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Modern-Day Slavery in Nigeria: How Some Foreign-Owned Factories Are Exploiting Nigerian Workers

Published by Tope Fakinlede on July 22nd, 2025.

Modern-Day Slavery in Nigeria: How Some Foreign-Owned Factories Are Exploiting Nigerian Workers

This isn’t a rant. It’s a sobering reality that’s destroying the lives of thousands of hardworking Nigerians—silently and systematically. Let’s talk about what’s really happening inside several Indian-owned factories across Nigeria, especially in industrial hubs like Ogijo, Sagamu, Agbara, Ota, Ikorodu, and Sango.

At companies like African Foundries Ltd, along with many others backed by Indian investors, here’s how Nigerian workers are being treated in their own land:

💔 Brutal Conditions, Shameful Pay

Imagine being paid ₦2,070 a day to risk your life in a hazardous workplace—lifting heavy iron, breathing in toxic fumes, working around open flames and dangerous machinery. All this, without proper protective equipment.

Now contrast that with Indian staff in the same factories: many of them earn ₦900,000 to ₦1.3 million monthly. On top of that, they get:

A ₦150,000 monthly allowance

Free meals

Free housing

Medical care

Security and added benefits

And here’s the kicker—many of these foreign workers aren’t even doing the tough jobs. Most just oversee operations, giving commands from a distance while Nigerians bear the physical burden.

🍽️ Let’s Break Down the Numbers:

Say a Nigerian worker lives nearby and spends:

₦600 on transport (round trip)

₦2,400 on food (₦800 per meal, three times a day)

That’s ₦3,000 in daily expenses. But he only earns ₦2,070. Every day, he’s operating at a loss—digging deeper into debt or going hungry. There’s nothing left for clothes, medicine, phone credit, or even a moment of dignity.

🧠 Why Crime Is Rising

When a man can make ₦100,000 through an illegal hustle in two days, but earns just ₦60,000 a month breaking his back in a factory—what path do you think he’ll consider?

When his child cries from hunger and someone offers fast cash through a “shortcut,” is it really a surprise when he takes it?

We’re watching the slow death of hope. Not because Nigerian youth are lazy, but because the system is grinding them down. Many are turning to crime not for greed—but to survive, to feel human again in a country that has robbed them of dignity.

🤬 Call It What It Is

This is modern-day slavery—disguised as employment, wrapped in corporate uniforms, and sanctioned by silence.

Foreign workers are living in comfort on our soil, enjoying the fruits of Nigerian labor and resources—while the locals suffer in silence, stripped of their rights, pay, and protections.

🚨 ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

We must speak out. Share this. Tag those in power. If you or someone you know has worked in such conditions, tell your story.

Let’s demand accountability. Let’s demand reform. Let’s demand dignity for every Nigerian worker.