… and the debate rages on. The subject is slavery or the enslavement of Africans, particularly, black Africans. The debate takes us back to the bleak era, an era when the greatest evil ever perpetuated against the human race in the history of mankind is slavery and slave trade. However bitter sweet and on what side of the fence one might be, the entire episode is filthy, disgusting, condescending and shameful.

Of late, it was the western media that took the fight against enslavement of the African people to the highest level. The western media, through its outcry, woke up the world to the existence of a slave ship, owned by a Nigerian, piloted by a Nigerian Captain, knowingly or unknowingly, conveying children across the Atlantic Ocean to its final destination, the slave plantation.

The world may never know how long this illicit trade on human beings has been going on, nor will they ever know the number of children and women that were successfully ferried across the ocean to slave camps. Neither will the world know the extent of casualties that took place during the transit of these young Africans to their final destination.

The April 2001 world's outcry of this disturbing trend was just one part of the African enslavement equation. There are other forms of slavery that is going on in Africa that has not yet been given proper exposure, therefore did not generate the kind of attention given by the western media to the April 2001 slave ship event off the coast of West Africa.

In this other form of slavery, young African women were falsely promised better life and employment in foreign land – Europe. These women were promised salvation from the impoverishment, hopelessness, unemployment, underemployment, illiteracy, nepotism, sex discrimination, and traditionally sanctioned oppression. Upon arrival at their European destinations, they were bundled, chained, imprisoned and locked up into prostitution. They became slaves to their pimps (masters) and were converted into sex slave for their European customers against their wills and without being compensated.

The consequence of this enslavement through prostitution has resulted in adverse health consequences for the young victims. According to various news reports, a high percentage of these women that were repatriated back to Nigeria for instance tested positive to HIV AIDS virus. This is another death nail to the Africans, especially, in a continent that is ravaged by all kinds of social malady – wars, famine, contagious diseases, hunger, etc. This is a continent that does not practice safe sex, or engage in a formal sex education, such as the use of condom. But, they probably do not worry about protective sex, especially, the use of condom, since they feel more obligated to feed themselves first, before the thought of purchase of condoms?

Besides, in a continent where healthcare is still evolving, it would be very difficult to know how many people that were infected with AIDS and other social diseases transmitted through contact with these ex-prostitutes from Europe. A few weeks ago, at the United Nations, there were discussions about the devastation of AIDS and HIV infections in Africa and a verbal pledge to help combat its menace. Interestingly, none of the speakers mentioned the exportation of this deadly disease from Europe to Africa and how to remedy the situation. Again, it was up to the Africans to bring the issue up, but as usual, they failed to do so (there goes another opportunity).

Another hidden enslavement of the African women occurs through the use of African culture and tradition. In this case, the slavery comes in the form of dowry payment. The dowry issue has gotten out of hand. It has become a moneymaking machine, a total deviation from what our forefathers prescribed. Perhaps, the dowry payment episode that occurred in 1986 would help one understand the writer's perspective.

At the said time, when the value of dollar was gaining strength over the Nigerian naira, a Nigerian lady friend of mine propositioned for marriage by a suitor who resides in the United States of America. For privacy purposes, I will call this friend of mine Nancy. Nancy had a master's degree and was sociable, affable and extremely attractive. Her suitor was also a Nigerian. According to the Nigerian custom, a suitor must pay dowry to the bride’s family and kindred, otherwise, their union would not be recognized.

Nancy's suitor went home to Nigeria to pay the dowry, to his chagrin; information leaked to Nancy's kindred that her suitor was a medical doctor. Instead of paying an average dowry like others, the doctor was charged double. The fact that Nancy had a master's degree did not help matter either. He was also ordered to pay the dowry in dollars instead of in naira, which would have been cheaper. By the way, in certain parts of Nigeria, women were priced according to the level of their education. The more educated, the more money one would fetch from suitors.

In some African countries, especially the in Northern Nigeria, children as old as ten were constantly given away into marriages without there consent. These children were often forced to marry men who were in their late fifties or more and may already have more than one wife. In the real world, this is child abuse and accessory to rape of a minor. In some of these countries, there are laws that forbid such practices. The only pitfall is that it lacked enforcement and this is due to lack of strong legal and law enforcement apparatus. Other problem in enforcement was the lack of will to stop slavery by the ruling officials who fear of erosion of support to govern. Despite breaking the law and practice of child abuse, the parents of these children still collect exorbitant dowries from the suitors.

