By Joy Omagha Idam & Sharon Akuboh
Nigerians condemning Distinguished Senator Ike Ekweremadu, (Ikeoha) the former Deputy Senate President of Nigeria for 12 years are doing so without understanding the crux of this case. The Ekweremadus fell foul of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and the Human Tissue Act 2004 UK. The law was introduced to ensure that living organ donors have made an informed and voluntary decision to donate their organ; free from duress, coercion and reward. Organ trafficking and modern day slavery is a concern for all healthcare professionals. In Ekweremadu’s case I don’t see duress or coercion but there was definitely reward.
The truth is we are all guilty in Nigeria – we all come from a country where nothing goes for nothing. Not even blood is donated in Nigeria for free. People hawk blood in Nigerian hospitals. This case is an unusual one – the judge’s hands were tied he had no choice but to use the Ekweremadus to set an example to the world. The phrase ‘Organ donation’ is really an anomaly, because a donation denotes freewill, without money or reward.
Unfortunately human organ ‘donation’ is a billion dollar illegal trade in the world. In India hundreds are kidnapped, drugged and their organs harvested without their permission. In Turkey destitute families buy their way out of poverty by donating organs to the rich.
In fact some people have said the increase in ritual murder in Nigeria might have a strong connection with the illegal trade in human organs. The Ekweremadus were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Here was a wealthy Nigerian genuinely looking for a ‘donor’ to save his daughter’s life in a country where people ‘donate’ blood for cash. Ekweremadu has come from a country where nothing goes for nothing, this was the world of the Ekweremadus. Over the years Britain has viewed the growing black trade in human organs as a form of modern slavery. When the Ekweremadus were arrested – they were the right fit, a wealthy powerful family prepared to buy the organs of a poor street trader for cash.
The critical issue here is not how they met the young man on the streets. It’s not how he was flown into London or how his relationship broke down with the Ekweremadus. The young man was not forced or coerced. Please NOTE the reason the Ekwerewadus have been found guilty is not because they were looking for a kidney for their daughter but because they were prepared to pay cash for it. In Nigeria his sentence might sound bizarre but that is the law because of the untold suffering and the weight of criminal activity in the illegal human organ trade.
Except one is a relative or a close friend- everybody else will ask for cash. Therefore this case is a whole new reorientation in the worlds’ idea on human organ charitable donation, not just Nigeria. The British media have amplified this warning and enlightened the globe, unfortunately they have had to use a Nigerian to take this message out.
This is a sad time for Senator Ekweremadu but this could also be a defining moment for the man, he can convert this moment and become a voice and champion against the illegal trade in human organs. The lesson here is this – all donations in human organs must be free without coercion and reward.
I am hoping he does not serve more than 3 years with a reasonable probationary period and they release him. Ekweremadu is not the real criminal in this illegal trade in human organs, he is not a trafficker. The real criminals are out there.
I hope the Nigerian government can also stop the illegal trade in blood donations in our hospitals, Nigeria has to fall in line with this new global law. At the Blood bank I have donated blood with friends severally but when patients need it they have to buy it.
I remember when my Father’s wife Aunty Florence of Blessed memory was on Admission at the National Hospital Abuja we had to be calling and begging for donors. And on each person we spent close to N10000 for the blood to be screened while the blood bank sold theirs N14,000 as at that time.
Nigerians who are throwing stones today at the Ekweremadus should desist. This is not the best time to mock the man who has been locked up with the wife and no one to look after their daughter who some times blacks out and goes for dialysis 3 times a week. What happened to our human sympathy. ?