History has a way of making its heroes, be it positive or negative and life without event holds no history. This is the case of the ‘Woman Boku’ community in Kubwa, a suburb of the Federal Capital Territory, which has the highest concentration of ladies of easy virtue at night.
Succinctly put, ‘Woman Boku’ means that women are plenty and easily available at little or no cost at all.
Perhaps, what makes the area unique is its deceptive mien. During the day, a stranger will find no trace of a brothel in the area. But at night, it becomes a red-light district.
A small community which is a few minutes‘ walk from the market and the National Youth Service Corps Permanent Orientation Camp, Woman Boku boasts a good number of ‘drinking joints‘ and local brothels.
The history of Woman Boku dates back to 1980s/90s when the Federal Capital Territory was moved from Lagos to Abuja. It was said that during that time, Abuja was a safe haven for characters of different shades who desired to eke out a living. However, as a result of the strict stance of the then military government, many of the women of easy virtues sought refuge in communities such as Women Boku within Abuja.
The high patronage of brothels in ‘Woman Boku’ has transcended bounds of decency. Despite the special task force set up by the administration of the Federal Capital Territory Development Authority to get them off the community they have continued ply their trade there.
Globally, there is no society that supports prostitution, despite the economic values attached to it. From highly liberal societies to the highly religious and conservative African families, asewo, as prostitution is popularly known in Nigeria, is never a profession to be openly proud of.
A Nigerian-based in Houston, Texas in the United States, Mrs. Stacey Ajaja, said the game had been exacerbated by corrupt government officials. She said, “I am not too familiar with the situation of prostitution in Abuja, but I have always had a strong disapproval for prostitution, especially at home in Nigeria. Women are greatly exploited by top officials and have lost all values for them. The young women do this in order to survive.”
According to her, economic sanctions foisted on them by government had aggravated matter.
Mrs. Ajaja a registered Nurse, said, “I think there is need for support system for women, workshops to educate women on self-esteem, love for themselves as individuals, how to be industrious so they will not have to resort to selling their bodies for money, as well as sex education on the rising percentage of sexually transmitted diseases, especially HIV which is at an all time high in Nigeria. They need to know the risks involved in the lifestyle of prostitution to which they are subjecting themselves.”
A recent night outing in Leisure Palace Hotel, one of the special joints in Woman Boku, reveals a serious drama with comic realities. Many of the girls who are within the age range of 23 and 30 bear names such as Jennifer, Peace, Agnes, Scholastica and others.
A staff of the hotel, who simply identified himself as Ken, said many of the women opted for these names to shield their identities. He recalled how a young man from Onitsha almost committed incest with his sister who was supposed to be schooling at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, in the hotel. With the red lights, he could not identify his sister. She was not even supposed to be there. After agreeing on N500 per round of sex, it dawned on him that the woman was his sister who claimed to be in school. That night, she relocated to another destination.
Investigations by our correspondent reveal that many of the girls in Woman Boku are undergraduates from tertiary institutions across the Niger. Observers attribute it to the closure of the schools in the South-East due to the strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities.
But how much do these girls make from this ‘business’? Chika Nwokorie, a native of Mbaise in Imo State says, ‘Market’ is usually high during weekends. “I make an average of N50,000 daily; I am so blessed to have a member of the National Assembly who is too generous. The man takes good care of me and that is why I am not going to let him go freely.”
It was also learnt that some big boys can drop huge sums of money without bargaining. Our correspondent observed that some of the girls have serious relationships which they hope will blossom into marriage. But Chika said the idea of boyfriend had long been jettisoned because of a “nasty” experience in the past. She was optimistic that, “one day, a man would get married to me, no matter my dirty past. If he loves me, he would say Yes, I do.”
Interestingly, a large number of adolescents are said to be making a living from commercial sex trade in Woman Boku. Yet many stakeholders are not bothered by the effects it might have on their children. For instance, the community hosts the prestigious LEA Primary School. The causes of adolescent prostitution in Nigeria are largely attributed, but not limited, to economic factors.
Mr. Obiora Madu had thought that with the array of churches in Kubwa, young ladies would retrace their steps but it seemed not to have any effect.
While a lot of people advocate tightening the laws against prostitution, others believe that the government still has a lot to do.
But the hue and cry against prostitution has been on the rise in recent times. For instance, women living in Gwarinpa Estate, Abuja had, in a desperate move to have their husbands back home and save their marriages, petitioned the FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed, to rescue their marriage from the threat of commercial sex workers in the estate.
The women complained that since the clampdown order by the FCTA on commercial sex workers, many of them had relocated to the estate.
Spokesperson of the women, Mrs. Sarah Manu, said the estate which used to be quiet and decent before the FCT Joint Task Force started war against commercial sex workers in the FCT had become a place of refuge for the prostitutes.
She bemoaned a situation where the ladies litter the streets as early as sunset saying it was not good for their children, particularly the girl child.
Manu said, “It is common these days when we quarrel with our husbands over minor issues to see of them (husbands) pick up their car keys and drive out of the house only to come back the next day. While we are not supporting women to quarrel with their husbands, we must put it on record that the activities of these ladies constitute huge temptation to our husbands and thus threatening our homes.”
Also, the timely intervention of the task force on prostitution in the FCT recently saved the life of a commercial sex worker from the hands of a suspected ritualist.
The victim, who gave her name as Aisha Isah, claimed she was earlier raped by her attacker who later attempted to cut her up with a knife but was saved by the intervention of men of the task force who overpowered and arrested the man.
The victim who was said to have wept uncontrollably with blood flowing from underneath her skirt had some deep knife cuts all over her body.
While addressing the prostitute, the FCT Secretary for Social Development and member of the Task Force, Mrs. Blessing Onu, who was represented by the Deputy Director, Social Welfare, Mrs. Folashade Ayileka, warned the girls to quit the job and also advised them to learn from the lady who was almost killed by a ritualist.
