Governing with God: Religion, Resistance, and the State in Nigeria's Counter‐Trafficking Programs

Abstract

Over the past fifteen years, the Nigerian government has stopped many young migrant women from trying to leave the country, identifying them as victims of human trafficking and referring them to a federal antitrafficking agency for protection and rehabilitation. Relatively few women accept these interventions outright, due in part to ingrained suspicion of state officials and institutions. This article uses ethnographic research from one state‐run shelter where these would‐be migrant women were detained to examine how state counselors there justified their actions and how migrant women interpreted them. Where the moral authority of the state has been depleted, it shows how shelter staff urged residents to find trust in government through trust in God, and how women in turn made claims on the state through religious idioms of conversion and salvation. Ultimately, it demonstrates how ad hoc relationships of governance are forged in one fervently contested encounter between citizens and the state in Nigeria.

A systematic review of drivers and interventions against sex work migration in Edo State, Nigeria

“…These claims are further reinforced by Plambech (2016b), who reported that for most extended families in Edo state, an account of at least one female migrant is often obtainable. Vanderhaust (2017) corroborates this view by asserting that for the extended families in Edo State that account for female migrants, over 50% can tell that the migrant is involved in sex work abroad. With the rising figures of sex work migrants and the actual and potential consequences of the occupation on the migrants, their families and communities, as well as the countries that are involved, there is need for urgent and sustainable interventions (Lo Iacono, 2014).…”

“…Cultural factors driving sex work migration in Edo State Odorige (2016), Olujuwon (2008), Onyeji (2018), Braimah (2013), Osezua (2016), Ikeora (2016), Monde-Anumihe (2013), Abdulraheem and Oladipo (2010), Omorodion (2009), Akor (2011), Oyekanmi and Okunola (2017), Iyanda and Nwogwugwu (2016), Ajagun (2012), Olu-Olu and Babatunde (2009), Manbe (2016), Ofuoku and Uzokwe (2012), Tyoanande and Samson (2014), ACCORD (2017), Olaniyi (2011), Plambech (2014, Russell (2014), Plambech (2016b), Vanderhaust (2017), Taub (2017), O'Toole (2018), Nwaubani (2018), Tondo and Kelly (2017), MacGregor (2019), Pancieri (2017), Dettmer (2017), Plambech (2015), Zandonini (2019), Godano (2015), Bouillon (2017), Bassey (2016) 46 Educational factors driving sex work migration in Edo State Burgio (2017), Odorige (2016), Braimah (2013), Mberu and Pongou (2010), Ibrahim and Mukhtar (2016), Ogwezzy (2012), Akor (2011), Iyanda and Nwogwugwu (2016), Olu-Olu and Babatunde (2009), Manbe (2016), Nnadi (2013); Human Rights Watch (2019); Ejembi and Ekom (2019),…”

“…Edo state is reputed for voodoo or "black magic" as it is often called (Ikeora, 2016;Siegel and de Blank, 2010;Vanderhaust, 2017). The process of doing this could be in the form of making blood covenant, depositing fingernail, strand of hair, clothing, etc., in a shrine and the victim taking an oath before the witch doctor, promising to fulfill agreements made with the principal (Godano, 2015;Onyeji, 2018;Taub, 2017).…”

Redemption and restoration: The anti-slavery/trafficking call of Christian missions in South Africa today

“…In this article, Niklas Potrafke, through an analysis of anti-trafficking policy indices, demonstrates how countries with Christian majorities implement stricter anti-trafficking policies in general. See also Vanderhurst (2017).…”