Here goes a story someone shared with us sometimes back about how many house-girls are always distinct when they go out with their bosses.

"Yesterday, I attended the birthday party of a client’s children. Children, because the celebrants are twins and it was their first birthday. As expected the party was grand, the hosts being successful business people. There was so much to eat and drink and I ended up drinking more than my fair share of champagne and missed the FIFA U-17 finals as a result.

Most of the attendees were women and their children with some reluctant husbands in tow. The housemaids were also present as they came along to help the madams take care of the kids. I couldn’t help observing that most of the house maids looked unkempt. You could easily spot a house maid from her shabby dressing, hair and sad look. The madams and their children on the hand look well dressed, glowing and happy.

My thoughts began to wonder on all the negatives I have read about house maids and I tried relating it to their psychology and state of mind. Is the evil they perpetrate as a result of the way they are being treated? The case in Kenya where a house maid was seriously abusing her employer’s child oblivious of a video recorder came readily to mind. This would probably never have been discovered until irreparable damage had been done to the child. How many parents actually put control measures to monitor activities of their maids? This should be a story for another day to avoid digressing.

Imagine working at a firm where you are underpaid despite being very productive. In addition your employer abuses you regularly and makes you feel unimportant or valued. Our normal reaction will be to find ways of getting back at the organization for being ungrateful. Cutting corners, sabotaging their interests and eventually resigning our appointment when we have had enough. On the other hand if you are being recognized by the organization for your modest contribution or effort, you will want to give your best to it.

This same scenario plays out itself when we hire maids with the responsibility of taking care of our families and homes. They will eventually take out the ill-treatment or good care on our children and our families as that is the law of reciprocity. Even bad people need a reason to perpetrate evil without one will find it more difficult. Putting yourself in the place of your maids is a good way to start. If places were reversed and you suddenly found yourself as the maid, will you be happy with the way you are being treated at home?"


Look at this recent incident that happened on Saturday, 13th February at Block 32 flat 5, Police Officer's Quarters, GRA Ikeja. Lagos. A Senior Police woman, ASP Vivian who serves with Zone 2, Lagos beat up her Cotonou house help because she ate her baby's food. Obviously, the girl is hardly fed, mistreated and made to work like a slave. Now the case is with The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) Nigeria’s multidisciplinary Agency created to tackle the scourge of human trafficking.


Informations revealed that ASP Vivian wants to use her rank and connections to kill the case.


The person that gave her the help from Cotonou is Mrs Esther Osuji who is married to a CSP, a Barrister. Her husband, CSP Osuji has sued NAPTIP for detaining his wife.

Lots of stories abound about how the Mrs. Osuji maltreats her house-helps. Here is the wife of a senior police officer involved in human trafficking and also committing a crime against humanity.



Most women are afraid that if their maids are well treated, they would become too attractive and distract their husbands. Some believe that it will make them grow wings and become uncontrollable. A promiscuous husband will always be promiscuous either with a maid or someone else. I belief it is better to send away a maid who has been treated fairly but keeps misbehaving, than treating her harshly as a control mechanism. This is because they have access to your house, your children and family and could easily strike where it hurts most.


Look at the pictures below and see what ASP Vivian did to her house help, a little girl.


It is important that the Inspector General of Police gets to know about this and ensure justice is served and slavery ended within police formations.

Jessu!

People like that are supposed to show good example to other. It's a shame!

Aye' ooooooooooooooooooo