If you have seen Oloture movie, or followed any discussion around it on social media – or even just been on the Nigerian social media space of recent – there are big chances you would have come across the phrase forza speciale.
You might have even seen playful comments of social media users begging Aunty Alero (Omoni Oboli) to take them with her to Italy because they can pass for forza speciale.
“Aunty Alero abeg I don gather the money finish, I wan follow you go Europe. I be forza speciale. Abeg when the passport go ready? Buhari don fall our hand #OlotureTheMovie” – someone tweeted on Thursday.
So what does forza speciale really mean?
Forza speciale is an Italian phrase which literally translates to ‘Special Force’ in English.
But the usage of the term forza speciale in a movie like Oloture, or within a sex trafficking ring, has a much deeper connotation. Within a sex trafficking ring, forza speciale is a classification term used to separate the ‘top sellers’ from the ‘low sellers’.
To be termed forza speciale is to mean you have all the right features to be high in demand. But there is nothing remotely glamorous about this. As a forza speciale, you are more likely to be exploited more, objectified more, abused more, harmed more. A forza speciale may be at the centre of attention but all for the wrong reasons.
You are not been celebrated for how beautiful and intelligent you are. You are seen as nothing more than a fatter cow, which is more likely to provide better satisfaction.
In noting down the sheer ugliness of sex trafficking and all the horror that comes with it, terms like forza speciale and other taxonomies like it exist only to make matters worse.
And when you realize that Oloture movie is actually based on the real-life story of someone, the laughter dies even further.
May we not ever find ourselves in a situation where our entire existence and life’s worth is reduced to the role of a mere object.
