THEY are called queens
of the night. Many refer to them as women of easy virtue. In Benin City,
capital of Edo State, these young women, known as asewo, are more domiciled at the popular Ugbague Street in the ancient city.
Daily Sun investigation reveals
that most of the girls trading their bodies at this joint are cheap
prost!tutes willing to accept any amount from potential customers. They
are usually lowly priced by male customers. For N1, 000 or even less,
the prost!tutes are willing to strip and engage in a round of se x. The
se x workers are not the only occupants on Ugbague Street though. There
are a few residential houses on the street just as there are traders
that sell different legitimate commodities. However, when one mentions
Ugbague in Benin and its environs, it connotes a place where hundreds of
ladies sell their bodies for money.
Prostitution at Ugbague, according to
sources, dates back to the 1940s and 1950s, and most of the prost!tutes
were said to have migrated from other states. They took abode at Ugbague
area in the lively Benin City. According to history, Ugbague happened
to be one of the busiest places in the region then, where one could get suya delicacies
24 hours of the day. Therefore, the street gradually evolved into a
centre of attraction for young ladies, who found it strategic to solicit
for men financially buoyant because they could afford some suya and
bottles of drinks. The trend continued and as at the last check, more
than three hundred girls are now plying their trade on this same street,
selling their bodies to willing men. On this day, at about 1.pm, this
reporter, in a company with a friend, Bright Izehiuwa, walked into the
right side of Ugbague, connecting the ever-busy street from Mission
Road. The visitors were immediately accosted by about six ladies.
The girls were speaking at the same time:
“Follow me to my room to choose any style you want and enjoy your
money.” “There is AC in my room.” “I will entertain you with blue film
before we start action.” “Do you want to enjoy touch your toes style”?
Everyday and every night, these ladies line up, flaunting their butt0cks
and bre asts in an inviting manner. Unfortunately for the ladies, they
are currently working harder and standing longer in the dead of the
night to solicit for customers because business is no longer as booming
as it was. One of the prost itutes, who spoke with Daily Sun reporter
on the condition of anonymity, complained that the lull in business
might not be unconnected with the unhealthy economic situation in the
country as a whole. She lamented: “There is bad market here at the
moment. It really started when the new government took over power from
President Jonathan. I watch and listen to news all the time. I hear how
people complain that there is no money in circulation. There are times
no man would come to ask what we are selling let alone buy. It has never
been as tough as this since I started this job three years ago. Is it a
man who has no food in his stomach that will remember the road that
leads to a hotel? But the owner of this place will not understand that
customers are no more coming to have fun with us as it used to be.” The
walls in some of the walkways leading to the brothels where the
transactions between the harl0ts and their customers are confirmed were
decorated with salacious posters. The hotels are ancient houses, built
with mud that had only seen skeletal renovations in decades. You may not
be wrong if you call the houses shanties. The ladies, some teenagers,
others adults, walk about, puffing cigarette smoke into the air. Every
now and then, they utter uncharitable remarks at any male passerby who
doesn’t look their way. Their services are available day and night, but
patronage usually hits the peak at nights.
When one enters the street from Mission Road, the right part of the hotel has assumed considerable notoriety. It is a place where prostitutes accept any amount for a quick round of se x. These prostitutes, of all shapes, it was gathered, take a position and stand all through the night to solicit for men. Those who can’t go through the ordeal of standing for endless hours in front of their building for men to come loiter around Ugbague and adjoining streets. Streets like Akpakpava, Mission Roads, Lagos Street and others, then host a large number of the prostitutes, all in search of customers. Daily Sun reporter further gathered that for as little as N500, a hard-pressed man can have a quick se x, waggishly called ‘touch your toes’ with the desperate prostitu tes at any of the dark corners outside the buildings. At night, they swarm like bees. One might not be wrong to conclude that se x has become the main commodity for sale on Ugbague Street. For N1,000, some of the prostitutes would be willing to rush inside a parked car to satisfy any randy man for what is usually referred to as ‘sharp sharp’ se x. A waiter at a popular bar on Ugbague Street explained that kind of se x to be shorter than even the popular ‘short-time’ service. The ladies, in their hundreds, and between the ages of 17 and 45, congregate in the area everyday and are clustered, ready to melt into the waiting arms of their one night se x partners. Most of them come out in see-through dresses in the hunt for Benin men. Yet for some of the ladies, business is smooth. “What they only need to do is have their bath, make-up and sit down just by their doors to make passes at customers who come in,” a trader on Ugbague Street, who simply gave his name as Osas, explained. It was also discovered that some of the ladies take the risk to have se x with men without the use of condoms, but with a higher charge. With a bottle of big stout and two sticks of cigarettes as enticement, a pr0stitute at the hotel, who engaged in a long conversation with this reporter, revealed all.
0 comments:
Post a Comment