What was your previous role and what is your role now?

I was a Foreign Service Officer in the Nigerian Foreign Service for 35 years. I retired recently as an Ambassador. I am retired from the Federal Government Service of Nigeria, but not tired! So, I joined the Pan-African Institute for Global Affairs and Strategy (PAIGAS), a think-tank, training, research, consultancy, and advocacy centre for the promotion of affirmative Pan-African narrative of global issues.

As part of its mandate, the Centre is fully engaged in the advocacy works on the knotty issues of Human Trafficking and Migration generally. I am the Director of the Centre.

How did you use your role as a High Commissioner or Ambassador to address the issue of Trafficking through Sport? Was trafficking through sport an issue you encountered regularly?

My last years in the Diplomatic Service witnessed an unusually high surge in reported cases of human trafficking. Unfortunately, and strangely, a sizeable number of Nigerian Youths became victims.

My last Diplomatic Posting in Turkey offered a unique experience. The strategic location of Turkey as a gateway into Europe and a football-loving country made it a perfect choice for unscrupulous criminals who engaged in Trafficking of various forms.

With regards to Trafficking in Sports, the victims are deceived into believing a fake offer to play in the popular Turkish Football League as a precursor to recruitment into notable football clubs in Europe.

The dream of earning a mouth-watering salary from playing soccer in Europe and ignorance of or blindness to the issue often prevent the victims from critical thinking.

The common trend is largely deception through coercion; resulting in illegal migration based entirely on fraud. The unsuspecting victims are immediately stranded upon arrival and placed in voluntary captivity to survive.

Usually, the Embassy is deliberately kept in the dark until things get very rough and out of control. Even when faced with the reality of their misadventure, the victims are often not willing to return home.

My conclusion is that there is a need for a collective effort by the government and other stakeholders to actively come out with a solution to tackle this new scourge, which is highly underestimated by governments, before it gets out of control.

Currently, what would be your recommendations to High Commissioners and their staff when trying to tackle the problem of trafficking through sports?

a.

Effective and frank collaboration between the High Commissioners and their host authorities in addressing the new scourge: trafficking in sports.

b.

There are common denominators in all forms of human trafficking, namely: exploitation; forced labour; slavery or similar practices; harvesting of organs; and prostitution. Trafficking in sports is not exempt.

Hence, the solution is transparency and collective action by all and sundry. The High Commissioners should recommend the subject of trafficking to their governments be given priority attention by the international community. For instance, strict legislation to control the cartel before it gets out of control.

c.

Globally, the sporting industry is a multibillion-dollar investment, hence successful clubs in the UK should be encouraged to invest in poor Commonwealth countries to dissuade their citizenry from getting desperate to travel abroad in search of better opportunities abroad.

d.

In the aftermath of COVID 19, the situation may get worse. The UK government must be ready to lend concrete support to Commonwealth countries to properly organise their sporting authorities and organisations for optimum performance.

This interview originally appeared in the February 2022 edition of the Modern Slavery & Human Trafficking Newsletter.