…It makes us realize who we are and it stops us from being enslaved not on our will but unwilling to the slave masters

… if you say there is no room for terrorism in our policy, your member country is terrorizing another country and you are unable to do anything

Indeed, today is the tomorrow we once sort after yesterday and the 23rd Day of August each year is the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition.

Earlier today (Friday, 23rd August, 2024), while on the DiamondFM’s flagship programme, the “Diamond Breakfast Show”, I interacted with Director of the Center for Peace and Strategic Studies, University of Ilorin- Prof. Ibrahim Jawondo, who spoke extensively on the issue of slave trade then and now. According to him, slave trade though celebrated globally as being abolished, have taken another nomenclature at this age and time

“Nigeria may be poor but the international community knows what they are looking for in Nigeria that we are, so they need to relate with us to be able to get it and we need to relate with them to be able to get the power support that we do not have the way it is in the world now. All that you have mentioned are in existence in each of that but let me tell you much more they are all instruments of neo-colonialism, how do you understand that, look at it, if you say there is no room for terrorism in our policy your member country is terrorizing another country and you are unable to do anything.”     

Prof. JAWONDO also ceased the occasion of the day to advise President Bola Tinubu to desist from using foreign approach in fixing NIGERIA’s domestic problems.

“Let me give you a critical example, when I was in South Africa there was a serious cold and I bought a cap there so when I got to Nigeria there was cold and I wore that cap within two minutes I was sweating. Is that a solution to Nigeria’s cold? It’s not, how can you take foreign solutions to domestic problems, let’s drive our development through our culture. I don’t see why Nigerians should be crying of hunger with what God has blessed us with is the land we want to talk about or our population.” the university Don added.  

OTHERS SPEAK:

Also, responding on the issue,  Samuel Akande a student of Mass Communication, University of Ilorin, interning with DiamondFM, met with Mr. Oluwatoyin Olabode and Mr. Lawal Abdul on the matter.

In the words of Mr. Olabode: “I will say abolition of the trade slave has been a good move and impactive to Nigeria and the world generally. It makes us realize who we are and it stops us being enslaved not on our will but unwilling to the slave masters. The abolition really helped us to know who we are and to build on our culture in moving Nigeria forward.”  

“Trade slaves then was not good enough, there’s no civilization as at that time, they will chain you and maltreat you anyhow they want. Those people they enslaved then are now big people there now, look at America. In Nigeria we are practicing what we call modern slave trade because our politicians have enslaved us. In Babangida’s regime I can say that was the starting point of slavery. Slavery is not good and I am not in support. It is how you take it that matters, all the domestic staff that we have are literally slaves but it depends on how you take them, if you take them as a child, they are your child” says Mr. Abdul in yoruba.            

This historic day designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to memorialize the transatlantic slave trade, serves as a reminder of the atrocities endured by millions of individuals forcibly taken from their homes and subjected to inhumane conditions. The slave trade, spanning centuries, caused immense suffering and shaped the world we live in today. It is essential to commemorate this day to honor the victims, learn from history, and work towards a more just and equitable future.

As we observe this day, it is crucial to acknowledge the past, honor the resilience of those who suffered, and commit to combating all forms of modern-day slavery and discrimination.

LINK TO SESSION WITH PROF. Ibrahim JAWONDO: