Leadership (Abuja)
Chika Otuchikere
27 July 2008
An ugly trend is manifesting in the Nigerian social circle: more graduates of tertiary institutions are going into the illicit trade of prostitution.
A LEADERSHIP Sunday survey carried out in the nation's Federal Capital Territory, FCT, has revealed that many young women who have taken to prostitution as a means of livelihood actually went through the four walls of universities, polytechnics and colleges of education. It was also revealed that most of these schools of higher learning have become breeding grounds for these young ladies who cut their teeth in the act of satisfying the lecherous tendencies of the menfolk for a fee. The students combine the primary assignment of studying to gain a certificate with perfecting the art of prostituting. Once out of school after graduation, these ladies plunge themselves headlong into the business widely described as the oldest profession.
LEADERSHIP Sunday also found out that, among other factors which drive these ladies into the profession, economic hardship is the leading reason. Quite a lot of these "educated" ladies, it was found, came from homes where the parents are economically backward and so they take to the profession formerly practised by the downtrodden and scum of the society as a means of relieving their parents of the burden of funding their visited some hot spots in the nation's federal capital where scarlet girls ply their trade. It was discovered that most of these ladies are actually graduates of institutions of higher learning. On the surface, it is difficult to distinguish between the educated and the uneducated among them. In dress code and mannerism, the difference is not much, but on a closer interaction it was discovered that there was a world of difference between the educated and the uneducated. While the uneducated ones were more daring in their approach, the educated ones were more reserved.
education. While some who came from middle-class homes were lured into the trade by their greed, as they merely wanted to meet up with the high taste of their colleagues and gratify their own ostentatious lifestyle, others actually entered the profession as a way of venting their anger on a society, they claim, that has not treated them fairly. They confessed to having come from broken homes and homes where they were sexually abused or introduced to sex life at an early age. There were also a few who confessed that they were cajoled into the trade by friends who assured them that it was all fun and that, once out of school, they would jettison the trade. Unfortunately most of them, it was found, got addicted to it.
A trip to the University of Abuja's main campus in Gwagwalada, and the College of Education, Zuba, revealed a similar trend of activities among the undergraduate ladies who are already neckdeep in the racket. These ladies form a cartel or clique according to their levels of study. You find those in their third or fourth year belonging to the same clique while those in their first and second year formed their own cliques. These cliques seldom clash and never operate without some males who act as middlemen for their prospective clients. The middlemen could be students or streetwise men working in hotels, night clubs and other recreational places. In return for their services, they get paid in kind and cash.
According to a second-year sociology student of the University of Abuja who gave her name as Lolita but later confessed that it was not her real name, the booming prostitution business on campus has come to stay. She said that since life has become unbearable for students they have decided to devise ways of using what they have to get what they want. The business, she revealed, pays off as most of the girls doing it in the school live above the standard of the average schoolgirl. "They wear the best clothes, look more sophisticated and some of us even have cars to show for our good work," she boasted.
"Lolita" disclosed that the business was a thriving one on campus as most of the female students want to have a taste of the pudding because of the reward that comes with it.
"There is nothing new about it. If you want to, I can tell you everything you need to know. It did not start today and I can assure you that it is not going to stop after we leave school. What you have to understand is that there is no big deal about it. We are just using what we have to get what we want," she said.
"Lolita" disclosed that presently in the university there are over 20 cliques made up of between five and ten or more girls. Each of these cliques has its range of operations. They also have their clientele. While some of them make contacts with the hotels in the nation's federal capital through hotel managers and attendants, others prefer the night clubs where they visit every weekend to meet the sex needs of night crawlers. According to "Lolita", girls from her school do not go out to stand by the roadside to hawk their body. According to her, most of those prostitutes are either students from schools outside the FCT or secondary school dropouts.
Jane, another student of the school, said most of the girls involved in the trade have their target and the type of men they render their services to. She said the high and mighty cannot stop coming to the school in search of fun. According to her, what most of the girls do is have a list of clients. "These clients include big-time politicians, bankers and businessmen. Sometimes they just send their drivers to come and pick us. We satisfy their craving and they meet our needs. Some other times, they take us on tour outside the FCT and even outside the country. It is great fun because we know that as soon as we graduate we will dump this profession," she said.
Habiba, a student from the College of Education, Zuba, was not forthcoming with answers to questions put to her. According to her, although students engage in this practice, most of the time, they prefer to be reserved about it. She, however, disclosed that the college was not any different from other schools. Apart from being a ready source of girls for guests at the various hotels in the towns surrounding the school, she said, students from the school also compete with girls from others in the hotels in the metropolis of the FCT. Habiba disclosed that the edge girls from her school has over those from other schools is that they are younger and usually more beautiful. She, however, said that due to naivety, their girls do not demand as much money as the girls in the other schools. As a result of this, most of their girls go for midlle and even low-income earners who manage to satisfy their monetary demands. There are, however, some highly placed men who also come looking for adventure.
