About 2500 teenagers have been rescued from ‘baby factories’ across the South-East states in the last one year. Investigations conducted by the Campaign for Democracy (CD)revealed that the victims, who were majorly pregnant minors, were freed by the Police and other security agencies from the various illegal orphanages where they were held captive.
According to a statement released by the group and signed by its Chairman in the South-East, Uzor A. Uzor, most of the girls were enticed into the trade with monetary offers by the ‘baby factory’ operators, while others were forced into the infamous trade by poverty and illiteracy.
The CD noted that within the time under review, Abia and Imo states had the highest number of teenagers involved in the infamous trade.
The group attributed the increase in ‘baby factory’ operations in the zone to high rate of youth unemployment and poverty occasioned by the failure of successive governments in the zone to put adequate measures in place to empower the youths by creating meaningful employment.
“The rising cases of baby factory in the South-East is a result of the failure of the state governments in the South-East to create jobs for the teeming youths, especially the helpless girls who are easily lured into the trade.
“There is no other part of the country that has the problem of baby factory; it is a peculiar case with the South-East.
“In Abia and Imo states, about 1,800 pregnant teenagers and babies were rescued from ‘baby factories’ in the last 12 months and the number is still rising,” the CD stated.
It further charged the South-East governors to urgently fight the menace to secure the future of the teeming youths who are currently threatened.
“The governors in the zone should collaborate with security operatives to fish out those behind the trade and rehabilitate the rescued teenagers,” CD charged.
The Imo State Commissioner of Police, Muhammad Musa Katsina, had during a media briefing in Owerri, the state capital, expressed worries that the issue of ‘baby factory’ had taken deep root in the South-East.
According to him, “the rate is alarming in all the states. It had been there until we began the clampdown on the operators and we will continue until we rid the society of this set of people and other criminal elements.”
This is the result of injustice perpetrated by all successive government (from Yakubu Gowon, Muritala Mohammed, Olusegun Obasanjo, Malam Shehu Shagari, through to Buhari, Babangida, Abacha, Abdulsalam,Obasonjo and Yah Adua) targeted against the south east as a result of the civil war.
ReplyDeleteIt is disheartnening that a region is constantly marginalized and punished by the government in the center for a war that was declared no victor no vanquish-more so given that it was actually America and Britain that fought on behalf of Nigeria to force the Biafran side to surrender. A truth which is never told, instead we are making mediocre soldiers (whose I.Q. Ojukwu made a nonsense of by superior military tactice) appear as gallant soldiers, and they have all emerged as political giants and some even as 'elder statemen'.
As a result, the federal government since 1970 till date have made sure that the south east does not make progress. The south east dont even have a say over who governs them.
Over the years the government at the center made sure that the south east is stripped of good leadership and any opportunty for development.
Education in this region is the most expensive relative to other sections of the country despite that the east is well endowed with highly intelligent and productive mind.
While other regions enjoy government patronage one way or the other be it amnesty,normadic education or even roboust free education, the east have constantly enjoyed undue and negative interferance and bashing from the same government in the center.
So young men and women whose parents have been paralysed by the federal government are now forced in to all manner of vices as a means of survival.
So the federal government if they still have an iota of integrity should take the full blame for all the vices emanating from the south east.
Add Jonathan to d list now... and also the state governors from 1970 till date.. then we review your claim
Deletethere is no marginalization at all in any the polity. we all are proclaiming individual or better still regional intertrest. shikena
DeleteNonsense your evil act is responsible for that, and it has just the started. You 'll continuing to suffer and remain in that situation forever.
ReplyDelete