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University of Nigeria
Author
Research Publications
UJA, Oliver Ejike
Signature
Date
Department
Faculty
Title
PG/MA/02/32818
Press Coverage of Human Trafficking in
Nigeria: 2001-2003
(A Content Analytical Study)
Arts
Mass Communication
March, 2005
TITLE PAGE
.
(School of Postgraduate Studies)
DEPARTMENT OF MASS COMMUNICATION
UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA
NSUKKA
PRESS COVERAGE OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN NIGERIA:
2001 - 2003 (A CONTENT ANALYTICAL STUDY)
.
A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED TO
THE DEPARTMENT OF MASS COMMUNICATION,
UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA, IN PARTIAL
FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE
AWARD OF A MASTER OF ARTS (MA) DEGREE IN
MASS COMMUNICATION
UJA, OLIVER EJIKE
PG/MA/02/32818
SUPERVISOR: REV. FR. P.O.J. UMECHUKWU, Ph.D
MARCH 2005
CERTIFICATION
Uja Oliver Ejike, a postgraduate student of the Department of Mass
Communication
with
registration
number
PG/MA/02/32818,
has
satisfactorily completed the requirements for the award of a degree of
Masters of Arts (MA) in Mass Communication of the University of Nigeria,
Nsukka.
The work embodied in this project is original and has not, to the best
degree of this or any other universitd :.
Rev. Father P.O.J. Umechukwu, Ph.D
Project Supervisor
External Examiner
DEDICATION
This work is specially dedicated to the memory of my parents Mrs.
Catherine Uja (Nee Eya) and Mr. George Uja, and my sister Victoria. Their
candles have continued to burn.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
1 wish to acknowledge the co-operation, encouragement and
assistance of those who helped to make this work a success.
My greatest gratitude goes to my supervisor, Rev. Father P.O.J.
Umechukwu, Ph.D for all his guidance. May God guide him so that he
would continue to inspire many more people.
1 am also grateful to other lecturers in the department.
I thank lyke, Mrs. Christy Onu, Evelyn and Unbeat for their goodwill
and assistance.
Mr. Anyanwu, Nnaemeka Chukwuone and Francis Ire, deserve a
mention here for their goodwill.
Above all, 1 thank God for all his mercies.
ABSTRACT
In the late nineties there was a boom in the trafficking of human - a
crime that had been going unnoticed. Though it is a global problem, Nigeria
is one of the hardest hit in Sub-Sabaran Africa as scores of young girls are
deported at regular intervals from Italy and other European cities, where
they are taken to work as prostitute:;. Also, the Etireno drama of April 2001,
which drew international media attention involved a Nigerian-registered
ship found with 23 children off the Coast of Benin, also points to the scale
of the problem that was assuming the shape of modern slave trade. This is
a social cum economic problem and the press is most suitable in fighting
this since it has to do with social engineering or re-orientation, and media
campaign and crusade can be appropriately deployed in this direction. This
research examines the reportage of the problem by the press to ascertain;
the extent of coverage, depth of coverage and from relevant sources the
cause(s) of the problem. In all, the general performance of the Nigerian
press is focused on bearing in mind the role of the press in building the
society.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE
.
.
.
.
CERTIFICATION .
DEDICATION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.
ABSTRACT.
i
ii
iii
iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS .
.v
. vi
LIST OF TABLES .
. viii
.
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
,
OBJECTIVE OF STUDY.
SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY
.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
DEFINITION OF TERMS
References .
.
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
.
12
2.1
SCOPE AND NATURE OF HIJMAN TRAFFICKING
. 12
2.2
CAUSES OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING
. 17
2.3
IMPLICATIONS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING
. 19
References .
. 21
CHAPTER THREE:
METHODOLOGY
.
.
3.1
RESEARCH DESIGN
3.2
RESEARCH POPULATION
3.3
SAMPLE AND SAMPLING TECHNIQUE
..
3.4
INSTRUMENT OF DATA COLLECTION
.
.
vii
3.5
UNIT OF ANALYSIS
3.6
TECHNIQUES OF DATA ANALYSIS AND
.
.
PRESENTATION .
3.7
LIMITATION OF METHODOLOGY
References
.
.
CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION AND
INTERPRETATION OF DATA
.
4.1 . I RESEARCH QUESTION I
4.1.2 RESEARCH QUESTION 11
.
4.1 -3 RESEARCH QUESTION Ill
.
4.1.4 RESEARCH QUESTION IV
.
4.1.5 RESEARCHQUESTIONV
.
4.2
.
DISCUSSION OF RESULTS
References .
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATION
5.1
SUMMARY.
5.2
CONCLUSION
5.3
RECOMMENDATIONS .
Bibliography.
.
.
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE I
DlSTRlBlJTlON OF THE ISSUE COVERED
TABLE IIA DISTRIBUTION OF SCOPE OF COVERAGE
TABLE Ill3 SHOWING THE VARIOUS STORY GENRE
TABLE IIC SHOWING THE LENGTH OF STORY
TABLE lllA SHOWING THE PLACEMENT OF STORIES
TABLE Ill6 SUMMARY OF PLACEMENT OF STORIES
TABLE lllC SHOWING SIZE OF HEADLINE
TABLE IV
SHOWING THE FORM OF TRAFFICKING
,
TABLE V
SHOWING THE SOURCES OF NEWS
.
TABLE VI
SHOWING DISTRIBUTION OF COVERAGE
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
The problem of human trafficking is grave. Like other organized
crime as drug trafficking, arms trafficking, money laundering and
international fraud, it has always been very difficult to determine the
scope. Moreover, it has been very difficult to tackle because of the
clandestine nature and amount of money involved. The trade according to
United Nations estimate generates between $7 and $10 billions annually
for traffickers worldwide. Human trafficking is now akin to the 17Ih
century slave trade.
Elucidating further, Agbu (2003: 1) says that "though previously in
existence in forms such as prostitution, child labour and domestic
servitude, today, contemporary human trafficking is an organized business
just as the transatlantic slave trade was with various linkages spread
around the globe". People from the poor underdeveloped nations are
trafficked to developed nations especially in Europe and the United States.
The US government says that approximately 800,000 to 900,000 people
worldwide are trafficked annually across international borders. Out of this,
between 18, 000 and 20,000 of the victims are trafficlted to the US alone.
It is estimated that in year 2000; 25000 persons were trafficked from
Southeast Aqia, 150.000 from South Asia. 100.000 each from Latin
America. and former Soviet Union, 75000 from Eastern Europe and
50.000 from Africa.
Human trafficking according to U.S state department Report
released June E 1 , 2003 "not only continues but appears to be
011
tlic rise
worldwide" and "~nanynations are touched by it in some way, serving as
source, transit, and destination countries where human beings are
procured, transported, and enslaved through forced labour o r sexual
exploitation". I n Alr-ica, Nigeria unrortiinatelp takes the number one spot
;IS
the source of trafficked people and is becoming
;1
deslination loo. Eclo
and Delta are the major source of tl-afi'icked wornen in Nigeria. and the
average age of the women ranges from 15 to 35 years. It is usually
dit'ficrlll to arrive at [lie precise number of victims duc to the complicated
natt11-enS !he racket.
However, the Nigerian Police and the Women Trafficking and
C'liild Lal3ou1-Eradicat ion Foundation (WOTCLEF). a lion-gove~.tinie~~bl
organization (NGO) Sounded by wife of the Vice Presidcnr. A~nina'I'ir i
AhuIwkn~-,reported that between March 1999 and April 2000 about 1126
wcio1ne11 trafficked out ol' the country were deported. Another statistics
released i n December 2001 put the figure at about 5000.
I11 iI
selnlnar
o ~ p ~ i z eindMarch 2002 ar Lagos by International Federation of Wonien
I ,awyers (FIDA), WOTCLEF puts the number of Nigeria woman in sex
industry in Italy alone at 20.000.
111 W e ~ Africa
t
there is also the high cases of trafficking in childre~l
and riiinor-s lul- l i l l ~ ~ l ~and
t - , Nigeria is uerriral to this both as a clestination
atid cource. The Elitireno saga of April 17, 200 1 when Camel-oonian
officials alerted the world that the Nigerian registered ship with slave
cliildrcri had been turned away from two African ports atid was heading
back to Cotonu, attracted international media attention. Children are taken
from lheir villages under various pretences, and used for cheap labour.
