, GOAL 1 - which is to eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere.  And I know we can do something about it. In reality, do you think poverty can drive these girls into this? I am lost and only recovering.  Lost at our morals and social values especially for X generation. Lost for what holds for future. So I ask again, parents do you know where your daughters are? 

If I don't mix up my memory, I remember how one of the girls told me that, she does not regret her actions that it was better she didn’t abort the baby and destroy lives. That it is better for her to birth, sell and walk away. And I wonder the irony to her action.  Another with tears said, that she was stigmatized, castigated and pressured by her family, friends, and society and that forced her into hiding for delivery. That she would have abandoned the baby at road side after delivery if the home was not there for her.

Well I still don't understand.  I feel something is wrong somewhere. We have to do something about these excuses and save babies from all this. We have to do something definite to save the future. Family values and morals and respect for life are eroded. We all have a role to play. Teach morals, build characters and give value to children so that they can grow as we grew.. Let’s start it now.        

                                     
#Naptip

        

Warfront in farmlands - Herdsmen versus farmers

Africa farmlands are becoming conflict zone: a war caused by the wealthy political elite for the poor local farmers and nomad herdsmen. This deadly conflict has rendered thousands and communities displaced. Lives have been lost and millions of properties destroyed. Herdsmen are becoming what one could only but imagined watching war movies.

How do you explain when herdsmen are moving with AK 47 assault riffle in local communities?  Sometimes I begin to reason why? If cowboy in America translate to herdsmen in Nigeria, so I can relate to some movies I did watched. But I have watched America movies and saw how cowboys at ranches behaves and relate. Noticed that those ranches are private businesses and not Government. Then I am wondering what is taking Nigeria Government into proposing of making ranches for herdsmen?  

The immediate question on your mind I know is, where and how did nomads-herdsmen got AK47 assault riffle from? You will ordinarily say it is out of proliferation of small arms especially in West Africa: where war and violence is characterized for years. Could it be out of porosity of our borders?  Or that ECOWAS are not serious about what is happening in their region?  Ask them and not me, ask them where did herdsmen get money to purchase guns and riffles across the coast? Or don’t they know those involved in black market armory?  It will amazed you that no body will answer you. You know why? Those that suppose to give answers to your questions are the owners of the cattle,  herdsmen tend to. They are called strong men by our society. You see, owners of cattle's in West Africa coast are wealthy elite, and mostly political office holders.  Herdsmen are the pipers and take orders from those that pays them to tend. Can’t you see herdsmen attack as script play out? And if you care to know the author of the script? I’ve just told you. That is why you see the boldness herdsmen have in carrying out attack and deadly retaliation in communities they barely know.  That is why  attack is always successful without arrest and prosecution. They are covered up by the powerful and owners of cattle’s.  This I wouldn’t lie. 

Taking a look at the conflict curve in West Africa zone, and to determine the root cause of this conflict, when herdsmen tend for their animals,  moving from place to place in search for grazing zones. These grazing zones are green vegetation in forest and farmlands. And farmlands are where farmers plant their crops in anticipation for yields. And as herdsmen migrate with their cattle’s they trampled knowingly or unknowingly and graze on farmer’s crops. And because of their illiteracy, they are unable to identify crops from grass, and or control the movement of their animals. Therefore,  this is a challenge to food security. I see this conflict threatening Goal 2 of SDG to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and sustainable agriculture if allowed to continue. What I do know is that nomad herdsmen are poor, peaceful and majorly illiterate shepherds.  Their actions are directed by poverty and nothing less.

Local farmers on the other side are poor too, yet peaceful and majorly rural dweller and illiterate too. Their livelihood is depended on farm yield. Their actions are guided by poverty. Farming in local Africa setting is laborious. Laborious to the extent that anything that threatens crop yield is enemy for attack. So therefore, whenever herdsmen destroy farmlands, farmers react dangerously and attack any available or seen herdsmen as if he’s one responsible for the farm destruction. When farmers attack herdsmen, they usually manhandled herdsmen and loot their cattle’s away as compensation. 

 

To herdsmen, losing a cow is far better than killing him. One cow’ value means much more than a thousand lives.  And because of their affinity to animals, herdsmen don’t know how to forgive anyone who carts away his flock. When they are on search for recovery of lost flocks, it is usually led as retaliation on farmers. They mobilize and attack communities within the farmlands where their cattle’s was/were looted. The attack usually happens at midnight or at dawn. The attack is always deadly, as they kill any and I mean any living thing within the targeted attacked communities. And burn down the communities.

It doesn’t end there, at unannounced intervals will they re-attack the communities again and again at their whim and caprice without any security resistance, counter, arrest or prosecution. This senseless attack has left poor farmers helpless. Farmlands in rural communities in West Africa are becoming the most fearful zone to go to. Farmers have begun to fortify selves with guns in self defense.

Herdsmen are mainly Fulani’s, predominately found across West Africa and Central Africa. In Nigeria, they are from the Northern part of the country migrating to the southern part.  Fulani herdsmen were known with staff/sticks as guiding tools to control their animals. But  lately, they have gone fortified with guns, and claim that the reason is for self defense against wild animals as they migrate, and otherwise against farmers who attack them.

Though in Nigeria their Association/union have disassociated themselves from all the attacks/atrocities carried out by herdsmen, and lay it on migrating herdsmen from West Africa countries. They have assured Nigerians that they are not terrorist group. But that is hard to believe to my mind.
According to 2015 Global Terrorism Index, Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria are rated 4^th deadliest group in the world. But somehow, the last time I visited a community attacked by Fulani herdsmen, I had believed the report.

Nigeria Government has shown concerned about this conflict without knowing exactly what the solution is. They have put in place machinery to buy and plant grasses as ranching areas. But is that not misplacement? Cattle rearing are private business and I wonder what Government got to do with it?  Or is it because the owners of these cattle as rich men within themselves? Why wouldn’t the owners of cattle be responsible enough to provide a ranch for their businesses?   I ask if these cattles were owned by the poor, would Nigeria Government have been this speedy and willing to provide ranches for the cattle at all cost ? I tell no, they wouldn’t. But they are, because of their interest and that of the ones that own these cows. It is still hanky panky game. I weep for Africa!        

#herdsmen #conflict