Some people have argued that this is not slavery, but from the illustrations above, if this is not slavery, then, how do we define slavery. What is further from this behavior that distinguished them from the other forms of slavery of the past centuries that was abolished in the middle of 19th century? The only visible difference was that prior to the 1860s, slaves were held in bondage with name brands on the flesh, as we would read later on from a testimony of a participant on slave trade in the 17^th century. In fact, our forefather's idea of dowry payment was supposed to be a symbolic gesture, a token of appreciation to the bride’s family for raising a wonderful girl. Today, it has been transformed into a money making machine. In some cultures outside the African continent, it is even worse.

In India, giving birth to a girl is like an invitation to the bride's funeral. The Indian form of dowry payment is completely opposite of that of the Africans. In Africa, it is the obligation of the suitor to pay dowry to the bride’s family, whereas, in India, the opposite is the case. The suitor's family, according to some news report would maltreat those who failed to pay adequate dowry; some were set on fire. Some would blackmail the girl’s family to the point where the girl would commit suicide as a result of guilt or in an attempt to relieve her family from the burden of incessant blackmailing.

What bothers one so much was that despite the high degree of African women's education, advancement and exposure, they still sanction this barbaric, anathema practice. They condone it by not speaking out against it. Their silence during the haggling for their purchase is preposterous, demeaning and reduces their self worth. It robs them of the gain that they have accumulated over the years following a decade of societal negligence, prosecution and other forms of oppressive measures.

The other day, the Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo talked about the death of about 150 Nigerian youths at the high sea while being transported as slaves. In Madagascar, the Arab minority still enslaves the black African majority. In the western world, people of African heritage are denied full citizenship of those European countries. In some cases, killing of an African is like taking a cow to a slaughterhouse. It is inconceivable that African leaders from all over the world didn't know or understand what is going on? They knew, but for whatever reason, chose to keep silent, in this case, their silence is not golden. They only speak out when the western media and opinion heads declared their disgust at how Africans are selling or mistreating their fellow Africans.

In short, there are too many things that are wrong with Africa, the worst being their participation in the enslavement of their own race. As I hammer my fingers on the computer keyboard, attempting to iron out this convoluted misdeed towards my people. An attempt to make sense of this ugly situation that Africans found themselves in, a thick, single bulbous sweat trickled down my forehead, meandering through the bridge of my nose to the tip of my nose. Simultaneously, my tear gland couldn’t resist the affliction, and before long, I tested some salty water that came down my cheek. All these occurred because of my attempt to visualize the agony, the shame, the stripping of dignity, the overall blatant deprivation suffered by the early African slaves at the hands of the Europeans. Most of these mean-spirited activities have reinvented themselves in various forms in the 21^st century.

Furthermore, I attempted to imagine what it takes to be a slave, deprived of freedom; malnourished; held incommunicado for months until being sold and converted into agricultural machine. Whipped constantly to increase production; framed and tortured at will; have hands, legs and other body parts amputated as punishment and / or deterrent to others, and finally, deprived of things that we take for granted in the 21^st century.

In fact, of the entire human race that inhabit the planet, the African race remains the last frontier that harbor or tolerates enslavement of their kind. This unsettling and unnerving situation occurs, perhaps, because of the love – hate syndrome that permeates among the people of African descent. It is this synthesis that afflicted the Africans that enabled other races to exploit them, dating back to the 16^th century. In fact, all the other races that were once a victim of human enslavement have ceased to be victims, except the Africans.

For instance, the Japanese enslaved the Koreans for centuries. The climax of this enslavement occurred during the Second World War when the Korean men were forced to dig trenches for the Japanese soldiers among others demeaning treatment. The women were forced into prostitution primarily serving the Japanese army.

This year, the Japanese apologized to the Koreans for their past transgressions, an apology backed with monetary compensation to the surviving members of the enslaved group.

The Jews endured centuries of oppression, prosecution, enslavement and eventually extermination in the hands of the German Nazi, white supremacist government lead by Adolf Hitler. The Africans participated in the liberation of the Jews at the WW II Theatre. Today, the surviving members of the Jewish holocaust are being compensated for the pain and suffering by various European entities that directly or indirectly participated in the cannibalizations.

The Chinese were enslaved and some were brought to the United States of America, like the people of Eastern Europe, to work at the railroad. Today, no government, people or organization would dare harbor the thought of subjugating any of these groups save Africans, to inhuman treatments, why – because they called a spade a spade and swore never to encourage or condone such nefarious acts. They have self-esteem and respect for their race as a people, that those not mean that they are a homogenous people.