The Inrer Press Service News Agency reported
ill
October 8, 2003, the
discovery of seven child-slave colonies in Ogut~,Oyo and O s u ~ .
Earlier, on September 26, 2003, Nigeria Police Chief, Tafa Ralogun
handed over 1 16 riialnourished children to Reninois authorities. I t is not
just aboul ~iumhe~-s;
i t is about human right, pain and human suf'l'cring.
Police investigation revealed that 13 of such children died wlri le hei~ip
traffickect in sacks across !he Benin - Nigeria borders. On the Recud, n
series on fluman trafficking published jointly by Advocacy Project and
JVorl~enCo~lsol-tiuniof Nigeria (WOCON) VoI. 12, Issue 13, .Juw 22.
2000, l~reselltedthe story of Rachel. a Nigerian pirl 11-:lKickcd illto 1l:kly
\\lllo llad to have sex with at least ten partners a day in order to make the
daily repayment to her Madam.
International and Local NGOs have sprung up to help figl~lthe
prohlern. Advocacy Project, an Intcrriational NGO has heen Iielpi tig other1,ocal NGO. I n addition to WOTCLEF which has been very outstanding.
Idia Renaissance founded by Eki Igbinedinn, wife of Edo State governor-
has been making effort to rehabilitate and integrate victims that have been
deported rr~ostly from other countries. Other- NGO working in this
direction include; Cornmittee for SLIP~OI-t
or' Diglii ty ol' Wornen
(COSUDOW), National Council of Women's Societies (NCWS). Girls
Power Iniliative (GPI) Edo RL Della State and African Wolncli
E~iipon~erme~it
Gi~iId (AWEG).
The government has come out with legislations airncd at eradicaring
[hi$. For example Eclo Slate Criminal Law against H ~ ~ t n aTrafficking
n
Crimi~ialCode (A~ncndment)law 2000 prescriherl stiffcr pu~iishmcntfur
oil~enders.Section 223 increased the punishment from two years to I4
veal-s in prison. Another new section 233B was inserted and prescrihes
two years imprisonment or a fine of %lO,00O for n k ~ n a l epcrstm ~ v h o
involves herself in prostitution or other immoral act within or outside
Neeria.
The federal govcr-nment law
011 human
trafficking signed into law
2003 prescrihes life jail for anyone who traffics in person
01-Iijrces
another person into prostitution in Nigeria or anywhere. Punisl~~nent
fur
the offenders my he getting :nore severe b i t o n its own. may not he
enough deterrent to h e traffickers because of the huge profit and the
corrupt nature of Nigerian system.
The press as a watchdog has the responsibility of fighting ;~p;linst
[his and is niosr suitahle since i t tias to do wit11 social engineering for
change. Tlie press has enouph arsenals 10 do this
cl-usading. This research focuses
011
-
media calnpaign and
press coverage i n order to assess the
performance of the press in Nigeria in this direction since a socially
responsible press has a duty of huilding the society.
1.2 Statement of Problem
Tlie network of traffickers in Nigeria has become so etitrenchecl that
tliey change tactics and adopt strategies to ensure that they avoid
and Poverty in Nigeria have
detection. Moreover. the levels of corruptio~~
not helped either. People's value system has been eroded. There is flagrant
clispl:~y or ill-gotten weallll, and the press glamourize such tlmupli lheir
co\.crage. Olten. the Niyxiali press is accused of presenting the youth
n.itI1 kllltasy. This is a growing trend in Nigria press
;IS
itlvesligative
old
crusading joonlalism receives lers attention. The press. ~hn,ugll
reportage i?s~~pposed
to prrrtect :icceplnhlc social
1101.1115,
1t5
expose swieta!
ills and crimes. This research, thcrcSore, sets out to ascertain how thc press
has done (coverage) in the Sight against human trafficking.
1.3 Ol~jectiveof the S t ~ ~ d y
This study takes an incisive look at the problem of Il~rman
rrr~l'fickingand how the Nigerian press has done in fighting against this
scourge. J t will speci Sically study and examine
[i] The magnitude of coverage hy Nigerian press
[ i i] The lapses in the coverage
[iii] Which aspect of trafficking that is covered more'?
[ i ~ , ]Press treatment of the proble~ii.
1.4 Significance of Study
The study is specifically necessary in the following ways:
[i] The findings will be invaluable to policy makers and the government in
their effort in tackling the problem.
lii] l'liis will contribute to scholarship on the global pro1)lem of human
trafficking
[ i i i 1 It will he of initnense i~npo~-tance
to NGOs n~id govet.~llncl~t;ll
agencies invnlved in the iighr.
[ill]
I t will serve as a basis lor further research into the press and crime
coverage.
1.5 Research Questions
Tlie study at tempts to answer ~ l wfollowi tig cluest ions
[ i 1 \Vlint is tlie 1'1-et-~uency/volurne
o f the coverage'?
[ i i ] What prominence is given to news about trafficking?
[ i i i 1 What aspect of' human trafficking is covercd no st'?
[ i ~How
]
do the media get the stories'?
[I*]Which
Newspaper covers tlie issue more?
1.6 Theoretical Framework
The trademask of any free press is in its ability to I-efor~ii
or build
['fiesociety tllrough its coverage. A lot of theories have been ibrmulatecl to
explain the sole. effect or working of the press. This work specifically
hinges on Agenda Setting theory and the social Responsibility tlieory.
Acc.osditig to Folat-in (1998:68) "Agenda setting implies that the niass
media pre-determine what issues are regarded as important at a given time
and i n a given society. By determining issues that are imporrant tlie press
is lcllin~r
l l ~pcoplc
wliul ro
rliilik
ahout. Tlwo~~pli
this opinio~iis I'orrtlccl
or moulded. Folarin (1998) sees the following element as involved:
I ] Tlie qitan!ity or frequency of reportage
121 Prominence given to tlie reports
-
through headline display, pictures
and layout in newspapers, mapazines, films, graphics or timing on mdio
and T.V.
[31 The degree of conflict generated in the report. a~icl
j4] Curii~rlativemedia - specific effects over-time.
According to McCornbs and Sliaw quoted in Okunna (2002:2 I ) tllc
"audience not only learn about puhlic issues tlirougli the media, they also
learn how much importance to attach to an issue or topic from ernpliasis
the mass rnedia place upon it". The theory is very relevant in a society
with dislocated social srr-ircture and value. Kunczik (1988: 192) quotccl in
Folnrin (1998:68) noted that the "Opportunity for Agenda-serting by the
musc media becomes enhanced when the value structure of a society is i n
a clate of flux".
Social Rcsponsibilily theory exists to elilmce (lie pcrlosrna~iceu l
the press i n purely I-ree !narkel economy. It explai~isthe working ol' the
psess and [lie idea originated with the Hutchi ns Conmission on Freedom
of the Press in Press in America i n 1947. The theory according to Sielm-r
et
-
,11 ( 1956:74), Kuliczick (1988:48) a11d McQi~ail(1087: I 16) postulates
six Sunctions for the press which among others include:
I I] To serve the
Political system by making iril'ormation discussio~i,and
coilsideration of p~rtdic affairs generally accessible.
[2]To inform the public to enable it to take sel f determineil action.
[31 To protect the rights of individual by acting as n watchdog over the
government.
All these functions the press rnust perform thus helping in building
tlie Society. However, 0-jobor (2002: 12) niaititains
that
"Social
Responsibility theory came to clo a Eire brigade job. The press had derailed
into negativity and there was need to breathe fresh life into it by matching
Creedo~nwith obligation to society".
1.7 Definition of' Terriis
Some t e r m that are central to this work have been defined to
ensure a proper understanding of the work.
Trafficking in person - This work adopts tlie United Nations definition,
which sees trafficking in persons as:
?he rccrnilme~~l,
transportation, tsarisfa-, ha^ b o ~
ing, or reccipt
o f person?, by tneang of tli~ealor the uce of force othcr forms
of coercion, of abduction or fraud, of decep~ion,of abusc ol'
powel- of pocition of vulnerability or of' the giving or
receiving of paynicnt os benellt to achieve the consent of a
persoll having control over otlicr person. Sw rhe purpose of
exploitation.
