Youth Site Exposes Prostitution In Nigeria Universities

More than anywhere else, sex is easier and cheaper to get on thecampuses of the country’s tertiary institution. This is why on a cold night in Ado-Ekiti, capital of Ekiti State, three men sauntered into the premises of Queen’s Court Hotel, one of the state capital’s best hospitality facilities. A few metres away from the gate, a juju band was entertaining patrons at the hotel’s poolside bar. Naturally, it was raining beer, red wine and other drinks. Three men, who had arrived from Lagos, took their seats. They ordered drinks, but their eyes kept wandering away from their glasses to women walking into the premises. Their stares announced one thing: desire. The more they looked, the hungrier they got, but none of them made a move because the women who came in were coming to meet men. One of the hotel waiters knew the look they had in their eyes. He walked up to them and politely asked if they needed female company for the night. “Yes,” they chorused.

 “No problem,” replied the waiter. But there was a little problem: knowing the girls that fitted the men’s tastes. The waiter said he’d sort that out. He drew his phone like a gun from a holster, moved to a quieter part of the premises and made phone calls. He returned to announce to the three men that six girls would be with them in half an hour. He assured them that they’d find them exciting, as they are undergraduates of the Ekiti State University (formerly University of Ado-Ekiti). The men said they needed three and not six girls! The waiter explained that he was just trying to create a wider pool from which they could choose. After about 20 minutes, six girls were led to the men who, excited by the girls’ physical assets, grinned. Offers of drinks were made and accepted. One of the men, who is given to non-stop chatter, livened up things with jokes to which the girls giggled. The waiter returned to ask if the men had made their choices. They had, he was told. However, he pleaded that the men would have to give one thousand naira to each of the girls not picked. This was supposed to lessen the pains of rejection by taking care of transportation to the hotel. None of those rejected showed any hint of disappointment after they were handed the money and politely told to go. They drained their glasses, wished their friends a swell night and left the hotel.

Shortly after they left, each of the men departed for their rooms accompanied by a girl to spend the night with. The next morning, each of the girls was N5, 000 richer, according to the men. Does this not sound like prostitution? Female undergraduates don’t think it does. In campus parlance, it is called “runs”. Practitioners are called “runs girls.” But stripped of the gloss put on it by those who do it, it is prostitution without proposition. Runs are the in-thing these days. Patrons are happy that they are available to free them of the hassles of the typical chase. Unlike in the standard affairs, runs girls do not cause complications, as there are no emotional investments.

Everywhere you turn on campuses, platoons of runs girls are available to assist the socially awkward, the sexually dispossessed and anyone with enough fire in his loins. One of the capitals of runs is Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State. Its closeness to Lagos ensures that affluent sexual thrill seekers visit regularly. In most cases, prices are not fixed, but depend largely on how well a man can negotiate. The ‘minimum wage”, however, is said to be N5, 000 per night. This could rise considerably if a girl turns impressive tricks in bed or offers good company to the man. And in these days of easy communication, a man can actually make reservations before landing in the station of the runs girl.

To do that, a male or female contact is needed in the town. With the BlackBerry or other smart phones, photographs, including the downright naughty ones, could be sent to a prospective customer. The other way is to drive to where runs girls congregate. This offers what is known as “point and kill”, an allusion to the way fish pepper soup point to live fish that are then killed for the soup.

Barbies, an eatery in Ijebu-Igbo, and Second Kitchen in Ago-Iwoye attract those who do not have contacts in the university. Even for those with the consummate social skills to pull girls, getting a partner for the night is easy. A simple hello advertises your interest and the deal can be closed over drinks. But you may face challenge over the choice you make from Yahoo Boys, who frequent the two facilities.

Yahoo Boys (Internet fraudsters) have the cash as well as the willingness to spend it. Yahoo Boys are a runs girl’s wet dream. In some cases, a man, irrespective of whether he is a Yahoo Boy or not, can have two partners on the same bed in a night–as long as he has the cash to pay them. OOU also provides girls for parties. The important thing is to have a contact in the school. He or she informs interested girls and gets the party organisers to make arrangements for transport to the party venue (distance is no hindrance) and everything is set. The girls do not usually charge money for this because they hope to snare  men at such parties and have sex with them for a fee.

Some years back, agents of runs girls had to go around with albums of those in their stable. The photographs in these albums are shown to men to enable them make “informed” choices. But smart phones have kicked those albums out for good.

Lagos, with all its undisguised boom and a raft of tertiary institutions, is home to a huge population of runs girls. The headquarters, naturally, are University of Lagos, Lagos State University, Yaba College of Technologyand Lagos State Polytechnic. And in some instances, many girls who are accommodated in the halls of residence are not bona fide students, but sex workers who make out as undergraduates for the purpose of increasing their appeal to patrons.

Port Harcourt, capital of the oil-rich Rivers State, is reputed to be one of the country’s raunchiest cities. With the city crawling with workers in the oil industry, it is a boomtown for runs girls, who often get paid in foreign currencies and also dream of a chance to marry a man from the upper reaches of the society. Girls from the University of Port Harcourt and the Rivers State University of Science and Technology dominate the scene. A night, if a high-end client is snared, could deliver between $500 and $1000. The high remuneration carries its own risks, both to the runs girl and to the client. Expatriates in the oil industry have been known subject the girls to a variety of indignities.

In 2006, two female students of a university in the state made away with a briefcase said to contain thousands of US dollars belonging to their expatriate client. The girls were said to have stolen the briefcase after a bout of sex and extensive nude photo sessions with the white man who allegedly paid a miserly sum for their services. Irked by their action, the expatriate distributed the nude photos to friends and to some internet sites. Expatriates are calledAngolos, while older men are called Mugus. Port Harcourt runs girls also go in search of the phone numbers of top politicians, businessmen and company executives.

In Abuja, politicians and top civil servants are feverishly sought by runs girls, but there are enough for men on all levels to feed on. The situation at the University of Benin and the Ambrose Alli University (AAU) is not different. Though not as lucrative as it is in Port Harcourt or Lagos, runs is thriving well. Conscious that their schools  are in somewhat depressed localities, girls in AAU, College of Education, Ekiadolor, and Igbinedion University, Okada, are in constant touch with their counterparts in the University of Benin. Through the phone–a vital tool of the trade–they are informed of parties, conferences and other social functions taking place in Benin. But the mode of operation varies, depending on the occasion.

In Benue State University, Makurdi, the procedure is similar, except that it is done more openly. The patrons are said to be top government officials. Their favourite haunts areSwange Cinema Hall and Adoms Club. A bout of protected sex costs N1,000, while N7,000 is charged for unprotected sex.

What is the motivation for taking to runs? “Many of us are responsible for our education. Our parents can’t afford to pay,” a runs girl said.

It is a plausible excuse. However, many believe that a lot of girls get into the trade because of a desire to live above their station–own expensive phones, best of dresses, well-appointed apartments and other items of comfort.

Courtesy:http://youthng.com/the-new-prostitution