Renowned Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka, has condemned the persistent wave of abductions in Nigeria, likening them to the resurgence of slavery across Africa.
Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) during the 2025 International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, Soyinka referenced the 2014 mass kidnapping of nearly 300 schoolgirls from Chibok, Borno State, by Boko Haram as a glaring example of modern enslavement.
“Slave markets thrive all over the African continent,” Soyinka lamented, addressing an audience that included UN Secretary-General António Guterres and UNGA President Philemon Yang.
According to the 90-year-old playwright, the cycle of kidnappings continues unabated, particularly in West Africa. “The new slavers simply wait for us to send our children to school—especially boarding schools. They descend on them, seize them, and demand ransom,” he said.
While some of the Chibok girls have regained freedom, many remain missing. Soyinka also recalled the 2018 Dapchi abductions, where 110 schoolgirls were taken. “This is a stain on global conscience,” he remarked, emphasizing that slavery, in all its forms, contradicts the fundamental rights of humanity.
Drawing parallels to the 2012 film Django Unchained, Soyinka asserted, “Any human being owned by another is a slave.” He stressed that true justice would come not through material reparations but through global awareness and symbolic acts that acknowledge and confront the atrocities of slavery.
The UNGA first recognized the transatlantic slave trade as one of history’s gravest human rights violations in 2006. Since 2008, March 25 has been observed annually to honor its victims and reaffirm the fight against modern slavery.
Soyinka concluded by warning that until the world adopts a truly egalitarian approach to the issue, “slavery will be with us for a very long time.”
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