7'his clcl'iuition shall also apply to 'Human II-al'l'icking'.
The US State Department gave the next tliree definitions that shall
also apply in this work:
Cor~iniercial sex act/Prostitntion
-
Any sex act on acco111it 01' wlii~li
a~iytliingof value is given or received hy any person.
Involuntary servitnclr
( 3 ) auy
-A
condition of servitucle induced by means of
scheme, plan, or- pattern intended to cause a person lo belicvc that.
i f tlie person did riot enter into or continue in such condilion thal persol1 or
another would suffer serious harm or physical restrain; or (b) the abuse of
h e legal process.
Debt bonclage - The status or condition of a debtor arising from a pledge
hy the debtor of his or her personal services or of those of a person under
his or her ctrntrol as a security debt, if [lie value of those services as
reasonably assessed is not applied towards tlic liquidatio~l(.)I'tlic rich or
the length and nature of those services are not respectively limited and
Press - This refers to media or mass communication and tliose lliat work
Coverage
-
The frequency, placement, treat~nentand total ainount of
space eallottecl to a news item i n the press.
I'ress crusade - A wncerkd effort
ill
tlic press to Sight against or liw a n
issue or idea through their coverage.
Legislation
-
Any statue that is backed or ratified by an act oS lhe
parliament or m y other body so delegated.
Organized crimes - Crimes perpetrated by groups wi t!i highly developed
structures and inklligence hence has tlie capacity to plan and execute
serious crimes at a large scale. They often operate across national
Imu nclaries.
References
Ayl~u.0. (2002) "Corruption and human Trafl'icking: The Nigerian case",
W c s i Afi.icnri Ri.1Gc1.t..
Clr~sk.M A . (2002) "Trafficking in Persons: An Issue of human security"
A paper Conimissioncd by h e GIohal Equity Initiativr. 'I'hc Jo111l
Hopkins University School of advanced Intel-lialio~ialStudies.
Sierherl ~t nl ( 1 956) Forrr 7'liror.ie.c of' the' PI-P.S.S.
Urban I I I : Univessi ty U S
Illinois Press
"TrnfFicking in Pesson" 17s Depi~rtment of state Report
monitor 2nd combat Tsal'l'ieking i n person.
www.stale.gov./g/t ip/s/s/tip~-ptlZ003
-
Office ro
IJN Protocol to prevent and suppress and punish trafficking i n persolls
especially wornen and children, supplemcnling the IJN Convcr~tiori
Against TI-ansitionnlOrgnnised Crime (2000).
CHAPTER TWO
LTTEJUTURE REVIEW
2.1 Scope and Nature of Human TraFficking.
The i w e of liu~nmtrafficking has generated a lot of liter-aturc and
this is expected owing to the nature and magnitude of the inli~~man
'h~~iness'.
These cut acrms the socio- economic, cultural and political realm si~ice
the ~rowtliof the business is often ~.ootedin these elerne~itsin tlie sociely.
Moreover, because the world is becoming more integrated with advances
in transportation arid the information technology (i~~ternet
and satellite). i t
is now easier for things hitherto limited to a particular corner ol' the globe
to permeate or diffuce to other parfs of the world withiri a short period;
crime inclusive.
The US Department of State Report June 1 1 , 2003 clcarly states
that "as unimaginahle as it seems, slavery and bondage still persists in tlie
earl\, twenty-Sirst century. Million of people around the world still suffer
in silence in sIave-like situations of forced labour and commercial sexr~al
exploitation from which they cannot free tliemselves". The report further
states that hi~nian11-al'l'icliingis one of [he greatest Iir~manright prohlc~ns
ol' the world today.
Miko (2000: 5 ) argues that undel-standing the extent o f trafficking
ils a financial enterprise is usef'id in order to /letter underst:md its growth
arid entrenchment i n modern global economy and that nccordi I
I to
~
1nariy
I-eliable estimates. "trafficking is now the third largest source o f incornc
for organized crime groups". However, a distinction can he nlacle hetwecn
Trafficking in person and smuggling of migrant. The United Nations
Protocol to prevent. suppress, and punish Trafficking in persons especially
\\wlnen and children. supplementing the United Nations Convention
Against Transriationnl organised crime (2000: 2) defines trafficking as:
The recruit m n t , transporiatinn, tsiuns fer, habouring,
or I-cceipr of pmons h y rncanr
ol'
rhreat o r usc ol'
force or otl~crforms of coercion, of abduction or
fraud, of deception, of abuse of power of n position
of vulnerability os of the givincp or receiving or
paylncnt or henelils lo achieve the consent of n
pcsson liaviri~cot~rrolover othel- persons. for the
lx1r1mse of zxploitarion. Exoloi~ation shall include,
a1 a
mini~nurn.the exploitation of Ihc prostilution ol'
orhers or orl~erforms of sexud exploilation, forced
labour or sevices, slavery or other practices similar
to slavery. scwitude or the removal of organs.
According to Lytlay. quoted in Aghu (2003: 2). "Broadly
co~icrpti~nlized.
Iiu~n;~n
iraffickinp include forced and child prostitution.
and entertainment, pornography, o~panisedlxpgi~lg.
xioption, sex to~~risrn
o r p linrvesting, and other crirninal activities". This is quire dil'l~erc~it
Srorn tlie s~nugglingor migrants, wliich the United Nations PI-otocol
Apinsl [he s~nugplingof migrants by land, sea and Air supplenie~itingtllc
United Nations Convention against Transnational Crime (2000) rlefities as
"procuremefl in order to obtai~idirectly or it~disectly,a financial or otller
~naterialh e r i t of illegal entry of a persun into a state pasty of' whicli the
person is not a national or pernianent resiclent".
The 'business' ol human trafficking rnainlp takes the form 01' cliilcl
and fc~nale 11-afficking. UNICEF, United Nation Organization High
C'omn~issionon Human Right (UNOHCHR), OSCE-ODIHR. June (2002)
say that child prostitution as well as Ihe numhers or children ~ h a lare
tsafficked for h e purposes of commercial sexual exploitatiuri, is
increasing and the numbers or chiltlr-en in South eastern Europe unrlcr llic
age of 18 ti-africked to rorced labour and sexual exploilatio~lhave risen
sllarply in tlie past seve~alyears.
United Nations Econornic and social Council Comlnissioti on
Hummi Rights 24"' session. Ge~leva,23 June - 2 July I
in
;I
p:~pot-
points out that "large numbers of children from Benin, Rurkina Faso,
Ghana. Mali, Nigeria and Togo are trafricked to the Benin, [lie Cungu.
Cote d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Nigeria". The cnnimission
explai~isfurther that "populotioii expIosion i n secent years has exacerbated
the sihation f~lrther.placing slrnin o n dwi~idli~lr
natural alld ecolaIlnic
resources".
Accodins to Eniewu (2001: 48) "they are denied the proceed of
I n h w tlley e n p e e in. as the slave drivers take the p~nceetls".In addition,
[nos[ 11sunll~~
take LO (lrug and "ol'te~l the girls are give11 collrl.acel,tivc
irljections and Iiormone injections to increase the size of their breasts.
'I'aiwo (2002: 44) poinls out llint the traffickers cmploy different mdllods
i n recruitment, of c11ilcl1-en.'Tile traffickers "take cliilclren of tlicir re1a t 'tons
~mmisingto enroll the children in schools or teach them trade". However,
this he explains is not always the case they (victims) are always abused
rind left with nothing a1 the end.
Generally, womrm and girls arc trafficked mainly Ihr the purpose of
scsunl exploitation, where they are forced to work 1'01- [heir trafTickers
ill
major streets and brotliels in the 'sex trade' in Europe and other co~r~ltries.
Clark (2003: 5) states Illat "women are trafficked with more I'rccpency
t l l a ~ lmen"
sirlce "cultural and economic factors create condi tiom wliicli
make tile t~llfickingof women safer, easier nr~dmore profitable". This is
,lot sLlrpl-isinghecause UNIFEM release (2000) says l h l seventy t'ercellt
of [he world's poor a r now
~ women.
