The quest for quick money may have led many girls in Kado Kuchi, a community in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), to embrace a life of prostitution. However, unlike other professional pleasure givers their services come at rather ridiculous ‘price’ even for HIV/AIDS patients, just as practitioners pay Police for protection. PAUL OKAH dedicated days to investigate activities of practitioners of the oldest trade.
In religious circles s#x is a holy act reserved for couples who are married according to the rites of their religion. Even in social circles s#x is accepted as an act that binds lovers. However, in Kado Kuchi, a community in the FCT, s#x is hawked like every other commodity and at a ridiculously cheap rate.
Prostitution is said to be the oldest profession in the world. Many women have embraced the profession and some, against all odds, have made something out of it, using proceeds of the trade to establish businesses and acquire landed property.
However, in Kado Kuchi, s#x is so ridiculously cheap that the prostitutes have little or nothing to show for subjecting their bodies to debasement.
Use of makeshift rooms
In one of the two brothels visited by this reporter in the course of this investigation, Iyke Money Coolspot, located directly opposite a branch of Redeemed Christian Church of God, he discovered that the prostitutes are haggard-looking girls between the ages of 20-30, while the rooms, which are basically make shift rooms, were worse than pigsty.
The girls also come in different shapes and sizes: fat, slim, short, tall, dark and fair skinned and are always dressed in skimpy attires, consisting of bum shorts, spaghetti tops, short skirts or any outfit that would show off their body parts for the attention and selection by a potential customer.
The rooms where the s#xual acts take place are make-shift structures erected with woods, tarpaulin and zinc. The apartment contains between 15-20 rooms, which are rented by the prostitutes on a weekly basis.
Inside any of the rooms, which is just large enough to accommodate two people, the prostitutes little mattresses that serves as bed, one or two pillows reeking of the sweat from several clients, a flashlight, packets of condoms, tissue papers, lubricant, and clothes strewn around the room as there is no position for wardrobe or wall hanger.
According to one of the prostitutes, who introduced herself as Rita (not real name), the landlady collects N7,000 every Monday from each of the girls.
Our correspondent reports that some of the prostitutes have to share rooms, on the understanding that one of them must have to wait outside with her client if her roommate is busy.
Wide array of clients
Observation during the day and at night indicated that there was no restriction or limit to the age of patrons, even as teenage boys were found to form greater percentage of the clientele.
From appearance, the patrons are mostly artisans, traders, commercial motorcycle operators, truck drivers, and others in the low income group.
Harassment of passersby
To the s#x workers, every passerby is a potential customer hence they wink, whistle, and make gestures in a bid to attract the attention of passersby. Patrons of the nearby beer parlour are usually victims of harassment of these s#x workers. You find the girls walking up to a man enjoying his drink if he needs their service. As a result of this, many residents of the community, especially men, avoid passing by the brothel.
Modus operandi
Even if you are a monk, an impotent man, or one that is celibate, the prostitutes have a way of trying to arouse ones s#xual desire like they did when our correspondent visited the brothel located beside Gida Drama. One of the prostitutes went as far as by pushing her bloated breasts to his chest, tickling him, speaking in an erotic voice and smearing his shirt with lipstick while kissing his shirt erotically.
Blueprint Weekend checks revealed that once a patron ‘settles’ terms with his preferred prostitute he pays upfront for the service she is yet to offer and get the money to safety before attending to the client.
Part of terms of include no foreplay like kissing, smooching or caressing her as her immediate objective is for you to ejaculate within minutes or seconds in order for her to attend to another customer because of the essence in their trade.
For ‘short-time’ or a single round of s#x that involves ejaculating just once, the prostitutes have a fixed price of N500. However, when our correspondent claimed that he did not have up to N500 and begged to be considered. One of the prostitutes who gave her name as Beatrice agreed to accept him for N300 but insisted he must be very quick so she can entertain other customers.
However, when this reporter said he doesn’t like having s#x with condoms, which she had stored in a plastic container close to the make shift bed, she quickly beat a retreat stating: “You are not serious, me that was even considering you for N300, what do you take me for?”
