The influx of foreign-owned factories along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway offers employment opportunities amid economic challenges but raises serious concerns about worker exploitation and potential modern slavery.
Many Nigerian youths, facing unemployment, are drawn to these factories, primarily owned by Asian nationals, enticed by promises of daily wages and on-site housing.
However, investigations reveal troubling realities.
Unemployment has become a major problem bedeviling the lives of Nigerian youth, causing increased militancy, violent crimes, kidnappings, restiveness, and socially delinquent behavior.
Youth unemployment is devastating both psychologically and economically to individuals and society as a whole.
In search of solutions, Nigerian youths often resort to any means or job available, neglecting legality and proper procedures.
It is an understatement to claim that Asian and Chinese business providers have taken over many of the world’s economies, as they own and control most of these factories.
But are the working conditions in these companies conducive?
Ogun State’s Physical Planning and Urban Development authority, responsible for building permits and planning compliance, has conducted routine checks for compliance.
What government officials found were alarming: living conditions were far from satisfactory.
Workers live in overcrowded, unsanitary accommodations, with some sleeping on metal bunks or bare cement.
This situation is compounded by congestion and a prison-like atmosphere.
To complicate matters further, armed soldiers and police reportedly guard these facilities, preventing regulatory agencies from conducting adequate inspections.
This lack of oversight raises significant questions about operational practices and labor standards.
The circumstances prompt urgent inquiries into whether Nigerian workers are facing exploitation in their own country and whether this represents a form of neo-colonialism.
Town Planner Tunji Odunlami is the Commissioner for Urban and Physical Planning in Ogun, he has been on many visits to these companies and have always been noting it at any points they visited and hsi report has not been palatable.
“I have also received those reports and those reports are terrible under which our people are working.
“Yes, this government encourages and welcomes investment in to our state, because it is a plus for the economic development and in furtherance of the governor’s vision to improve the revenue of this state as well as bring development to the state and also economically empower our people.
“Truth be said that this new development, new industries, factories coming up provide employment for our people which enable them to earn a living that also by extension goes to their people, so they are welcome.
” But definitely we can’t because we want to have this kind of development, now allow a situation where our people are treated more like sub human beings, or even slaves in their own country.
” The report like i said i have seen were arrowing, the situation of where there are two worlds in many of those factories, World of the Expatriate, and the worldof the Nigerians and they are very, very different, worlds.
“World of the Expatriate is the one of Comfort, world of the Nigerians is the one of squalor, where people sleep multiple in one room on bunks that have no mattress, where drainage, sewage couldn’t run and dirt have build up, House’s are more like sharks and were not plastered, doors with no windows and makeshift materials used to cover those windows and those structures far, far removed away from the same premises from where the foreigners live.
” Foreigners live in a well-plastered,painted rooms with air-conditioning, even cordon off residential areas, in contrast to the open sharks built along the wall fences and this can not be allowed to continue, people who work for this foreign companies must be treated with dignity, must be housed in very conducive, comfortable living spaces with facilities for Toileting, for taking their bath, and even for eating rather than this conditions that have been painted.
“And their are videos and audios to prove this, it is not an isolated case as it happens at all the factories established by these foreigners.
” There are government agencies that are saddled with these responsibilities of visiting these industrial premises and ensure that Nigerians including the foreigners themselve live in sanitary environment, devoid of situation that can bring diseases.
“There are reported cases of some of their people, although I am not sure If they are captured on tape, evidence of people that have been subjected to assault, stokes mark on their body due to been flogged or beaten and because the places are locked up, more like concentration camp, so it is very difficult for the eyes of the regulatory agencies to get their, most if not all of these factories are guarded by Military men.
“All these companies that do treat many of Nigerians in a bad way are mostly guarded by security operatives in Military Uniform and also prevents government agencies in charge of regulation to access the Facility.
“Necessary reports have been taken to Necessary authorities to ask questions whether Military officers are authorized to guard these companies and whether Government regulatory agencies that have oversight functions on what they do can be prevented from carrying out their duties.
“Those are the issues the we would escalate further from now but seriously a very distressing situation captured on films on the way Nigerians working in some of these foreign-owned companies are treated even on our soil, it is unacceptable.