However, tllc i--pol-t ~nailltninsthat povcl-ly is no! the only r x t ~ r s
col,~ril~Llti,lp
to [lie p.irticular vulnerability of women. Josie 9
) 12)
agrees that, forced e:rrly rnwiage in ~iiostdeveloping nations crcatus a
cituatio~iwhere young hrides can be married and traflicked for the puslxw
of prostitution. Since "al tlie same time, i n many societies
irl
which early
~iiarsiagesare cornmoll, men and women are not granted ccliral treatmen1
under the law".
S i i l a r US Depar-tment of Statc report (2003) says that
"11-afl'iukcrsmay be [I-eelancers or niernhers of organised criminal network
.. . or someone welI-krwwn within the community wlio is able to conviilce
the families that [heir cliildl-en will be safer and better taken case ol' in u
new place". In maliy c~lses,tlie trafl'ickers also "promise parents that they
will marry their daughters - but the girls are forced into prostitution ; ~ n d
traffickers can also abduct and kidnap victims.
I$incdion (2001: 35) describes tsaffickel-s as "weallliy indiv~duals
who are searching for huge returns on quick investme~its". Hence, they
Iiave staff who specifirdly facilitete tlie movement to other counlr-ics hy
conniving with recruits. trollies. the passport racketeer? mil otl~ess
t~elieveilto include enihassy staff and other nfl'icials. They even t i w e
\.ictims to take a n oat at a juju or fetish place.
2.2 Causes
Human trnffickbig can he traced to a numher of Sactors or tllirlgs i 11
the society. The US 1)epartment of State report June 1 1 , 2003 lists the
following as the reasons why trafficking is flourishing:
(
1 ) Poverty a n d desire ior better lire
(2) Ignorance of trafficking consequences
(3)Disr-uption of social values
(4) Pol i tical and Economic instability
( 5 )Demand [or Cheap labour
( 6 )High profit
(7)Low risk
The report explins that "countries with clwonic u~~en~ploq'rnen~.
wiclespmcl poverty or lack ol ecorlamic opportunities, tral'l'ickers use
prcmises of higher wages and good working conditions i n li)reign
coi~~itries
to lure individuals into their schemes". And, according 10
Banejare (2002: 14) "ln agricult~rre-basedsocieties market cleregr~lation
and the flow of capital investment. have destabilized established patterns
of life arid sources of irmme".
Moseover, Hughes (2000: 6) notes that "dernand lias causccl
exponential growth in commercial sex i~idustriesof Inany ct~untrics.111
this context affluent males tend to generate demand. and ~vornc~i,
increasingly from poor or war ravaged regions. are the factor of sopply".
I n this situation "internat ional 07-ganized crime becomes rhc mediator
I~ct\\.cer~
the two sides. c:1pitali7ing or1 wotncri's search for I~cllc~.
economic oppcwturiities abroad (United Nations Economic and Social
Cornmission Statement Jani~ar-y,2C02).
The political siluation in n cou1111-yalsu I'uel the t
I i u r n a ~ i , because
the government Iwks the coniposure t o 1.
_.-._
..
displaced people can r w i l y hccome victims. Rales (2000: I I ) 111aintai11s
that "u~iderconditions of political instability or the lack of state control.
little social infrastructwe is i n place, and the government is unable to
~vovicleadequate police protection for its vulnerable pol~ulation". And
this. coupled will1 the i'act of lack of comensus in regard to respo~lsibilily
for- lcgal xtion and law enforcement amollg the origin, transit. and
cfeslination countries i.; another problem which allows traffickess to fccl
relative1y safe i n conducting their operations".
IJN report sliowc; that children who are separated l'rom tlieir parents
are most likely Lo fall victims of this traffickers. Clark (2003: 7) makes i t
Young girls are ready to believe promises oC
glamorou:, lirestyle and high income when
appo;~cliedby someone similar to tliernselves
and often their own age. The fact that victims of
trafficking are overwhelmly treated as cri~iiinnls
in destinnrion countries. and stigmalized upon
returning liorne. contrihules lo the vacuum in
inrcxnlntion rliat have yet to he comple~elyfilled
by orpni;ations haltling against tlic trade in
human beilig.
'rllis has led to a silurilion where xcorciing lo Global survival network
(GSN) report (199'7) "lrafficked women are afraid to contact either
local author-ilies or representatives of their our11 governrnenls i n tlic
country of destination to help, Searing arrest and incarceralion.
'I'lie US Stale Department Report (2003: 3) orrtlinc the major
consequences of human trafficking as:
(
])TI-africkingis a hrrnan rights violation and a crime.
(2)Traffickingincre;lses social breakdown and promotes crime
(3)Trnffickingdepri:~escountries of human capital
(4)TrnTPicking under rnines public health
( 5 )Trafl'icking subverts government autliorily.
(h)Trnl'Sicking f ~ ~ n dillicit
:;
act~vitiesand can Seed orgnniscd crinie
Or the R ~ o r - r (1000:
i
1) reports of a young Nigerian 11-i~fficked
lo
Italy where she was made ro pay 9 million lire (ahout $5000) from
(mstilulion in order to pay those t~.affickersand buy iler freedoln. TIle
1.cport further states "at 30, 000 lire n time - the going rate on her corller in
Tiburtino district of Rome - that would have ~neant sex w
ll~ousandpartners". Deyide, victims of trafficking suffer various d,
dehumanizing abuses. Some are put to long h o ~ ~ rof
s wor
unhygienic and life threatening environ~nenl,especially cliildl-ell.
In Latin An1eric:l and Asia they are put to maximum use i n
...,,,,.
,.
that depends on cheaj~labour. 'l'niwo (2002: 44) cxplains that mos! 01' tl~c
Nigerian children trafficked to Gahon k ~ child
r
labour are abused. "'The
cliildrerl that survive the horrendous sea journey are exposed to economic
exploitr~lionat the tencler ages of 6 to 13 years. "The children eat only
once
i i ~3
day and must remit to their masters at the end of the day a
specihed amount of money, otherwise, they would be severally beaten."
CIliltl ~c~orkcr-.~
of Asia .4pril - Sept 1999, ~ q o r t e t that
l "In Sri Lanka. girls
a? young as 6 years oh1 are found sexually exploited in brothels". On h c
Record (2000) 11ighli;:hted the degree of abuse of Nigerian women
[l-affickedinlo Italy vrhen it asserts, "any black woman in Italy risks
llavillg llrr hrensts and hu(tocks fondled on the street". But as ttley suffer
these tllinps and, in some cases death, h e authorities in their host
coulltrjes
[hem as criminals, arrests and deports them. At thcil- home
countl-ies,they also face discrimination and arrest.
REFERENCES
Banerjee. IJ.D. (2002) "Global isation, Crisis i n Livelihood, Migral~o~l
arlu
Trafficking of \Vornen and ~ i r l s :The CI-isis i n India. Nepal. and
Ranplodesli". h p e r Presenccd at the 3"' intern;~tionalcongress on
wornen. work and Health i n Swcclcn.
www.c~\web.kvinnoSorum.scimisc/trafupala.rtf.
Bulcs, K. (2000) "Expendable people: Slavery i n the age ol'
Glohal izntion". .!or(i-rrnlof lrrtc~1-1lcrtioncr1
Affkrii-s, 53 (20.)
Clark. M.A. (2003) "Trnfficking in Person: A n Issue of H u ~ i i nSecurity"
~~
'Ile Prokction Dro~-iectPaper, John Hopkins University School of
Advanced I~iternationalSLuclies.
"Cri~neand Servitude All Expose of' 1raUl'ick in wornen l i ~ prostitution
I
the Neivly Independent States. GSN (Global Survival
1 1 tussin.
Network) 1997. www.glol~nlsurvival.net/fe~iinlett-ade/97
Emewu. I. (2001 ) "TI-adingthe Future". Thi.vr1~1~.
June 27
"Gender and h4acroeconon1ics", United Nations Development Fund for
Women (UN1FE.M) Release 2000.
ww\v.uni fern.oi g/econornics-securi ty/mncro~ender
"Girls for Sale: The Scandal ol' Trafficking from Nigeria" (editorial) Orr
Tlw Re(+or-(l.Volume 12, Issue I , J i m 19, 2000.
www.ad\!ocaq net.org
Women are the Supply".
Hughes, D.M. (2000) "Men Create tile De~~mnd:
A lecture ppreseriled at the Queen Sofia renter Vnlencia. Spain.
