EXPLORING ASYMMETRICAL RELATIONS AND DIVERSE PROCESSES OF ENSLAVEMENT IN NIGERIA'S HEALTH SECTOR: A THEORETICAL REVIEW

Abstract

The Nigerian health sector is a sector that is fundamental to the health of its citizens. It is plagued by structural inequalities and exploitation in its labour systems. This paper aims to examine critically the asymmetrical power relations and the dynamics of enslavement in relation to the context of the health sector in Nigeria and how the power relations affect the working environment, labour relations and social mobility of the healthcare workers. By relating the theories of modern slavery, unfree labour, and state-corporate power, the paper will synthesize modern literature and theory to demonstrate how asymmetry, exploitation, and coercion within the context of the health sector are not by chance but are placed within the very structure of the industry. This study, through an exploration of outsourcing, contractualisation, low pay and limited job security and the neglect of the rights of workers, adds to the discussion on modern slavery in the Global South and shows how the relationship between labour exploitation, governmental failure and systemic inequality in health governance interconnect.