Ayebusiwa Olabode Victor, a 34-year-old young man from Ilutitun in Ondo State, is the latest Nigerian confirmed to have paid the ultimate price in the Russia-Ukraine war.
“My biggest dream is to look back and say I made it,” he wrote on Facebook in April 2019, subtly announcing his relocation from Nigeria.
Only close friends and associates would have an inkling of how he ended up on the frontlines of a war that has set a precedent of disregarding territorial rights and sovereignty.
His Facebook profile tells the tale of a man who had tried his hand at many ventures in search of a big break, including enlisting in the Nigerian Navy.
The storyline is the same as the other two –Kazeem Kolawole and Stephen Udoka– who have also lost their lives to a war that posed no immediate physical threat to their homeland, while in the hustle for a better life. As the Ogun deity (popular among the Yoruba tribe) demands palm oil, animal blood and liquor as offerings, the war machine prefers human lives, bullets and bombs.
The need to constantly feed this ogre is where African youths come in as the Russia-Ukraine war stretches well into its fourth year.
Africa has the world’s youngest population, and it is projected that one in every four people will be African by 2050, a valuable talent pool for anyone looking to recruit fresh blood.
So far, at least 316 African recruits have been killed in the war that began in February 2022.
A dispute that some thought might end in a matter of months, due to Russia’s undeniable size and military strength, has now dragged on for four years.
Different journalistic bodies of work have established the gory details of the human trafficking scheme associated with the war.
For instance, the CNN reported in February 2026 that recruits were lured with promises of salaries denominated in foreign currencies for entry-level jobs like drivers or security guards, only to end up at the warfront.
The contracts offered to recruits, written in Russian without translators or lawyers, contain binding and open-ended clauses such as a ban on foreign travel if they ever get access to state secrets, mandatory surrender of passports and reimbursement of funds spent on military training to the state if they ever receive one.
This excludes the life-threatening deliverable of being on the frontline and predatory agents who only see recruits as recruitment targets to be met and indicators of the signing bonuses to be received.
The death toll tells a grim story. A leaked Russian database shows that 42 per cent of foreign fighters die within the first four months of their deployment, and a 22 per cent fatality rate among African recruits. Countries like South Africa and Kenya have already begun taking steps to repatriate their citizens.
The Agence France-Presse has also reported on a collaboration between the Russian foreign ministry and the government of Equatorial Guinea to repatriate Daniel Angel Masie Nchama, a 22-year-old who contacted his parents about the plan to deploy him to the war front after being lured away from home under the guise of attending military training.
To discourage citizens from actively seeking these opportunities, the Egyptian government announced that it would revoke the nationality of any citizen who fights for Russia.
On the other hand, the Nigerian government, through the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, has consistently warned against trusting agents who promise quick visas and sponsored flights for an entry-level job.
Beyond warnings, critics expect the Nigerian government to act decisively to repatriate citizens, identify and prosecute these recruitment agents.
After all, the law that established the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons clearly prescribes a seven-year jail term without the option of fine for anyone who recruits people for use in armed conflict.
The act also lists scenarios of deception, coercion or taking advantage of a person’s vulnerability.
The International Convention Against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries, of which Nigeria is a signatory, also prohibits the hiring of individuals who are not members of a state’s armed forces to fight in armed conflicts for private gain.
Hence, the Nigerian government must show that the life of a Nigerian is valuable and act decisively without waiting to be prodded by external forces or be a latecomer to the party of nations rising to save their citizens.
As a major economy on the continent, Nigeria needs to lead from the front one more time, especially on an issue that threatens the future of its youth.
- Awojulugbe, a fact-checking journalist and public policy enthusiast, writes from Lagos
Read the full article here