I l i e i o ~ i . E. (20('11). "Reporting Female 'Trafficki~ip" Vnri,~t~rrrrl
Septenibet-27.
Miko. F.T. (2000) "l'r-afficking in women and chi
inrermtional Response" US Department of :
Rcsearc.11Servict*Report.
Tniwo. T. (2002) "('liild trafficking: Another SI
Tllistk~y.A pr i 1 2.
Trafficking i n Persons Report - Released by thc Of
Cornbat Trafficking in Person, US DepartmenL ,,, L,,,,,,.
2003.
JL,LIL
,,
Llnitecl Nations (2000) Convention against the smuggling migrants by
land, sea and air supplementing the IJN convention against
TI-ansnationalcr-ime.
IJnilerl Nations Depa~llnent for policy coordination and sustai~lahle
Develnp~ne~it(DOCSD) (1905) Report of the United Nations
Fourth World Conference on Women. www.un.org./esa/gopliel-data/cont/fwcw/off/a--20.e11.
IJnited Nations Econornic and Social Council (1999) Comniission on
Human Right 24" sessio~iRelease, Geneva, 23 June - 2 July
Unitcd Nation Organis.~tionHigh Commission 011 Hutnnn Right (2002)
Release "Trall'ick ing i n Humnn Beings in Southeastern Europe.
(lnited Nations (200V) Protocol to prevent. suppress and pul~ish
Trafficking in persons. especially women and c1iild1-en
s r l p p l e ~ n e ~ i ~ i the
~ ~ g United Nations Convention Against
Trnnsnatior-ial Orpnised Crime.
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Design
This researcher used the content analysis method to nscerlaill how
Iil~lna~i
trafficking has heen ~eportetlin Nigeria. Conrem analysis would he
most sui~ablebecause according to Okoro (2001:72) it is "a scientific
method used i n the analysis of the media conten1 Sol- the pill-pose 01.
ascer[aining the status and character of given phenomena". Also,
buttressing the point further Skjerdal (2001:7) points o u l that:
Content Analysis is perhaps the most widely used
stxting poilit in analyzing media text. This type of
research is concerned with the Frequency of words i ~ d
exp-eqsio~~s
in sclccted tcxt. :mcl the task for the words
system:~tically in order to reveal I j i x in lfie lcxr
~n~lterid.
Ful-ther~nor-c,
Ohn ja (2003: 14) explains that content analysis "cvould
Sul-rl~er~norclend a h;lnd i n discovering tho l'reqirency, ~mgnit~rcle,
~x-wnine~~ce
and direction of coverage".
Human tl-nffickinp is something that goes on despite el'lbl-1s at
arresting it because of the secrecy and tactics. So, the clwice or the period
01' stldy (2001-2003) is hecause cases of Iium;~n trafficking havc
continuec! to increase in [he last three years despite cfhrls ar tackling i t .
3.2 Rescarch Population
Two inckpenclent Nigeria dailies - The Ciuardian and Punch have
heen selected for the research. Guardian, Tor its repntntion for objective
coverage ol national and international matters and i t enjoys large
reader-ship from all segments of the society. Punch is reputed to hc [lie
highesi circulated newspaper will1 broader local news coverage. Tlic
pop~~latio~i
shall be the entire issues of the two newspapers pul~lislied
\ci thin the three years (2001 - 2003). This amountc to 1095 issues.
3.3 Sample and Sampling Technique
According to Nicholas and Demmers ( I987:3S) that "group
01-
ele~nentsI*rorn whicli you are planning to ~nakeyour genernli;t,atior<, is
the sample size. Wimtncr and Dominick (1904:M) clescribes il as "a g x x ~ p
of class of subjects, variable, concepts, or phenomena". Sampling i(; very
iniportant because according to Uzoagulu ( I C)98:65) "Samples are meant
to represen! population when the entire populalion cannot he studiecl". The
period of 2001 to 2003 was chosen because i t witnessed an increase i n the
obllosjous 'business', which Forced the attention of internalional press and
community to focus on Nigeria.
The I-esearcherused the multistage sampling technique lo sclecl his
sample. One quarter of each year was randomly selected, making it 4
r~iotitlisi!i a year. Two weeks was, in turn, ratdotilly selec~crlfrotii cach
~iionllimaking 6 weeks in each quarter. To get numhcr of issues i n a
quarter is 6 weeks ~nultipliedby 7 days. This gave 42 issues. 'I'lic~itlie
sample for one Newspaper will be 42 x 3 yrs = 126. The total sample is
252 from a populntion of 1095.
The sesearclier selected and itl~alysed the sample under study into
categories developed to serve as i~nitsr)f analysis and was used to
clcterrnine tlie level of reportage, ft-equency, placeliient, and I'rom soin? o f
the stories, !he direction.
3.4 I~~strument
of Data ColIection
Numbers and I'igures were used in place ol' some v;irialdes to make
for a dependable content analysis. Coding, according to Okoro (2001:33)
is "crucial in view of its quality of portraying the clarity of inquiry". Thus,
the item wac coded:
A
]media
A (01) Guardian
A (02) Pu1ic.11
I3
Placement
B (01) Front page
B (02) Inside page
R (03) Back page
C
Story Genre
C (01) Straight flews
C (02) Editorials
C (03) Features
C (04) Opinion articles
C (05) Pictures/Car~oom
C (06)Advertorial
U
Head line
D (01 ) 24"
LO 30"
D (02) 36" to 40"
D (03) Ahove 60"
:1
Le~gth
E (01) 1-15
E (02)16 - 36
E (03) 3 1 - 45
E (04)46 inches - 1 page
E (05) Al?ove one pase
F
Source
F (01) Staff will1 by line
F (02) Staff without hy line
F (03) Outside Contrihiition
F (03) News Agency
F (05) Foreign Medin
F (06) Source not indicted
G
Form of tral'fic1:ing
G (01 ) Child tr;~fficking
G (02) Women trafficking
G (03) No1 specific
3.5 Unit of Analysis
The content categori~sdeveloped for this study was used as ~rnitsof'
analysis. The newshole allotment was analysed and all the editorial iterns
3.6 Techniques of Data A~ialysisand Presentation
The data were analysed and presented in simple percentage and
[I-equencies.For cIarity,!, they are presented in tables for all the clewloped
lmclings. The analysii and interpretation was clone using the data artd
s~oriesfrom the Newspapers Lo arrive at result of this research.
3.6 Limitation of hletl~otlofogy
The study has been limited to the use of content analysis due to lean
resources. Moreover two iiewspapers were used and the broadcast ~nedia
were not selected.
References
Nicllolas. S and Demrncr, D. (1987) Prw~isiorl .Iozo-rltrlisrrr. Calilimiia:
Sage Publication
Skjel-clal. T.S (2001) "J.'esponsible Watchdogs? No[-niative theorics of tlic
press in Po51 Apni.lheicl Soul11 Africa: A rliswt~rseAnalysis of' 102
Newspaper nrliclc s 1996-99". Unpuhlisl~crl Masters rlissc~-(atioll
University of Nata', Durban, South Africa.
i
~ i i i e . R.D and I >ornillick, J.R ( 1994) Mrr.s.s M e c h Rr.wtrr.cll.
Calilhmia: Wadswxth Publishing Company. Belnionl.
CHAPTER FOUR
4.1 PRI?SENTATION AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA
The clata gotten from this study were ;~~-rangecl,
orgar~iserli11lrl pi11
illlo nirnibet-s, frequency scores and percenk~seand presetired in ~ i ~ h l e s .
The analysis of the contents of Guardian and Punch newspapers covewgc
of human trafficking from 2001 to 2003 was carried out
i ~ s i r i the
~
sariipling technique alrraciy described i n the ~iietl~odology.
A total
t11'
252
i ~ s u e sor the newspapel were sampled. That is a sample of 126 issues of
each paper. Below is the table:
TABLE 1
DISTRIBUTION OF TI IE ISSUE COVERED
Year
April, May. June.
Jan.. Feh.. March
June. July, Aug.
July.
July. Aug., Sept.
Jari.. Feh.. MnrcIi.
April May, Jurie.
