Tackling Modern Slavery or Worsening Vulnerability? UK’s Modern Slavery Agenda in Nigeria

Abstract

Nigeria is said to be one of the largest source countries for victims of modern slavery in the UK (Throughout this paper, I use the terms ‘modern slavery’, ‘slavery’ and ‘human trafficking’ loosely and interchangeably to refer to extreme exploitation as often described in many international documents as well as in the UK’s MSA which is the focus of this paper). Thus, the UK government has often lauded its partnership with the Nigerian government in tackling the problem of modern slavery, often presented as a problem of irregular migration. At the same time, legal migration channels into the UK are increasingly being tightened, and Nigerians are among those who suffer the consequences of such. This paper reviews the UK government policies, partnerships and activities in Nigeria in the light of the Modern Slavery Act. It argues that the emphasis on deterring migration and sex trafficking has meant that the UK government agenda is being promoted to the detriment of key structural factors contributing to other dimensions of vulnerability and exploitation in Nigeria.