ON THE DISTURBING TREND OF KIDNAPPING/SELLING CHILDREN FOR MONEY – THE BENIN WOMEN KIDNAPPERS EXAMPLE – ANOTHER REFLECTION OF A FAILED NATION
April 26, 2021 | News
I am sure many of us must have seen the recent videos trending online of some children that were rescued from the hands of women kidnappers in the city of Benin, Edo State. It was noted that their method, is to kidnap children and sell them off to willing buyers who, either keep the children as their own, for those looking for children, or use them for rituals or whatever please them.
ON THE DISTURBING TREND OF KIDNAPPING/SELLING CHILDREN FOR MONEY – THE BENIN WOMEN KIDNAPPERS EXAMPLE – ANOTHER REFLECTION OF A FAILED NATION
The disturbing growing concern on the increased cases of children being kidnapped for all kinds of criminal activities…
Hardship, poverty and greed should not be used as an excuse to commit crimes against innocent children…
On the menace of street begging, as women now “loan” out their children, or other people's children left under their care, to commercial beggars in return for daily stipends...
The dire effects and negative impacts of these criminal activities against children on the Nigerian society…
The need for the Nigerian populace to return to those values that makes us humane and our brothers’ keepers…
I am sure many of us must have seen the recent videos trending online of some children that were rescued from the hands of women kidnappers in the city of Benin, Edo State. It was noted that their method, is to kidnap children and sell them off to willing buyers who, either keep the children as their own, for those looking for children, or use them for rituals or whatever please them. The children in the said viral video, were found at Evbuotubu in Benin city of Edo State. And parents with cases of a missing child were advised to go to Evbuotubu Police Station to identify and claim their wards from those rescued. The children found are said to be about 70 in number.
Every time I see the said video, my heart breaks to think that as a society and nation, we have degenerated to this level of evil. While hardship, poverty and some elements of greed have pushed many people to all kinds of crimes and the unthinkable, but that of putting one’s hand on anything that harms innocent children, which includes street begging in cities across the country, should be frowned and condemned by all. Take that of street begging for instance, which has assumed a new dimension in Nigeria as women now “loan” out their children, or other people's children left under their care, to commercial beggars in return for daily stipends.
To say the least, all of these practices are inhumane, and there is no iota of justification that can be used to support them. Aside the fact that these are criminal acts that must be prosecuted by the authorities concerned with vigour, there is no amount of hardship that should make a woman (or any man for that matter) be involved in such evil. Or a mother, to subject innocent children to such dangerous exposure which street begging poses. Under the Child’s Rights Act, it is an offence to subject a child to the indignity and punishment, which these professional beggars do. No one ever really knows what ultimately happens to the vulnerable kids in question.
It is only mothers who have “lost their humaneness”, sensitivity and consciousness that traffic their children in the manner being discovered lately. While some of these women have received knocks for their cruelty and charged to court, many of them, who are increasingly seeing the trade as a means of livelihood, have devised ingenious techniques to escape being caught. Although this trade anchored on child abuse and labour is a national malady, Lagos is unique because it has such cases in abundance. There are over 18 million Nigerians living in Lagos, making it the most populated State in the country. But to now see such cases springing up and increasing in their numbers in cities in the South-South, it should be a cause for concern to all and sundry.
I once wrote a similar piece few years back, specifically condemning the evil trade of using children for street begging, which are loaned by other women that are either mothers or care givers. While some of these women are said to make as low as N1,500 daily for loaning out their babies, those who hire the children from their biological mothers, are said to take the lion’s share, earning as much as N10,000, N15,000 and N25,000 daily depending on the thriving “market.”
Looking at the effects of using kids to beg, according to a public health expert, denying breast milk to kids like those hired to be used for begging, can make them become severely dehydrated and face starvation because those who hire them do not care about their welfare. In the words of the health expert: “In order to keep these children quiet throughout the begging process, they are drugged regularly. This is why they often appear to be asleep for hours. Illegal sedatives can turn babies and young children into drug addicts and can lead to chronic organ damage. Some of the babies used for this begging trade are usually those who have congenital anomalies or physical illnesses; they require hygienic environments and yet are forced to spend days on dirty urban streets. Without medical care, healthy children in the community may also become infected if these babies with infectious illnesses are not kept at home in isolation. This is indeed a public health concern.”