She said: "I'm presently in NC 2 and I can tell you that our girls are as exposed as girls in other schools. There is nothing you won't find in our school. Our girls are very young and beautiful and so many men come here to pick their choice.
Habiba told LEADERSHIP Sunday that there is no age limit to the men who come to pick girls from the school. "Every weekend you find big men parking their cars in front of the school while some drive into the school. They would come on the pretext that the female student they have come to pick is their relative. Some of them are even old enough to be the fathers of these girls. But it does not matter as long as they are able to satisfy them."
One of the prostitutes who gave her name as Cindy said graduates will continue to go into prostitution as long as the nation's economic situation continues to worsen. She revealed that apart from the harsh economic condition, a lot of men who have more than enough money to throw around also encourage the business. These men, she said, are found among the politicians especially members of the National Assembly, businessmen, civil servants and bankers. According to her, a larger percentage of the men who patronize them are married men who prefer to have them as substitute for their wives. "Many of these men, from time to time, rent hotel rooms where they go to lodge in whenever they want to spend time with their mistresses. They can do anything for you as long as you are willing to satisfy their sex urge."
Asked if she would want to get a decent job, she retorted that what she makes from prostitution is more than enough for her. She maintains that no company can pay her as much as she makes from her clients.
It was discovered that many ladies in full-time employment also engage in the trade on part-time.
Another lady advised that rather than try to stop the ladies from going into the trade they should stop the men from tempting them with money. She revealed that if anyone wants to find out the rate of involvement of ladies and men in this business of prostitution they should visit the hotel and find out those lodging there and the companies they keep.
One of the prostitutes pointed out that she was working with a private outfit but had to engage in the trade in order to make ends meet. According to her, she, like a lot of other girls who were involved in the business, were underpaid and had to do what they were doing in order to survive and remain in the FCT.
"Look, it is not as if I enjoy what I do, but the truth is, I need to see my younger ones through school and, again, there are no better job offers, so all I resort to doing is get some cute guys and get the money off them with a return in kind," Sandra said. "The truth is, I do this job because my salary at where I work is nothing to write home about, and as a young lady I have to buy some toiletries and still look presentable at all times, because my office is a place where there's a lot of competition."
Ladi said: I attended Nasarawa State Polytechnic but I came to Abuja to see what I can do for myself. On weekends I make my contacts and I have a friend who links me up with men, and so I meet with them and, depending on our bargain and the amount he will pay for a night, sometimes you might be lucky to get someone to offer you N5,000 or more but on a bad day, you might not get up to that amount".
There is also an increase in the number of these street girls but the alarming scenario is in the increase of undergraduates and graduates and their new mode of operation.
Revealing more to LEADERSHIP Sunday in an exclusive chat, an HND holder from the Nasarawa State Polytechnic who craved anonymity said: "I do runs for part-time because I don't want my younger ones to suffer again. There's no good job for one and the standard of living in Abuja is so expensive that if you don't do runs, you cannot survive. Transportation is hell, house rent... and shelter... all these are the basic needs of a woman, and so I sleep with men because of the money. Sometimes, these men are our only alternative."
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This trend has been going on for a while without the knowledge of the families of the girls involved or the wives of the men who use their services. They all appear very innocent and are able to hide this dark evil side of their lives without anyone knowing. They may feel justified by doing this by blaming it on the hardship of the country. Some of these girls don't even come from broken homes. Living in the UK most guys are unaware of this happening and naively think they will find a decent educated spouse in Nigeria from the universities not knowing that they are as bad as sodom and gomorrah. I mean universities have now become a breeding ground for all sorts of sexual acts like lesbianism and homosexuality.
These girls lose all sense of self esteem, spiritual sense of decency, respect and love for even their own loves ones. The federal government will have to look into this situation because this really reflects on the incredible decline in morality in Nigeria. Something seriously has to be done about this or they might as well as prostitution as a new curriculum for universities
Ugly trend indeed. Young girls graduates and undergraduates of our tertiary institutions going into prostitution as a means of getting money-using what they have to get what they want. Their body is longer the temple of the Holy Spirit but the house of evil and demonic spirits. May our God in his infinity mercy look down upon them and deliver them from this evil act. The blames in this respect should go to Our Leaders who are more corrupt than the evil in prostitution, they cause more hardship in this country and have nothing good to offer the masses and our school leavers. 2. The girls themslves are evil and have no respect for themselves, their families and their would be husbands. If they have fear of God, no situation will make them go into prositution for any reason. They pay their parents back with same for sending them to school. I pray God to give their parents heart to overcome the same.