UK launches Not for Sale campaign telling young Nigerian women to stay at home and find jobs

BRITAIN has warned young Nigerian women and girls to stay at home and find jobs instead of risking a life of modern slavery as many of the European employment offers they receive are disguised attempts to entrap them and lure them into constitution.

Under a Not for Sale campaign, the UK has warned Nigerian women and girls not to fall for lucrative promises of a good life in Europe as it usually masks a trafficking racket. Backed by the National Crime Agency and the UK’s Joint Border Task Force as well as Nigerian law enforcement, the campaign focuses on aspirational stories of women who have established successful careers in Nigeria.

One of the stories featured in the posters, TV and radio adverts is about Gift Jonathan, a single mother who was raped and tortured while attempting to get to Europe but has since returned to Nigeria and found work as a pastry chef. Her case has been used by the UK's Department for International Development to highlight the fact that young women can succeed in Nigeria.

Ms Jonathan said: "Three years ago, I was a single mother with two children living with my widowed mother. Things were so hard that when my friend told me about travelling to Germany but we only made it to Libya.

"I was sold, raped and tortured and I saw many Nigerians die, including my friend Iniobong. When I made it back to Nigeria, I met with people who registered me in a vocational centre and encouraged me.

“Today I’m a baker in Benin making enough money to take care of my family. My boys will not grow up to be ashamed of their mother. My name is Gift Jonathan and I am not for sale.”

Nigeria has one of the highest incidences of modern slavery in Africa and is one of the top five countries of origin for victims reaching Europe and the UK. In 2018 alone, 208 Nigerian nationals were identified as potential victims of trafficking in the UK.

Penny Mordaunt, the UK's international development secretary, said: “Modern slavery is one of the greatest human rights abuses of our time. UK aid is working in partnership with the National Crime Agency and Nigerian law enforcement to stop it at its source.

“Together we are tackling the root causes of dangerous migration to prevent vulnerable women and girls from becoming targeted by traffickers. The benefits of this will be far-reaching, including preventing regional instability and helping us tackle modern slavery here in the UK.”