Tolnl
Guardian
Pi1nch
Total
31
I t is not all t l 252
~ issues of' :he newspaper sampled that carrietl
news stories or iter-1s bordering
011
hu~nari trafficking. Seventy-hrce
(20%) issues of the newspaper carried news stories o s itcms on Iluman
trafficking - 53 (21 741I for Gual-dim and 20 (8%) for Punch. However. 170
(71%) did not have ariy item on hulnati trafl'icking. Table [ I 1 1 makes i t
clearer.
TABLE IT (A)
DISTIIIBU'TION OF SCOPE OF COVERAGE
Newspaper
Fsecluency (I)
Percentage (%I)
Girasdian
Pi1ncli
Issues with human
trafficking story
Issues without human
tralTicki~igitems
41.1 Reseal-ch Questiou 1 : Wl~trti,\ 1 1 1 ,fi.cqr~rrrcy'
~
volrrnw oft-ovcr'rrgc' ?
'Table I1 ( A ) show that 73 (29%) of the sample carried itenis on
hornan trafficking and f3iiardian has 53 (21%) of [lie items as against
Punch's 20 (841). Hen ever. a wliooping 179 (7 1 %) have
trafl'icki~~g
i terns.
110
IIUIIXII~
rio aclverlorial and 3(4.I %) pictureslcnrtoon. Guardian has I adverrorial
(
1.36%) and 5(6.55%1)
pictures and cartoons.
Tlie grand total shows that The Guardian carried 72.55% itclns 01'
the coverage while Pmch cal-riecl 27.3%. A breakdown slmvs that straiglil
11cwsgarnered 43(58.0%); fearure 12 ( 10.4(%);Editorial 1 ( 1.3%); Opinion
S( 10.0%); Advertorial 1 ( 1.3%) and picturelcartoo~iS( 10.9%)
'I'ABLF: 1 1 (C)
SHOWING THE LENCXH OF STORY
I Frequency ( I )
Length
I Percenlnge
(%I)
+-'i--
46" one page
g
Above one page
The l e n ~ t ho f stories, to a large exrent, may give an insigllt into not
011l y
he volume of the piece, but also how inteqxetative a piecc car) tx.
Look ng at hble 11 (C:), 33 (45.2%) have a length of 1
-
15"; 2 1(28.7%)
.? 4
arc between 16 - 36"; 13 (17.8%) have between 37
-
45": 4(3.4%)ijre
between 46" and page anti one 2(2.7) are more than one pagc.
41.5 Research Question 2: Wlitrt pi-ourine~rccis giww t o
I I C ~ ~ (I1 ~1 ~. 0~1 1 1
tr-(r//ic-kincq
?
TABJ,E 111 ( A )
1
1
1
SHOWING THE PLACEMENT OF STORIES
Placen~ent
G~~mlian
PLIII~II
Front page
12 = 22.6%
5 = 25%
Rack p q e
I6 = 30.1
3 = 15%
1
The placement of stories points to the importance editors attach to n
particular story. Front page stories are deemed rnore important anti
~ m n ~ i n c nthan
t Back p q e anti inside pages in that order. The Gual-clian
recorded 12 (22.6%) front page stories as against 5 (25%) for Punch. For
inside page. the Guardian has 25 (47.1%) and Punch 12 (60%). The
Guardian also I-ecorded 16(30.1%) and Punch 3 ( 15%) back page stories.
Talde TI1 (I31 shows the summary.
S I J M M A R Y OF PLACEMENT OF STORIES
I Frequency (f) I Percentage (%) 1
t)
I Inside page
1 37
1 50.2
I
I
I
g
+
7
Back page
Total
1 100
1 73
Thirty-Se\:en (50.2%) stories were tucked away in inside pagt:s ol'
the papers while 17 (23.2%) made the front page. This i s not sufficient
since. human trafficking stories are supposed to he given the more
attention due to the nature of the problem. It is by making s~tclistories hi1
the headlines that most people's attention can also be drawti to the
problem. Another 19 (26%) were placed at tliu back page.
TABLE I11 (C)
SIZE OF HEADLlNE
p
Frequency (0
Percentage (5%)
36" to 40"
34
46.5
Above 60"
1
1.5
Total
73
100
36
Headline size is very i~nportantin deciding how prominent a news
story or ilem is. Reader's attention is drawn easily to screaming headlines
more than headlines of smaller point size. 'Thus, i t is ass~~mecl
that the
srnaller the heaclline the less attention i t gets among screamers. I n table 111
( c ) . 38 (52.0%) Iiave point size of between 24" and 30" while 34 (46.5)
were cast in 36" to 40". Only I headline could be said to be a screamer
nsitli a point size of (10" or above.
4.1.3 Research Question 3: M7hic.h $11-111
c$
tr-qf;fi'ckirr,qthrt is coivr-cd
1ll0,St.~
TARI,E IV
SHOWING THE FORM OF TRAFFICKING
Size
-/Rrquency(F)/e~itage
(%)
Child trafficking
1 20
1 27.3
Not specific
22
30.1
Total
73
I 00
Women trnfl'icking
I
Child trafricking receives the highest coverage with 31 (42.4%) I ~ r t22
(30.1%) items was not specific, that is, treated trafficking as a whole.
Women trafficki ng received 20 (27.3%:).According to the result, the paper
I-eportdor carried more itelns on child trorricking poi nti~ipto [lie l ' i l ~ tthat
children are trafficked more Illan women since they are more vulnc.~-able.
With or witliout their consent. traffickers can take them. The Ttalia11
prostitution connection has made women trafficking in Nigeria gai11a very
\\qide notoriety more so as the image of the country is at stake.
41.4 Research Question IV: How does tlw 11ietlingot their- s t o r ~ c . ~ ?
TABLE \i
SI-IOWTNG THE SOURCES OF NEWS
Soul-ce
Frequency (F)
/ Staff with byline
I I6
1 Stall without byline
News Agency
1 Forripn media
Sources not indicated
Percentage (%)
121.9
9.5
1
I
I
15
I l2
I
i
13
17.8
73
1 00
The way the media get their- stories irli'luences the content ot' sitch
stoviec. It is sad that tho~~gli
the prohlem of human trafficking is serious i n
Nigeria, [he prcss depends on News Agency, foreign media and other
sourccs to get stories on trafficking in Nigeria. Staff with byline
contrihuled only 16(21.9%); staff without hyl ine did 7(0.5%): and outside
coriiri1mtur.s were respotxi hle Tor 10(13.6%). But, News Agencies 15
3X
(20.5'2
),
Soreign tncdi:~ 12 (16.4%)a ~ i dstorics whose sourccs wcrc nor
iwlicatei! 13 ( 17.18%).
From the statistics. one can draw an inrerence that since the press
depended more on outside sources i n reporting human trafficking in
Nigeria, they could not have done much investigative and interpl-etative
relm-ting. The first source is the first gate that determines both the clept,
slant and what should pass Ihe gate. Individual reporters o f 111e media
shoulil have gone Sor the scoop and I'ollow-ups order than waiting for
other sources since it is within Nigeria.
4.1.5 Research Question v: IV1lir.h Nr~\ycrprrc.oi7rl:sf1w pm!~lerrlr m w ?
TABLE V I
DISTRIBUTION OF SCOPE OF COVERAGE
1 Newspaper
r
Guardian
/ lssrles without hutnan trafficking
story
Total
Frequency (F)
Percentage
1
39
Out of the 73(29%) of thc coverage, Guanlian recorcled 53(2IC%)as
agninqt Punch 20(8%) as inclicatecl earlier in h i s work. A total of 179
( 7 1'4 ) did 11ot casry any human tral'l'icking story.
4.2 DISCUSSION 01; RISSULTS
The coverage 01' hu~narl tsal'l'icking in Nigeria press is
1101
particularly encouraging. From the findings, i t can be said that the press
lacks the vigour and tenacity in their coverage of human trafficking in
Nigeria. The Guardian covered 53(21%) of items while The Punch
recorded 20(8%). This is a [as cry from what is needed in the area ol'
coverage of such an unholy business. Moreover. this problem has
generated a lot of ititeres! among international press. Tn this scgasd. the
role of the press in social advocacy carlriot he over emphasized. ACCOI-ding
to Macebuh quoted in 1Jmecliukwu (19%) "the most important role of the
press is to promote and defend social justice .... To ensure that public and
psi vate conduct is directed towasds the achievement of the g-eakst
11os4hlemeasure of justice in society".
