Eki Igbinedion, Keeping Faith With Her Mission To Stop Human Trafficking

*How her NGO, the Idia Renaissance Project provides respite for victims of human trafficking in Nigeria

*Project focuses on prevention, protection and rehabilitation

Interview, by Emman Okuns – Boston

More than eight years after she served as first lady of Edo State, Nigeria, Mrs. Eki Igbinedion has kept faith with her mission to stop human trafficking, protect human rights, restore human dignity and rehabilitate victims of human trafficking and sex trade.

It is a mission she embarked upon, with the establishment of a non-governmental organization, known as Idia Renaissance Project in Benin City, since 1999, the year Nigeria returned to democracy.

It came at a time when the Nigeria society seemed to be losing all sense of moral values; traditions were thrown to the wind, the business of prostitution was glorified.

With the inception of Idia Renaissance, Eki Igbinedion, not only drew global attention, but sought solutions to the dehumanizing problem, by providing preventive, protective and rehabilitative measures for victims, working with the international community.

Seventeen years after, the organization can count its blessings and hold its head high even though it feels the job is not completely done yet.

On April 10, 2016, Alltimepost.com sat down with Eki Igbinedion in Boston Massachusetts, U.S.A., for one hour to find out about her project, the vison behind and how she was able to actualize it.

In the interview, she discussed how it started, challenges encountered, achievements, the work ahead and her legacy.

Below is full text of the interview:
Q: What motivated you to start the Idia Renaissance project?
A: Idia Renaissance was founded in 1999 to address the issue of so many social vices that for many years have militated against our people in Nigeria, Edo State in particular. Social vices, such as human trafficking; young children being abandoned, children not given sound moral education.

We found that a lot of our young girls were being trafficked overseas, particularly in Europe for the purpose of prostitution. So when this happened, their fundamental human rights were daily being violated by human traffickers. So we felt the urgent need to address it.

And since 1999 we have been assisting young people in the area of prevention , protection and rehabilitation. We set up a structure whereby we train young people. We have five different departments, including cosmetology, fashion design, catering, photography and computer science.

All these departments were put together to give these young people a sense of directions. Preventive measure was to train people at home so they are not looking at travelling abroad, seeking for greener pastures.

And for those who have already travelled and wish to return to Nigeria we have several collaborations with several international organizations who have found our organization worthy to train these young people when they send them back to Nigeria.

So we have worked in this area for many years to ensure that our children are given a place of pride in the society. So basically, that is what Idia Renaissance stands for; it is our main vision. I am the founder and president of this organization and am very proud to tell you that so far we have graduated hundreds of young people.
Q: To be specific, how many people successfully go through this program on an annual basis?
A: Every year we turn out between 150 and 175 young people who come there for this training. After the training we set them up into cooperative bodies so that they can earn good incomes for themselves; that they are not only useful to themselves, but they are useful to society.

They feel fulfilled. Many, many young people have gone through our training, even many university graduates because the time when people used to believe that as soon as you graduate you automatically get a job is gone.

Q: What is your assessment of human trafficking today, using the Nigeria situation?
A: You can see from 1999 till date the problem of human trafficking has drastically reduced. Idia Renaissance was one of the pioneer organizations to bring to the fore, the problem of human trafficking. In the past people used to address it, “as a well, it is not a big deal; people just travel because they want to travel.”

We felt that, that was not the case; we felt that these people, these young children who were women should have their rights back because their rights were being daily violated.

Q: Knowing the significance of Idia in Benin history, how much of a role did that play in choosing the name for the organization?

A: Well, the name is very significant to the project. Idia was a Queen in Benin Kingdom. She was the mother of a King (Oba Esigie). And Queen Idia was a well-respected and honored woman in our society.

And because of the strength that Idia had she was able to sustain the dignity of womanhood, the dignity of Edo man and Edo woman. And as a result, we felt in order to restore the human dignity of these women whose rights are being daily violated we picked that name, Idia to give it some value.