A pediatrician expert also added that such babies could be down with malnutrition and communicable diseases on the street, leading to severe diarrhea and vomiting. The expert also noted that such kids could contract contagious diseases like scabies and other skin diseases as well as staphylococcal infections which could affect their health and cause death in some cases. In terms of social vices, they are prone to sexual abuse by pedophiles. They also grow up to develop low self-esteem which would make them become psychologically abnormal adults. Such a child feels he is not good enough if he is not being helped. It eventually leads them to low-esteem inclined jobs like prostitution if they are girls and lead to armed robbery for boys. Such children try hard to convince others that they are disabled; even though they are able, they may harm themselves to draw sympathy.”
However, like I said before, there is no justification to warrant this inhuman act against children, who are meant to be leaders of our tomorrow. To even think that they would have that many numbers of children cramped up in a tiny space, maltreating them and not giving them the needed food intake and attention as children; makes one cringe with anger and distaste.
In addressing this problem, we all should be our brother’s keeper. By being concerned about our neighbors’ children’s wellbeing wherever we find ourselves. And to report any suspicious behaviours or activities that could suggest a child or some children’s safety are put in danger. People should also know exactly what their neighbors are up to within their premises because in the case reported, the women were obviously using an apartment in a neighborhood to carry out their evil act.
There is also the urgent need for all States across the federation to ban street begging with children. Healthy mothers/women (though they might appear unkept), using children to beg for money in Nigeria cities is totally bad and should be addressed with the full measure of the law. This is because some of those who use children for begging on the streets, are the customers of these women kidnappers. I know some States like Lagos, have a law prohibiting begging in Lagos State for instance, but it therefore means that what the nation suffers from currently is “lack of enforcement of the law.” It is true that some persons might have been arrested in the past. However, that the practice still continues in the open, and now spreading to other States, shows that the arrest and prosecution arm of the law is still very weak in addressing this menace, and this urgently needs to be worked on by all concerned.
Having said that, the inherent cultural and moral values of Nigerians of all cultures and shades, abhor this practice. The Nigerian populace must, therefore, return to those values that makes us humane. They must return to the values, which stressed for Africans as their brothers’ keepers. Where did Nigeria get it wrong? What moral depravity entered the consciousness of some mothers and women that they would rather trade with their vulnerable babies than do menial jobs or petty trading in order to survive? Those whose kids were kidnapped from them, should be consoled by God who alone, knows the pains they must have been going through over the loss of their children.
Zik Gbemre.
April 26, 2021
We Mobilize Others To Fight For Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes
The disturbing growing concern on the increased cases of children being kidnapped for all kinds of criminal activities…
Hardship, poverty and greed should not be used as an excuse to commit crimes against innocent children…
On the menace of street begging, as women now “loan” out their children, or other people's children left under their care, to commercial beggars in return for daily stipends...
The dire effects and negative impacts of these criminal activities against children on the Nigerian society…
The need for the Nigerian populace to return to those values that makes us humane and our brothers’ keepers…
I am sure many of us must have seen the recent videos trending online of some children that were rescued from the hands of women kidnappers in the city of Benin, Edo State. It was noted that their method, is to kidnap children and sell them off to willing buyers who, either keep the children as their own, for those looking for children, or use them for rituals or whatever please them. The children in the said viral video, were found at Evbuotubu in Benin city of Edo State. And parents with cases of a missing child were advised to go to Evbuotubu Police Station to identify and claim their wards from those rescued. The children found are said to be about 70 in number.
Every time I see the said video, my heart breaks to think that as a society and nation, we have degenerated to this level of evil. While hardship, poverty and some elements of greed have pushed many people to all kinds of crimes and the unthinkable, but that of putting one’s hand on anything that harms innocent children, which includes street begging in cities across the country, should be frowned and condemned by all. Take that of street begging for instance, which has assumed a new dimension in Nigeria as women now “loan” out their children, or other people's children left under their care, to commercial beggars in return for daily stipends.
To say the least, all of these practices are inhumane, and there is no iota of justification that can be used to support them. Aside the fact that these are criminal acts that must be prosecuted by the authorities concerned with vigour, there is no amount of hardship that should make a woman (or any man for that matter) be involved in such evil. Or a mother, to subject innocent children to such dangerous exposure which street begging poses. Under the Child’s Rights Act, it is an offence to subject a child to the indignity and punishment, which these professional beggars do. No one ever really knows what ultimately happens to the vulnerable kids in question.