In another instance our correspondent tried bargaining with another prostitute, who identified herself as Rita, for a reduction in the N500 fee, however, she said: “I am sorry, but I can’t accept N300 for short time. Do you want to send me to my village? I pay N7,000 every Monday for my room, so how can I meet up? It won’t work, please. It’s N500 or nothing, or don’t you know we also pay the police N3,000 per month for protection?”
Minors at risk
As if it wasn’t bad enough that grown women trade their bodies as means of livelihood at Iyke Money Coolspot, the brothel appears to be grooming teenagers to take over the trade. When our correspondent visited the brothel, one of the teenagers, 13-year-old Blessing, who was serving as bar girl, also offered to invite one of the prostitutes to ‘service’ him.
After serving him a bottle of beer, this reporter asked why there were no prostitutes around, “They are around,” she said not showing any surprise at the question.
“Do you need one? I can check on any available one and call for you.” When this reporter gave a nod, she left her chair briefly and shouted ‘mama baby’ twice before returning to her position beside a refrigerator in the room cum beer parlour.
Shortly, a lady in her late twenties, who introduced herself as Lunahan or Lulu for short, came in and the negotiations for different s#x options took place with the little Blessing drinking in every word said.
Done with negotiation our correspondent wriggles out of the bargain with the prostitute, who was wearing a wedding ring but claimed its for appearance sake, by also claiming that his culture prohibits s#x with married women.
Drugs in the mix
While it is not out of place for a prostitute to drink or smoke, our reporter, however, discovered that hard drugs, like alcohol and cigarette, are part of the tools the trade as one of the prostitutes, Angela, confirmed in a conversion with Blueprint Weekend.
According to Angela, “I cannot work comfortably if I am not high, that is being intoxicated with drink and marijuana.”
Beer for s#x
At another brothel beside The Lord’s Chosen Church, another prostitute, Gift, requested a drink from this reporter when she joined him at his table. And asked why he should buy a bottle of beer for her, when she was expecting him to pay for s#x , Gift claimed her customers usually buy her beer before going into the main ‘business’.
However, when asked if she could accept a bottle of beer instead of money for s#x , she was quick to say that she did not come to Abuja to accept drinks in place of money.
Gift went further to explain that some of her colleagues accept beer for s#x , especially on days when there is “bad market” or lack of patronage.
“Na drink go pay my transport, abi them swear for me?” she queried in pidgin English. “Do you think I left my village to do mumu? Abeg, do let’s go, except if you no ready.”
Unprotected s#x at additional cost
At Iyke Money Coolspot, the bear parlour housing the prostitutes, one of them, Helen, told this reporter, who pretended to be a customer, that she charges N1,500 s#x . When this reporter requested that they go into her room, she hurriedly downed her bottle of beer and was already naked upon unlocking her make-shift room.
When asked if she accepts cunnilingus (oral s#x ) she said that the price would go up to N2,500 and when asked if she gives fellation (oral s#x ) she raised the price further to N3,500. Dangling his exit line of not liking s#x with condoms, the prostitute revealed that some customers also request “raw sex” and she has been accepting the offering but pointed out that unprotected sex was rather on the high side, as it involved taking risks. Asked to name her price, she said: “I will consider unprotected sex for N5,000 and I will treat you well. You can go as many times as you strength can carry you. All I am after is to provide value for money.”
When our correspondent protested her fee, she argued that: “N5,000 is not much, or don’t you know it is risky? I will have to buy drugs after it, so the money is worth it. Besides, I will treat you well. You will get value for money. The money is even small. It is supposed to be N10,000.”
…Home service too
Another prostitute at Iyke Money Coolspot told Blueprint Weekend she offers “home service” but it must be a regular client who she knows very well, as she was guiding against being used for ritual purposes.
She said that such service requires the customer to part with between N10,000 to N15,000, as she would offer her body for him to do whatever he wished for throughout the night they would be together.