And ‘renaissance’ is the reawakening of that human dignity which our project is focused on. So Idia Renaissance is very significant, the name is very important to me as a person and as a woman; number one, as an Edo woman and a woman who believes strongly that our rights should not be violated.

Q: In the course of the project have you at any time had any iota of doubt about its success?

A: I never had any doubt that it would be successful, but I had a lot of challenges. Numerous challenges in the sense that many people did not support it when we started. It was highly resisted by the so-called traffickers who were benefiting from the trade.

The economic benefit from trafficking was enormous. Few years back, human trafficking was the highest source of revenue after drug and arms. People saw the economic advantage, so they resisted it. When we sponsored a bill against human trafficking in the Edo State House of Assembly, it was thrown out a couple of times because people trivialized it.

Some would say: “prostitution is the oldest profession, so why do you want to address it now.” And we said we are not just addressing prostitution, but the violation of human rights and that it is against the law.” So a couple of times it went back until it was passed into law.

That created the legal framework for us to be able to thrive in our quest for the complete eradication of human trafficking. Edo State was the first to pass it.

Q: After passage of the bill what followed?
A: Thereafter, we went ahead at the national level in collaboration with so many other NGOs who shared our passion regarding human trafficking. And we also pushed for the bill, to set up the Agency today that is called National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking In Persons (NAPTIP). So because the legal framework was already put in place in Edo State, it gave easy passage at the National Assembly.

So it was a lot of challenges. However, those challenges today we see as our strength because if you do not have challenges you cannot grow.

Many people thought that may be after a couple of years this project would die or fizzle out, but today it is even stronger than it ever was because people now see that there is no hidden agenda, there is no political undertone or motivation other than a vision, so much driven by passion and the desire to do good.

Q: Do you have any political ambition?
A: I am not a politician and I do not intend to be. But I have my right; I will perform my civic responsibility to ensure I support whoever I deem fit, but I do not intend to run for any political office. Everything I did pertaining to Idia Renaissance was done on the premise that we see the light today at the end of the tunnel for our young people.

It was very bad. I travelled to many places to give lectures, to campaign against human trafficking. It took me to so many countries, talking about it and today we are seeing results. It is not as bad as it was. It has not completely been eradicated, but it has reduced tremendously and in all modesty I can say that many people who have joined hands with us and collaborated with us have made this possible.

Q: Is it possible to name some of the organizations with which you collaborate, especially the international organizations?
A: International organizations? … They are many, some embassies, Italian Embassy, governments, Nigeria government, the Caritas in Italy, etc.

Q: You work with UNICEF, too?
Of course, we have had several projects with UNICEF. We have had to represent and speak for UNICEF on different occasions, most significant at that time, was a presentation in the British House of Commons, where Idia Renaissance had to speak for these people and campaign for their rights to be restored.

We were also invited by the then Secretary of state of the United States of America, Retired Gen. Colin Powel to also speak on strategies that work in addressing human trafficking. Our organization was singled out for that task.

The German Embassy also collaborated with us, also USAID (United States Agency for International Development). They felt that if we are doing the project and it is working we need to share it.

So, several invitations came from the German groups and so many other different groups. And I thank those groups for bringing it to the fore. The exposure they gave the problem, has as of today, made it possible to create a lot of awareness in terms of information dissemination, you know. It was a good thing.

Q: When you meet with the people you are trying to help, I mean the victims of human trafficking; for example when they arrive at the airport or you meet them in their host countries, what are they telling you?
A: My very first trip with this organization in the year 1999 to be precise, was a very difficult one. It was a trip I will live to remember. Very fruitful in the sense that I met with our girls. I actually saw them at different places of work.

It turned out to be good. Initially, they had planned to be very hostile. I went to Italy on the invitation of the Italian government, so I spoke at different fora that they had put together, very well attended by numerous people from different countries, particularly Nigeria.

A lot of our girls were there. So by the time I finished addressing the issue and letting them know that: “we are here to help, and not to repatriate anybody because we don’t have the power to do so. We are not the embassies, we are non-governmental and even if we did you have to decide that you want to go back.”

