Sere Gold

‘God Save Me’. That was the graffiti (pictured below) imprinted on a car by an unknown African migrant held hostage at a trafficking house in Ghut Shaal, Janzur, in north-western Libya. In truth, only God can save any migrant who gets stuck in Libya after abandonment by heartless Libyan traffickers and kidnappers or arrest and detention by the police. But the mortal that I only am, I am determined to save as many migrants as possible from asking God to save them after embarking on an ill-advised trip to Libya. Therefore, starting tomorrow and for the next 20 days, I’ll be on a campaign of short videos enlightening the public on why they should steer clear of Libya. These videos will be on all social media platforms, but my primary targets are Tiktok and Facebook, where traffickers often hoodwink unsuspecting youth with fake promises of a better life. For the first 10 days, my messages will be released in English (morning) and Pidgin (evening). The final 10 days will be made in Hausa (morning), Igbo (afternoon) and Yoruba (evening), consequently eliminating language barriers among subliterates and illiterates, who constitute the prime target groups of traffickers. I know some will only learn by experience and will proceed to Libya regardless of advisories to the contrary, but I also know many would stay put in Nigeria if they had access to credible information. Migrants like ‘Para’ and Samuel who told me “I wouldn’t have come if I knew I would suffer this much”, those are my targets. So help me God!