Gida Drama connection
In the evening, there is a building beside the makeshift rooms housing the prostitutes, where many young girls and boys congregate from 9pm. It is known as Gida Drama to the visitors, who pay a gate fee of N100 to access the building and enjoy Hausa songs, drama, comedy, and dance. One can either pick up the prostitutes inside the building or choose between the skimpily dressed prostitutes hovering outside the building.
According to the operator of Gida Drama, known as General, the differences between Gida Drama and the brothel beside it is that the girls inside the building dress moderately, while they can afford to be naked outside.
He said that, though prostitutes throng the place, they are not permitted to have s#x within the premises. Asked why the Police are not raiding the place, since it may be attracting criminal elements, he said that Police sometimes visit the area in the afternoon, noting that he pays to be left alone.
He resisted every attempt by this reporter to take pictures, asking, “If it were you, would you allow your brother or sister to be here? Nobody wants his or her pictures to surface on the internet in this environment.”
Why it thrives
Prostitution is not the most enviable of professions hence those involved have one excuse or another. However, as a settlement within a community in Abuja, where residents live in squalor and abject poverty, one can easily deduce that prostitutes in Kado Kuchi hide under the excuse of poverty or lack of jobs to operate in the profession.
However, even when they save up enough money to leave the despicable profession, which is rare, the temptation of making easy money just by having s#x with a man for a few minutes, is usually very difficult to resist.
Interestingly, one of the prostitutes in Iyke Money Coolspot, who gave her name as Cynthia, claimed she embraced prostitution because of heartbreak. According to her, she started offering herself to men for money just at the beginning of this year after she broke up with her boyfriend in September last year.
She said that she was impregnated by a boy from Isikwuato in Abia state, who refused to take responsibility for the pregnancy because of difference in their ethnicity, as she hails from Benue state. Cynthia said she had to give birth to baby girl and she is raising her on her own.
Cynthia revealed that the responsibility of catering for the girl, Lucia, whom she told this reporter was a year and eight months old, forced her into prostitution, as she had been having s#x for free with her boyfriend. Our correspondent reports that the situation is so bad that the child to the beer parlour and keeps her in the care of any willing woman while she attends to ‘business’.
Preponderance of an ethnic group
In the brothels visited Blueprint Weekend checks revealed that majority of the prostitutes were from Benue state. In a conversation with this reporter, many of them were found to be Idoma, Tiv, Igala and Zakibian or other tribes in the state, which may be a reason for the camaraderie and peaceful coexistence observed among them in the course of the investigation.
Criminal hideout
There is high probability of the prostitutes harbouring criminals given their willingness to do ‘business’ with the highest bidders. One of the girls, who spokes to our correspondent, Helen, confirmed this stating that they could allow a particular customer stay in their room over the night for an agreed fee.
She, however, said that the customer would have to pay for her time, as she would close business for the night to focus only on him, noting that the customer would usually stay between 11pm to 8am the following day, as business slows down for them at that time.
Rise in sexually transmitted diseases
Since prostitutes in the community consent to unprotected s#x for more money, common sense suggests that many of them may have contracted sexually transmitted diseases, especially HIV, which they may be transmitting to their patrons knowingly or unknowingly. In a bid to ascertain if reported cases of sexually transmitted diseases were high in the community, our correspondent visited the clinic patronised by most residents, Jahi 1 Clinic, for the purpose of.
Presenting himself for HIV/AIDS counselling and testing he discovered that many patients coming to the clinic were HIV positive, with majority of them being prostitutes.
However, when this reporter requested for a HIV test, which is usually free the laboratory technician demanded N200 before she could attend to him, even as it was discovered that the testing kits were exhausted after he consented to pay the fee.
Upon learning that this reporter had the last test in December last year, with a negative result, they appeared disappointed that the reporter “was disturbing them” for a HIV test; when he was not even positive.
They claimed that kits for a HIV test were scarce; therefore anyone who does not exhibit signs of being positive should not bother to present himself for a HIV test, since they were “managing” the few kits made available to the clinic.