So, when they saw that our mission was of advantage to them they welcomed us. For the first couple of days, they were not sure, they had planned to be hostile to us, according to the report given to us by the Embassy.

But I never saw any hostility, I want to put that on record. They made heavy security arrangement which I got to know when the event was over on the day I was leaving. So they received us well when they came to realize that our mission was to educate them, bring the news to them that they no longer need to subject themselves to such dehumanizing treatment from traffickers or sponsors.

So that gave them a lot of confidence in order to put themselves together properly. When I saw them at their work places (prostitution spots), I was very depressed on my first trip because I truly saw our girls hanging around and it was very sad. They have come a long way and very many have retraced their steps and they are now doing things of value and adding values to society, too.

Q: Did you have a chance to talk to them, one-on-one and what were they telling you?
A: We had a special session.

Q: Can you tell me some of the things you heard that moved you or was emotional for you?
A: What I heard was what I already knew. A lot of people who travel abroad are ignorant of what they are going to do. Some are desperate as a result of the economic hardship in Nigeria. Some very few are greedy, very few. Majority are ignorant; the few that are greedy just want money by desperation.

My neighbor’s child is abroad and brought a car, so my daughter has to also go without knowing what she is going there for. That is ignorant. But the greed who will say I have one car that my daughter brought so all the other ones must go so we can have ten. That is greedy.

These people responded to say that they left Nigeria with the hope that they were coming to assist in factories, farmlands, etc., but getting there the people that brought them put them on the street to work and bring them all the money that they make. After finding themselves in this situation they just could not go back. They felt if they went back to Nigeria they would be tagged as failures – people who have not achieve anything.

And their parents are going to say: you mean after all the money we spent. And many of them, before they leave swear different oats, that they are going to serve whoever is sending them and they are going to make money to pay back.

So it is difficult for them, but because we met under the umbrella of the embassy we were able to arrange with the government of Italy and our government to come together and give them some easy way out.

The options included: If they wanted to go back to Nigeria there were non-governmental organizations over there that would be ready to assist them without subjecting themselves to humiliation.

And many of them took that option. Some were given a whole year to settle, to put themselves together before moving back to Nigeria. So this was our experience. We had a one-on-one meeting and a few were saying they can’t go back, that they had gone too far to go back. So these were the findings.

Q: From your answer, it looks like there were situations where more than one member of the same family went out of Nigeria for the same mission. What is your comment?
A: There are some families where you had three of them; some all the daughters are there. Some people say well all the children are there, if only two make it, we are good. I think it just comes down to poverty.

Q: Did you encounter a situation where some of the women were sent by their husbands or went with their consents?
A: I never met anyone, but I heard different stories because they kept information from the organizations that are supporting them. That some of them were sent by their husbands to go and make money and send back home, yes! We were told several stories but I never met anyone involved.

Q: Approximately how many people, since the beginning of the project in 1999 have you helped to provide soft landing for?
A: Very many people. We started in 1999, the first five years of the organization we turned out thousands of people. Many people were coming through the center because it was set up to solve such problem. It was a new and ugly phenomenon that took over our society.

Q: So, looking back since 1999, how would you describe your achievements?
A: We have done a lot, we have achieved a lot. I think the purpose for which Idia Renaissance was established has been achieved. That does not mean we are done. It is not completely done. We are not even half way yet.

We have not reached the stage where we give ourselves credit that we have done everything. We have achieved the first purpose which was to create awareness. Second, you cannot solve a problem until you admit you have a problem. We have been able to identify the problem.

We are able to come up with solutions to such problem. Now, we are applying those solutions towards achieving success. Until the problem is eradicated from our society we cannot say we have fully achieved. So far we have done very well! The organization is well structured and is running successfully.

Q: Are you hearing from those you have helped to rehabilitate and what is the story?
Every year many of them come back to the center to serve. Most of the girls we have trained, about 80 percent of them are teachers at the center. The head of the teacher has worked for more than 8 years at the center. We trained her, so she became a teacher. Many of the staff too were trained in that center. Many young girls who graduated from the center come to teach skills to people at the center. So we keep in touch.

