CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
by J.-D. Mihamlé, Cameroon, January 1999
THEME = HUMAN RIGHTS
Poor Nigerian families fall easy prey to unscrupulous businessmen,
who promise Nigerian parents that their children
will have a prosperous future in Cameroon.
But these promises remain unfulfilled.
One victim describes his experiences...
Melen is an eastern suburb of Yaoundé, Cameroon. Here, Sunday (26 -"Sunday" is a nickname requested by the victim to remain anonymous ), runs his small photo studio. His welcoming smile at the prospect of a would-be customer, covers a personal drama unknown to the public and to the Cameroonian authorities in charge of Childrens' Protection. We managed to put him at his ease, and he then began to open himself up to us, releasing his heartfelt feelings. Even his business was forgotten for the moment...
Sunday originally came from the Ibo Country situated in Akwa State, in Nigeria's south-east. He managed to escape from the clutches of a modern day "slave trader". He was one of those thousands of children, who fall victim to the exploitation of certain Nigerian businessmen. He said: "In 1988, I was 16, when a businessman came to see my father. He suggested to take me away to Cameroon where he would teach me photography. After a year, I would become proficient. In return, it was agreed that I would work for nothing, during three years, for the benefit of my "ogah" ("master" in the Ibo language). After four years, I'd go back to Nigeria and then I'd get a sum of money from my former master to set up my own business."
"My parents were delighted with the suggestion and they quickly accepted it. They imagined this would be a remedy for my idleness in school. I had a school certificate but because my parents lacked the necessary finance, I'd had to stop my studies". In 1988, in spite of having neither passport nor residents' permit, Sunday, together with his ogah and five other 15-year-olds, set off for Cameroon. Destination - Yaoundé, Cameroon's capital city.
Sunday continued: "The ogah's promises lasted precisely the length of the journey. From the very first day, they didn't match up with what he'd promised us. The six of us had to sleep on a mat on the floor. The photo studio (about 12 square meters) was both our work place during the day and our bedroom at night. Our clothes were kept in boxes full of cockroaches.
Describing his work schedule, Sunday said: "Work was an exhausting experience. Only sleep brought some respite. From 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., we laboured in the photo studio. We also had to keep the house clean, this meant we could not get to bed until midnight. Happily, apart from some minor ailments, we kept our health, thanks be to God."
How did Sunday judge his boss's attitude? "Sheer exploitation", he snapped, probably to protect his self- esteem.
Ogahs take advantage of docile, hardworking young people who provide them with cheap labour in order to become rich. Would Sunday accept to live such an experience again? "Not on your life" came back the quick reply, accompanied by a violent slap on the shop counter. "My ogah stole my childhood. For six years, I never went to a cinema. I had no friends. I played no football. I only once went to church. Television was a luxury for me".
Sunday's case is not unique. According to him, it points to the miserable situation of thousands of Nigerian children - Children who are exploited in Cameroon and in Central Africa in general, for their economic possibilities.
It's surprising such a situation is allowed to exist in Cameroon seeing that Cameroon has ratified the UN's convention concerning children's rights.
A number of questions remain unanswered. Can it be said that there are people in "high places" involved in this modern-day slave trade? Why do the victims say nothing? Why hasn't the Nigerian High Commission in Yaoundé complained? Couldn't the children themselves have complained to the competent authorities?
"No", said Sunday. "We didn't have the correct papers (passport, residents' permit) for remaining in the country. Because of this, we were in danger of being jailed, then expelled from Cameroon as illegal immigrants. We were not even registered with the Nigerian High Commission. And it was impossible to communicate with our own parents at home. The boss read all our letters before they were posted. We didn't have any friends, so where could we complain? Also, it was impossible to plan a common action among ourselves, as the Ogah saw to it that we didn't agree with each other.
NGOs such as the local UNICEF representative, and even the Cameroonian Ministry of Social Affairs seem to ignore this insidious trade in children, since they keep quiet. Nevertheless, last November, Cameroon's Minister for Social Affairs, representing the First Lady, presided at the official presentation of the 1999 UNICEF report on the situation of children in the world. But not a word was said about these Nigerian children in Cameroon. So, the ogahs consider themselves to be safe, sheltered against any danger. They get rich because of child labour. They have a monopoly on the spare-parts market and on building materials.
All this can have catastrophic results on the children's well-being and development. According to Clement Petsoko, a psychologist in Yaoundé, the children's psychological and moral development is affected. Their way of life - the frustrations, the humiliations - all contribute to a childhood destroyed, with all the consequences in later life. There's great danger that these children will become sadists, masochists, rapists. Already in 1996, the Cameroonian press spoke at length about children (victims of the ogah exploitation), who, in Douala, had become rapists.
Worse still, children exploited in this way are in danger of copying their masters and thus perpetuating the "system".
And what about Sunday? Isn't he in danger of becoming an ogah in his turn? Perhaps he's been lucky in that in 1994, his boss gave him a sum of money (amount not mentioned) in the presence of his family, in Nigeria. Returning to Cameroon the same year, he set up his own photo studio which, as he says, "works well". He's now got two Nigerian boys working for him. He introduced them to us as his little brothers. In short, he's obviously trying to make up for his own past experiences.
END
CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
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