Abuja is Nigeria's political capital and it is formally known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). It's Minister, who is a Senator and in charge of all affairs in the FCT, recently announced a ban on prostitution. Speaking through the FCT's Secretary for Social Development, Mrs. Blessing Onuh, all prostitutes were given
"48 hours to vacate the city and quit the job. [Because] [t]hey constitute a nuisance in the city and the FCT administration will not tolerate them."Mrs. Onuh, who visited several locations known to be prostitution hangouts, went on to explain,
"We are also sending warnings to all those men patronising them to stop. Some of the girls are under-aged; it is child abuse. If we get you doing that we will get you arrested, lock you up and treat you like the prostitutes are treated." [sic]
THE 'JOHNS'
Prostitution is reputed to be the oldest profession known to man (and woman). Although the focus is typically on the female participants, female heterosexual prostitutes cannot exist without their male 'johns' who pay them for their services. If Abuja truly wanted to rid itself of prostitution, its officials need only arrest those who patronize sex workers. Given that Onuh even specified the 'Emprest Hotel' as a main location for some Abuja call girls, there was little need to issue a 48 hour ultimatum and threat. At least the government opted to give these women fair warning.
The federal government should have especially arrested the gentleman who rationalized his use of prostitutes as a condition of the weather, saying,
“As you can see, it is rainy season now, it is not good for a man to just go home and sleep alone...”This anonymous 'John' went on to complain that this new measure would lead to an increase in sex prices. If there was anyone to be arrested for patronizing prostitutes, it would be this gem of an individual.
IMPORTATION OF PROSTITUTES
It has become commonplace for Abuja's rich and powerful to import prostitutes from overseas. These women are typically made available to other high-powered male guests in a fashion similar to the serving of hor d'oeuvres at a high society event. So common is the practice, that at least one former military dictator is rumored to have died in the arms of an imported Indian, but some say Egyptian, prostitute.
Given this reality, it would have served the FCT Minister well if he had also threatened to arrest his peers at the National Assembly and other powerful men for their dalliances with high paid, foreign based and domestic sex workers. Doing that would have lent more credibility to his cause and suggested that he, and by proxy, the federal government, is serious about dealing with prostitution.
TACKLING THE CAUSES OF PROSTITUTION
Most women would not opt to sell their bodies for money. It can only be demeaning work that most people would not opt to engage in. Factors contributing to prostitution are the lack of job opportunities, the lack of education, and other non-economic issues such as, but not limited to, low self esteem. In a country like Nigeria where a former minister confessed that educational institutions were churning out more prostitutes than career ready graduates, education is key to combating prostitution. Additionally, job opportunities are equally crucial particularly as Nigeria's unemployment rate is anywhere between 19.7%, according to the nations new Finance minister, Segun Aganga, or 28.57%, as stated in a local newspaper editorial in 2009. Better education and more job opportunities would not only diminish the need for young women to sell their bodies to the highest bidder, but would also lessen other national challenges such as social insecurity that stems from underemployed youths who turn to violence. Furthermore, addressing these issues would also help limit the forced export of young Nigerian girls to countries like Italy as sex slaves.
CHILDREN AS SEX WORKERS
And per the child/underage factor, it goes without saying that it is reprehensible to engage in sexual acts with children, be they male or female. However, there, is the basic necessity to strengthen national laws on children's rights and ensure that they meet certain basic requirements reflective of the 21st century. One of which is the obvious right to not be married while still a minor. In April 2010, Nigerian Senator, Ahmad Sani Yerima, divorced one wife to marry a 13 year old Egyptian child bride. Although many individuals and groups spoke out about the issue, Yerima's supporters have turned the matter into an anti-Islam issue which could be further from the truth. The fact that a foreign child could be imported into the country for a man 37 years her senior indicates that children's rights are practically nonexistent in Nigeria. That being the case, how can the FCT Minister's assertions, and thus the federal government's assertions, that he is interested in protecting children from prostitution be taken seriously?