From the story genre, one can deduce that there was nu atlempt at
mcdin ca111p:lign since among the genre. straight news stories dominated.
Straipllt news stol-ies is not interpretalive as featore. neither does it cL1rl-y
tile weight of all editorial. I n media campaign these entire genre are used
consrslency over a specil'iccl period 10 lmd the mucli-neudcd inipuct
\\vtli
for change. Umechukwu (2000) highlighted this when he puts it h a t
''rl~rougtl tlie use of editorials, feature stories or ar~iclcs. news
a11;tly
~s/co~n~iierilnries
i
and dncumen~at-y.lhe nirilia deliver ~ness,
'I g e to
:I
wicler society ... indeed they can promote or Ilinclcr development".
However, even [he sh-aiglit news !hat cIomin;lted follrwccl n pattcl-11A report of an incidence of tral'ficking h e n barrage of items on denial and
exoneration by tliose linked with the crime i n h e same ncwspilper. For
eumple, The Guardian carried tlie stories of tlie inre]-nationally publicized
"slave ship". Mv Entireno. The headlines went this way:
"250 Nigerian Kids Ia~iguish in slave ship (Guardian April 16,
200 1 1.
"Interpol hunts Bennoise. two others over child slavery"
(Guardian April 17, 200 I )
"Soccer Star. Akpoborie is the owner o f slave sliip" ( G u a d i a ~ i
April 17.
200 1 )
The same paper also later carried [lie illlowinp front-page slories:
" A k p o ~ ~ ~ , rin
i e Lagos. denies child slavery allegation ( G ~ ~ i ~ r d i : t ~ l
MnylO, 2001)
"Etireno,Akpohorir's mother says we've heen vi ndicatcd" .
"Slave ship: Official absolves government of blame"
Moreover. i t is clear born table [v] that niost ol' news story or
i tenis came fronl source%outside their staff'. LJnder this situation tlierc
cannot be more investigative and jnterpretative sting. It was only when
foreign media la11d a scoop then the stories now find their places in the
rie\vspapers.In this case. no further digging in to unravel nriy suhte~nnean
facts - Just reports of press conferences where denials and exo11e1-ntio~is
take centre stage. The reverse is supposed to be !lie case since Offot~agoro
( 1053:3) sulmi[s that
"at a11 times, the press has the I-csponsihility to give
the people then true a d unadullerntcd Facts lfint will enable thorn make
clioices".
Peterson quoted i n Ikegwu (1995:23)Strecsed this 1.w-ther w11e1llie
said that newsmen play an important role as gatekeeper in selecting what
reality and rhis is influence by his perception of reality. 11' lie docs not
~*epresetltreality he presenls "a distorlec! image 01' tlic world wllicl~may
contribute to inappropriate decisions and Policies"
Thirtyeight (52.0%) of the I~eadlineswere cast in between 24" lo
30'' with only 1( 1.396)that can be described as screamer or banner at 60".
Pictur-edcartoon accounted for only 8(10.9%) of the iterns. In all i t is
~ I n r i n pthat pictures and cartoon ere not su ffkiently used in re1l i 11g tlic
c"
stories. This is regrettable since according to Udeze quored in Okul~lia(ed)
(2002). " dccp sense ol' realism and trutli C O L I P I C ~
1 ~ 1 1 ' t 1 ~ 1 ~ ~ ; 11l;ide
1 l l ( ~ l p11010!pphs
;I
wiill I.eclings ol'
very popular corn~nunic;~tion
nlcdit~~n".
' r l i ~ r - ~ f ithc
w . impact cotiltl he mosc \\hen ;~ppropsiatc~d~otogt-;~phs
or
i ll~rstrationcacconipnny the stories, becauce many people WIN) clo
~ I O Illnvc
limc to 90 ~ I I I - O L I ~ I I the text call grasp tllc ~n;~gnitud'01' lhc story by
lookin: at the accompanying pic~ures.Gcside, this is the beqt way to ~nake
the nor-so-literate people lo comprehend better thc ~icwss~o1.y.Agka and
Okorr) ( 1995: 45) also str.essec1 ~ h irnporlancc
c
ui pl~vlngl-nphywhe~itlicy
ttwrtecl: "the i~~iporlariceof photo~raplis as a necc~sni-y li)olscap
co1iiniunication cannot bc over e1nphasi7ed.Almost cvcrybocly is picrure
~ni~idecl"
Tllc press did relatively wcll in the ccwcr:ye ol' both I.orrnx ol'
hurnari tmfficking - child trafl'icking and women trafficking. 'I'wenly-two
(7Of/; ) treated 11oone specifically but treated hem as one and whole. 'l'hc
~ C Y 14S
able ro see the vosiol~sforms oI' tsnll~~chinp
a11d \lie ~ . ~ l i ~ l i o ~ l s l l i l ~
I,ct.i\yer~thcrn. This ~nuansa wholistic treatment since accor-clin~to
blc.('oml,s ancl Shaw (1077: 101) "lhe press serves a valuable societal
I'rr~~ctioll.
11 retluces the arrays of issucs bcl'ore the ~~uldic-.
p~-c'scllts;I
~ l ~ ; ~ n ; ~ ~age~ida
v a h l eand helps bring nhout societal consenws".
REFERENCES
McConib and Shaw (1972) "The Agenda Selting Theory of Mass Media"
P~rhlic.Opirliorl Qrrtrrtc'r-ly,36.
Of;ornagoso, W. ( 1 985) "No State Media are Culprils", h'trtiorlctl Conc-nrd.
July 5 .
I k e y v u . K.K ( 1995) The Image of the Nigeria Press: A Survey of I'uhlic
Opinion of Press Coverage of 1993 Annulled Psesidentinl election
in Nigeria. MA Thesis, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Cldcze (2002) "Photojournalis~n: History, Issues and Strategies" in
Cliinyere Okuna (ed) Teaching Mass Communication: A M d t i
Dimensional Approach. New Generation Book: Enugu.
Umechukwu, P.0.J (1995) "'I'he role of jo~~imlists
in the psopagation of
Lilrerdl
Str~1ic.vVol. 6 ,
juslice" (The Niger-ia:~case). Jorri.rrcr1
March, No. 1 and 2.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMhllENDATION
-.
51
SUMRIARY
Human 11-nl'ficking flourishes under different guise and olieri many
~~nsuspecti~ig
people especially in Nigeria fall victim. Otliers are i~lvolvc~l
;IS
a way of escaping tlie economic lini*dshipand enjoying glamorous life
In
major cities of the world. This sort of mindset is what pushes nlr111yto
take the gamble 110 matter the risk.
This research, therefore, embarked on a content analytical study of
two leading Nigeria Ncwspapers with the aim of ascertaining tlie
coritrihutions of the press in the Fight agains[ human trafficking in Nigeria:
a crime that the country has gained international notoriety just as in
financial scam 1'41'3). In tlie course of reviewing itnportatit literal~~re.
a
\ w y nficler picture emerged. Human trafficking like other organised crin~c
invol\'es well-developed rletcvork within a r ~ duu~side[he c t ~ u ~ t tIlia1
- y put
i n and reap large profit from the business.
The lnetllodology adopted Tor this work hest suits this i h m of
l-esen~-charid the structure of the methoclology follows the pat tern:
Research design, research population, sa~nplc size and snmpli~lg
lecllniq~le,inslrvmellt of data collection. unit of analysis, Data analysis
and linii tation of rnctliodology. The research questinns raised in tlie co111-sc
of'the work serve as a guide and the research revolves arouncl the~ii.
The result shows that the press did not cover human trafl'tcki~~g
lwpedy. The press in Nigeria should have been at the I'orefront of tlie
campaign against such a calamitous social prohlem tlirougli their
coverage. Features, editorial and opiriioti which are essential inslrulnents
used by crusading press were least representccl in the genre 30 (41%)
\vliiIe straigli~news alone Iinve 43(58%). The press gets their stories more
I'rom outside source than their staff reporters. What this means is that
Gunrclian niay publish an article it sourced from I~)~rtk,uOh,rcrwr about a
Lnhour C;mp in Nigeria where children trafricked from neighbouring
comntries we put to labour in Farms at Ondo. But Ondo is just about two
hours from the heactquarter o f Guardian in Lagos. Rased o n these ancl
otliel- findings. recommendations were made \vliicli woukl hclp in
improving tlie contributions of the press i n [lie fight against Iir~lnan
trul'l'icking and crime generally.