It is only mothers who have “lost their humaneness”, sensitivity and consciousness that traffic their children in the manner being discovered lately. While some of these women have received knocks for their cruelty and charged to court, many of them, who are increasingly seeing the trade as a means of livelihood, have devised ingenious techniques to escape being caught. Although this trade anchored on child abuse and labour is a national malady, Lagos is unique because it has such cases in abundance. There are over 18 million Nigerians living in Lagos, making it the most populated State in the country. But to now see such cases springing up and increasing in their numbers in cities in the South-South, it should be a cause for concern to all and sundry.
I once wrote a similar piece few years back, specifically condemning the evil trade of using children for street begging, which are loaned by other women that are either mothers or care givers. While some of these women are said to make as low as N1,500 daily for loaning out their babies, those who hire the children from their biological mothers, are said to take the lion’s share, earning as much as N10,000, N15,000 and N25,000 daily depending on the thriving “market.”
Looking at the effects of using kids to beg, according to a public health expert, denying breast milk to kids like those hired to be used for begging, can make them become severely dehydrated and face starvation because those who hire them do not care about their welfare. In the words of the health expert: “In order to keep these children quiet throughout the begging process, they are drugged regularly. This is why they often appear to be asleep for hours. Illegal sedatives can turn babies and young children into drug addicts and can lead to chronic organ damage. Some of the babies used for this begging trade are usually those who have congenital anomalies or physical illnesses; they require hygienic environments and yet are forced to spend days on dirty urban streets. Without medical care, healthy children in the community may also become infected if these babies with infectious illnesses are not kept at home in isolation. This is indeed a public health concern.”
A pediatrician expert also added that such babies could be down with malnutrition and communicable diseases on the street, leading to severe diarrhea and vomiting. The expert also noted that such kids could contract contagious diseases like scabies and other skin diseases as well as staphylococcal infections which could affect their health and cause death in some cases. In terms of social vices, they are prone to sexual abuse by pedophiles. They also grow up to develop low self-esteem which would make them become psychologically abnormal adults. Such a child feels he is not good enough if he is not being helped. It eventually leads them to low-esteem inclined jobs like prostitution if they are girls and lead to armed robbery for boys. Such children try hard to convince others that they are disabled; even though they are able, they may harm themselves to draw sympathy.”
However, like I said before, there is no justification to warrant this inhuman act against children, who are meant to be leaders of our tomorrow. To even think that they would have that many numbers of children cramped up in a tiny space, maltreating them and not giving them the needed food intake and attention as children; makes one cringe with anger and distaste.
In addressing this problem, we all should be our brother’s keeper. By being concerned about our neighbors’ children’s wellbeing wherever we find ourselves. And to report any suspicious behaviours or activities that could suggest a child or some children’s safety are put in danger. People should also know exactly what their neighbors are up to within their premises because in the case reported, the women were obviously using an apartment in a neighborhood to carry out their evil act.
There is also the urgent need for all States across the federation to ban street begging with children. Healthy mothers/women (though they might appear unkept), using children to beg for money in Nigeria cities is totally bad and should be addressed with the full measure of the law. This is because some of those who use children for begging on the streets, are the customers of these women kidnappers. I know some States like Lagos, have a law prohibiting begging in Lagos State for instance, but it therefore means that what the nation suffers from currently is “lack of enforcement of the law.” It is true that some persons might have been arrested in the past. However, that the practice still continues in the open, and now spreading to other States, shows that the arrest and prosecution arm of the law is still very weak in addressing this menace, and this urgently needs to be worked on by all concerned.
Having said that, the inherent cultural and moral values of Nigerians of all cultures and shades, abhor this practice. The Nigerian populace must, therefore, return to those values that makes us humane. They must return to the values, which stressed for Africans as their brothers’ keepers. Where did Nigeria get it wrong? What moral depravity entered the consciousness of some mothers and women that they would rather trade with their vulnerable babies than do menial jobs or petty trading in order to survive? Those whose kids were kidnapped from them, should be consoled by God who alone, knows the pains they must have been going through over the loss of their children.
Zik Gbemre.
April 26, 2021
We Mobilize Others To Fight For Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes