Former Governor and Senator Adams Oshiomhole has opened up about a jaw-dropping exchange with an Italian ambassador that sheds light on the dark underbelly of human trafficking affecting Edo State women.
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Senator Adams Oshiomhole is not one to mince words, and in a recent revelation that has set tongues wagging across Nigeria, the former Edo State Governor and two-term Senator recounted a deeply troubling conversation he once had with an Italian ambassador — a conversation that cuts right to the heart of the human trafficking crisis plaguing Edo State.
The Conversation That Stopped Him Cold
According to Oshiomhole, the Italian ambassador made a startling remark, telling him point-blank that “Italian men cannot resist women from Edo State.”
Now, on the surface, some might take that as a compliment — after all, Edo women are widely celebrated for their beauty, intelligence, and strong character. But dig deeper, and you will quickly realise that this statement carries a far more sinister weight.
This was not a casual admiration of Edo women’s charm. It was a damning indictment of a system that has seen thousands of young Nigerian women — many of them from Edo State — lured, deceived, and trafficked to Europe under the false promise of better opportunities, only to end up trapped in prostitution rings across Italy and other parts of Southern Europe.
Edo State and the Human Trafficking Crisis — The Hard Truth
Let us not dance around it. Edo State, particularly towns like Benin City, Uhumwonde, and Igueben, has for decades been disproportionately affected by human trafficking networks that funnel young women to Europe. The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has consistently flagged Edo as a major source state for trafficking victims.
These young women — many of them teenagers — are recruited by traffickers, sometimes even referred by people they know and trust within their own communities. They are made to swear binding oaths at traditional shrines (a practice known locally as “juju”), which psychologically imprisons them even when they are thousands of kilometres away from home.
By the time they arrive in Italy, Spain, or Libya, the dream of a better life has curdled into a nightmare of exploitation, abuse, and debt bondage.
Oshiomhole’s Frustration Is Valid — But Action Must Follow Words
To his credit, Oshiomhole has consistently spoken against this menace. During his tenure as Governor of Edo State from 2008 to 2016, he worked alongside anti-trafficking organisations and even engaged foreign governments on the issue. His recounting of the Italian ambassador’s comment appears to be part of a broader effort to draw attention to how deeply this problem has permeated even diplomatic circles.
But Nigerians — especially Edo people — deserve more than conversations and recollections. They deserve concrete, sustained action.
What Needs to Happen Now
If Senator Oshiomhole’s account teaches us anything, it is that the human trafficking crisis is not just a local problem tucked away in dusty NAPTIP reports. It is a crisis that has travelled all the way to the dinner tables of European ambassadors. Here is what stakeholders must do:
– Legislators must push for stronger anti-trafficking laws with real teeth — laws that punish not just traffickers but also their enablers, including corrupt border officials and community gatekeepers.
– Community-level education must be ramped up in Edo State, targeting parents, traditional rulers, and young people before traffickers get to them first.
– Italy and other European destination countries must be held accountable for prosecuting those who exploit Nigerian women on their soil.
– Economic empowerment programmes must be expanded in vulnerable communities so that the false promises of traffickers lose their shine.
The Bigger Picture
The fact that an Italian ambassador felt comfortable enough to make such a remark to a sitting Nigerian governor tells you everything about how normalised this exploitation has become — both here and abroad. Edo women are not commodities. They are daughters, mothers, sisters, and contributors to this nation’s greatness.
It is past time that Nigeria — from the Senate floor to the village square — treated this crisis with the full urgency it demands.
Because behind every statistic, behind every diplomatic anecdote, is a young girl who dared to dream of a better life and deserved far better than what she got.
What do you think needs to be done to tackle human trafficking in Edo State and beyond? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.
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