The Africans have continuously been exploited and enslaved, as mentioned previously in this essay, because of their love – hate attitude. What is the rule of engagement in a war Theatre? Exploit opponent’s weaknesses. We, the Africans exposed our ignorance, crass, selfishness and the willingness to do whatever it would take to make a buck and that has made it possible for other races to exploit, enslave, prostitute, hang, dehumanize, subjugate us to economic dependency and exploitation, and countless of other maladies.

The leaders of the black world need to call a summit. A summit tailored towards saving the black race, before it becomes extinct like the dinosaur. They need to address the slavery issue, and if they have forgotten what it used to look like or what they read about lives under bondage, to be owned by another human being, to be someone's property subject to all form of manipulation and hash treatments, perhaps this little testimony would joggle their memory:

This excerpt is from "Life and Times of Frederick Douglas. (Boston, 1892). Where Douglas assessed the meaning of emancipation in 1880, and wrote:

… how stands the case with the recently emancipated millions of colored people in our own country? What is their condition to- day? What is their relationship to the people who formerly held them as slaves? These are important questions, and they are such as trouble the minds of thoughtful men of all colors, at home and abroad. By law, by the constitution of the United States (and the laws of other nations on earth), slavery has no existence in our country. The legal form has been abolished.

Another example of the life, condition and institution of slavery in the 17^th century was illustrated by John Barbot in the book titled: "A Description of the Coast of North and South Guinea" in Thomas Astley and John Churchill, eds, Collection of Voyages and Travels (London, 1732). John Barbot made two trips to the coast of West Africa in 1678 and 1682. It wrote:

… some slaves are also brought to these blacks, from very remote inland countries, by way of trade, and sold for things of very inconsiderable value; but these slaves are generally poor and weak, by reason of the barbarous usage they have had in traveling so far, being continually beaten, and almost famish (e)d; so inhuman are the blacks to one another …

Does the above quote resonate with slave trade of African people today? Of course yes. Those who are enslaved today in Africa were the poor and generally from the African hinterland where standard of living is pathetic, a place of hopelessness, a place that used to feed the nations through agricultural produce, but have suffered tremendously as a result of modernization. Modernization have left them behind, thus, the scrupulous Africans stepped in and promised them good life somewhere, the result was enslavement.

African leaders may have forgotten the description and condition of the slaves that they learned from history, and if they did, perhaps John Barbot piece would refresh their memory:

As the slaves come down to Fida from the inland country, they are put into a booth, or prison, built for that purpose, near the beach, all of them together; and when the Europeans are to receive them, every part of one of them, to the smallest member, men and women being all stark naked. Such as are allowed good and sound, are set on one side, and the others by themselves; which slaves so rejected are there called Mackrons, being above thirty five years of age; or defective in their limbs, eyes or teeth; or grown grey, or that have the venereal disease, or any other imperfection. These being set aside, each of the others, which have passed as good, is marked on the breast, with a red-hot iron, imprinting the mark of the French, English, or Dutch companies…

Now do we get the grip? African leaders need more education on the history of the black race which would sensitize them each time their people are forced to relive the events of the past.

To our modern African sisters and the elders that hide behind culture in the enslavement of the women through ridiculous dowry payments, enough is enough. They need to understand that no amount of dowry would equal the amount of money that was spent on raising their children. It is very hard to quantify the price of raising a girl from conception through puberty to adulthood. Dowry payment is anathema, though should be abolished in its entirety. As a matter of fact, a new trend has developed where most of the African men have started looking to other races for bride in order to escape the dowry (slave) payment.

One word is enough for the wise. At this point, my tears and sweat has begun to dry up, as I have lifted a heavy burden off my chest. I am very optimistic that African leaders would do the right thing immediately in order to stop this nonsense. But if they fail, I feel sorry for my people, as the future of the black race would be submerged into perpetual race inferiority and eventually die like the dinosaur.

Like James Brown once sang: "say it loud, I'm black and proud." African leaders should follow the cue, and do the right thing. There is nothing wrong with being an African. All that the Africans need to do is to put their house in order. We, the Africans should love ourselves, and if we don't, nobody will teach us how to do so. There are too many Nancy, child slaves and forced African prostitutes in Europe to be ignored. Africans need to put their differences aside as a race, and work together to eradicate all forms of slavery, bad and unresponsive governments, and politicians with no vital interest on their constituency, except their purse and oppression once and for all and bring sanity to Africa and its people.