-.2 CONCI~USION
The study has made stunning revelation ahout homon trafficking i n
Nigeria. The magnitude of the crime lias reaclied u n p ~ ~ e d e n t elcvel
d and
it was the international dimension that hrouglit the attention ol' the world.
A comlrinntion of' poverly. ignorance and lapses in secr~rityand
l e p l framework hnve made i t possible for inclividuals
; I I ~ gangs
to
operate trafficking rings without mucli problem. Though new legislations
have heen
pit
in place to take care of this. nohody ha5 tleerl convicted l;ol-
aiding. abating. sponsoring or organizing trafficking in human beings.
The high levels of poverty and unemploymer~t have presented a
sifunticm where people even willingly oblige traffickers wllen they k1low
the implication. However, tlw-e is always a I-elationship bctwcen wot1lc.n
trnffickjng and prostitution. child trafl'icking ;~ndchild labour
01-organ
Ilurvest. A lot or local atld internat ioixd Non-governniental Agencics
(NGOs) haw taken up the challenge of fighting against hurnan tral'ficking.
Howei7er. i t is evident that the press with all their 'arsenal'
-
~nedia
campaign and advocacy were unable to deploy them adequately. Thc
research shows that there was no persistent niedia campaign aimed at
educating and exposing the dangers in human t ~ - n f k k i ~ l g .
Tllough tile Guardiim appeals more to policy tiiakcrs ;~nd
intellectual class. it still carried more stories on Iiurnala ttafl'ickirlg t11a11
Tile Plunch. However. Punch wlio hy virtue ol' its large circulalion and
rracl~is supposed to perform better, did not. In this case. that segment of
[lie society illat is sl~pposeclto he the worsi victims gets less illhrmntiw
fr(,m tile press. The mere reporting of cases of trafficking
not ello~!$
raise people's consciousness and sensitize them about dangers and el'fects
of' human trafficking. The press as a watchdos, therelore, ought to have
taken up the task of protecting the most vulnerable population in the
society.
Hu~nantrafficking is a mi~jorproblem of developing couritries i n
Asia. South America, Africa and South Eastern Europe, hut the rate
wliich the business is growing in Nigeria i s what has
;I[
~ I - ~ W the
II
i~iternationalcornmimity's attention. This research has equally rcvealed
the rmgni tude of the problem.
5.3 RECOMMENDATIONS
In view of the research findings, i t is pertinent to put forward some
recomrnendr~tio~is
towards improvrng the pr-css contr-ihution in the I'ight
n~ainsthuman trafficking.
The press should make more promir~entstories arid i terns on 111rma11
~saffickingtl~roughproper positioning. Political and otlies storics relegated
stories o n hirman trafficking to a lower position as evident in placcn~cnl
and headline display.
Since human trafficking is like organised crime, the press sliould
employ investigative journalism in tackling it. This form o f jo~~rnalis~n
cannot be possibIe without having well trained and paid journalists who
go out to dip out such stories anc! follow it up with features and analysis.
The media est:tl~lishmentsshor~ldrecruit and 1rai11their staff' to be able to
face such challenges. In addition, improved \VOI-kingconditions I'or tlle
jourl~alistswill enhance their performance, discourage unethical pr;lc[ices
and make them rnore daring. l'his is the only way to 1.ecluce the over~ r l i a w eon foreign and star(' o ~ t s i d e[lie organization fhr s11c11scoop in
Nigeria. This \\)ill also enhance effective coverage.
I t is also recn~~irnendecl
that the press slinulcl enco~~rage
NGOs
working in the area of the fight against human trafficking hy cIl:ugi~lg
special rate for acivertisernent or advertorial in order to encoul-age [lie~n
and to make sucli information accessible to the ~mblic.The pt-css sho111d
also make their ow11 advertorial a regular feature of their pr1pel.s.
Aclvertorials on birth day or goodwill message to Mi~listcrsand tliosc: in
~overrirnent adorn a good number of pages, but the only advertorial
carried in the Guardian was that of an NGO.
Mo1.eovc-r. ally story or i tcm ilh0~1t k
iI
should bc
accolnpanied with an appropriate photograph or illustration. This is where
tlniIled
should come in and those i~nagesand k ~ t i n m i e s
fl-olnvjcti~nsare likely to make more impact.
Above a]], tile government slio~lldellact enahling laws
lllake it possible fol+anyone involved or implicated
ill
will
Cases of tmfricki~lg
40
i n I l u n ~ a nto face the f u l l weight of the law. It was realized in coursc of Ihc
research that hecause of the lapses in the justice system, pcoplc ir-tiplicutccl
or arrested i n connection with the crirne~*noi-~nallyleft o f the Ilook.
Improved judiciary will also be an encouragement for the press since i f
iustice is dispensed without fear or favours the press will be in better
footing and confidence in doing their work.
The Iegnl system i n Nigeria cannot be relied on. The case of the
Lli led frivolous irijunction issued by Justice Egbo Egbo of' Emgu High
C ~ L I Ias- t regards the removal of Governor Ngige of Atlambra Stale is a
case i n point. No editor would like to be publisliing retractions every lime,
neither does ally editor want his papcr t r ~be e~itanglecli n Lilwl s u i ~ s
always. 11 is important that the legal system is made
10
he the clefendel- o f
both the rich and the poor and also provide an environinenr that 111c press
can w ~ r kwithout hindrance.
Bales. K. ( 1999) DisposnDle Peoplr: Nc,\v S1triwr-y Globnl cw)rlorrly.
University of California Press.
Berelson. R. (1953) Conturrt Airnlv.si,s irr Corirnrr~rlic-crtiorlRcsetrr-c-11,New
York: The Free Press.
Brown, T.L. (2000) Sex Slnves: Tlw Trqficking c~f'\t~o17w~r
ill Axin. Virago
Press Ltd.
Foo, L.J. (2002). The Trafficking o f Asia women In: Asian Amcrican
women: issues, Concerns, and responsive Human and Civil Iiighl
Advocacy. Food Foundation.
Mckinley, B. el a1 (2002) Special issue for the European Conference on
p r e v e ~ i n gand Sighting trafficking in hurnan beings. 7;-cffic-ltirlgi l l
i2ligr-trrlts Qrrnr.tc?r-lyDrdlc)tirr Sepl. No. 26.
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CIS and I n ~ c r ~ ~ a ~ i oresponse.
nal
US Library of Co~lg~.css,
Congressional Research Service.
R ~ , s r o , r 4nrrd Pn,jat-/ Report
0ll;Ca. E.U. (2003) Mass G)rirr~~rrrlicotiorr
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Richard. Amy'Oweill (2000) International Trafficking in women to the
US: A contenipora~-ymanifestation of slavery and organised crime.
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and Dominick, J.R. ( I 904). M[r,v.s Mdicr Ro.scvrr-~~lr
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JOURNALARTICLES
Bales. Kevin (2002) "TIie Philosophy of Modern Slavery", Scientific
American, vol. 256. No. 4, April.
Ioslii. Aiko (2002) "The faces of Human trafficking", Ho.tlirr,yr Wtmrrvr's
Lmc, Jorrr.r~(rl,Vol 13, Winter.
Leuchtag, Alice (2001). "Hutnan Right. Sex Trol'l'icking and Pn)stitu[ion".
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Childreii". S p c ~ r l ,Vol 44, No. 3. May/June.
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Llmechukwu. P.0.J (1998) "The Role of Jo~u~ialists
in [he p1-npagaiion ol'
justice (The Nigeria case)". .lorl~-~lnl
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and 2. March.
UNPURLISHED THESIS
Allunnya, G. (2001) A compa~.alivearialysis oS press coverage of urban
and Rural Area in Nigeria B.A Project. University o f Nigeria,
Nsukka.
Skier-dal, T.S. (2001) Responsible Watchdog'? Normative Theories of the
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lkrp\r~o.K (1095) The Image of the Nigeria Press: A survey n l public
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~
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Efeizomor, V. (2001) Absence of Stolen kids stall Bisket trial. Tlli.sriqr.
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June 1 I
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