STUDY OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN IFEOMA CHINWUBA’S MERCHANT OF FLESH AND CHIKA UNIGWE’S ON BLACK SISTERS’ STREET

Human trafficking, which can also be referred to as modern-day slavery, has become a menace to the world as several innocent people have become victims of it. Through the analysis of Merchants of Flesh by Ifeoma Chinwuba and Chika Unigwe‟s On Black Sisters’ Street, this dissertation explores the study of human trafficking through the authors‟ reflections on the challenges of human trafficking in Nigeria, and by extension, the world. The research illustrates how Chinwuba and Unigwe use fiction as a means to examine the challenges arising from human trafficking and its effects on the female victims and the Nigerian nation. The fictional works portray different aspects of the challenges of human trafficking and these are highly feminist problems. They portray how women become victims of the social problems plaguing both the victims and their society. The challenges in Nigeria range from political, social, and economic factors which can be considered as the major reasons for human trafficking. The study employed the Feminist theory which advocates for the emancipation of women. The woman though emancipated, yet at risk of human trafficking has informed the novels of Chinwuba and Unigwe. The novels depict how exploitation and violence have been employed as means of oppressing the victims, and also highlighting the challenges of the victims through the characters of Sisi, Faith, Chioma, Efe and Ama. It is against this backdrop that this dissertation delineates the challenges of human trafficking through the characters presented in both novels, and advocates for advocacy, enlightenment, economic inclusiveness, and education as solutions to the evil practice of female trafficking.