Q: Do you have program whereby they have access to funding after their graduation so they can set up their own businesses, or how do they source funding?
A: Funding is one of our biggest challenges. It is a huge problem in Nigeria; the economic situation does not really allow that.

Q: In the US, non-governmental organizations, like yours get funding from the government at various levels in the form of grants. How is that in Nigeria?
A: We don’t get that, not the government of Nigeria. The type of assistance that we get are from the international bodies and the international bodies do not give money but they support in collaboration with the mission to ensure that we have training, that we are accepting the girls back. They pay for their tickets, but they handle it themselves, but we receive these girls, we train them, so whatever it costs to train them, they pay for it.

So, basically, not every girl; if they don’t send them back they don’t pay. Those who are here in Nigeria, for preventive measures we take care of all the financial responsibilities for their training.

For those going into business, normally, when they graduate from the center we have an open house. On that day many organizations attend either physically or they send email to recruit a lot of them and give immediate employment for many of them.

Those who cannot be immediately employed we set them into groups. In those groups we have a few organizations that use them. They come together, they get contract particularly in the catering department when people are getting married. They go as a group of caterers to render the service and they get paid and the money goes to that body.

Q: What is your message to the young ones, especially those that might be tempted to fall into the hands of traffickers?
A: My main message is to have a moral rearmament for our young people. Most especially, the fathers and mothers of young people must inculcate sound moral values in their children. A society that completely lacks moral values is backward society. A society who will sit back and pay no attention to the integrity of the citizens is a backward society.

Parents should take the responsibility to nocturne and teach their children while they are young.

For those who have lost out completely because their parents were not able to do that they need to educate themselves by reawakening the so many value systems we have in our cultural values.

The value system in our society needs to be addressed. I think if you look at everything happening and going wrong in our society particularly in Nigeria it is the moral value system that has completely decayed that we now need to address. First, to crown it all, we must have the fear of God.

Leaders must teach their children, leaders must teach their subjects. So, it goes both ways. They say when the head is rotten the entire body is completely wasted. These are the areas we need to address in our society and once we do that you will find that things will begin to fall in place.

Q: In your own estimation or assessment, do you think the Nigerian government is doing enough to promote self-reliance?

A: Well, it is very difficult to talk about what the government is supposed to do or not do. Why I said that is because we as citizens need to do our own parts. Of course we have not done our parts. I think a lot of people have also failed society.

Everybody cannot depend on government. If you cannot get a job you create something you can do. Everybody cannot be waiting to be employed by government. If the small businesses are encouraged, we will have a more economically vibrant society.

This is where government needs to also sit up and take more responsibility. I mean, come on they need to step up. The enabling environment must be created for entrepreneurial spirit or economic development because if you have a situation where you have a business that solely depends on power to function and that power is not there that industry is completely gone.

And if the enabling environment is created by government, please let us not spoil it. Everybody talks about power. We need to generate power. Also, maintenance system in our society is so bad. When you have electricity people make all kinds of illegal connections and people do not want to pay their bills. We must support government to maintain the infrastructure.

So it is both ways. I said earlier we need to go back and reexamine ourselves. In the past many years ago when we were growing up, you wake up in the morning and first of all clean your environment before you cook; in Benin adage ‘Amadolo aile’ (if you have not cleaned you do not cook), but today it is different.

So when we talk about maintenance culture a lot of young people don’t know what you are talking about because they have not seen a situation when people wake up in the morning and be sweeping their homes.

So there are many things we need to go back to and reexamine what made Nigeria a great nation. The things that made us a great nation then are the old value system that we had, that have now been abandoned.

Q: You were one of the most popular first ladies in Nigeria. How would you like to be remembered as a former first lady of Edo State?
A: Well, I am just simply me and I have always been the same person. Nothing has changed. But I want to be remembered as somebody who stood and fought for the human rights of the common man; stood and fought for the social status of man not to be taken advantage of or daily violated.

And I also want to be remembered as a fair person who did my job with sincerity of purpose.