Nigeria like any other country faces it's challenges. This issue of women and children being forced into or opting to engage in prostitution, is one of them. Like any other problem, finding a solution will not be easy. But, in this case focusing on the real issues - male patrons who see prostitution as something that depends on the weather, rich and powerful men (including the nation's leaders) who import prostitutes for entertainment, the failure to tackle the contributory factors and the lack of appropriate laws to protect children - is the best and obvious way to deal with the matter. Not otherwise. Nevertheless, one will simply have to sit back and see what progress is made in tackling prostitution in the nation's Federal Capital Territory. If even one woman is discouraged or protected from being forced to subjugate her mind and body as a result of the federal government's plans, it will be a success. But, that will be a success at the cost of being more efficient and helping even more women and frankly, an entire nation.
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8 Curiosities. Add Yours.:
*points and laughs*
I love how whoever it is that runs that place is going to pretend that prostitutes are basically sociopathic mosquitoes on the skin of Abuja that are refusing to die with Raid, rather than women who are using means to achieve a very pragmatic end -- making money. But then again, if they acknowledge the economic hardship that these young girls (I bet many of them are even in school or have parents and siblings to take care of, let alone themselves) face, they'd have to do something about that economy, and then ensuring the needy access to university education in form of aid, and maybe paying their parents' pension.
"If even one woman is discouraged or protected from being forced to subjugate her mind and body as a result of the federal government's plans, it will be a success. But, that will be a success at the cost of being more efficient and helping even more women and frankly, an entire nation."
Chei! Running a country can be so hard!
Interesting very interesting
@ saratu: my sista! Make somebody take God beg these people to do the right thing for once! Tackling the symptoms of a disease will only stave it off for so long. Figuring out the cause and tackling that, now that makes sense.
Thank you so much for swinging by and using the mosquito-raid analogy. Very apt.
@ Azazel: you saw prostitution and came running for some gist ehn? lol! How you dey, bros? Off to look for your trouble on Twitter...
Dakota Native American tribal wisdom, passed on from generation to generation, says:
"When you discover that you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount and get a different horse."
However, in government, education and corporate Africa (Nigeria), more advanced strategies are often employed, such as:
1. Buying a stronger whip.
2. Changing riders.
3. Appointing a committee to study the horse.
4. Arranging to visit other countries to see how other cultures ride dead horses.
5. Lowering the standards so that the dead horse can be included.
6. Reclassifying the dead horse as 'living impaired'.
7. Hiring outside contractors to ride the dead horse.
8. Harnessing several dead horses together to increase speed.
9. Providing additional funding and / or training to increase dead horse's performance.
10. Doing a productivity study to see if lighter riders would improve the dead horse's performance.
11. Declaring that as the dead horse does not have to be fed, it is less costly, carries lower overheads and therefore contributes substantially more to the bottom line of the economy than do some other horses.
12. Rewriting the expected performance requirements for all horses.
And of course.
13. Promoting the dead horse to a supervisory position!
It's just the way things are.
"Am afraid that's the way it is today in Nigeria......
KSA: RELEASE SHEIK AHMAD GUMI NOW
This post is in support of a campaign to put pressure on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to release Sheik Ahmad Gumi. The medical doctor, ex-soldier turned cleric was arrested inside his mosque at Shara Mansir district of Mecca more than six months ago. He has not being charged to court neither was his offence revealed by the authorities. This in itself is against the tenets of democracy and indeed Islam. I for one do not believe that the Shari’a approves for people to be arrested and detained for months on end without any prospect of being tried in a court. If the Saudi authorities believe he committed some offence then they should put him on trial. They should also abide by the civil tenet of giving him bail so as to allow him to remain with his family until a verdict is reached. In my opinion any thing short of this is undemocratic and un-Islamic.
Didnt know prostitution was once legal in Abuja.
I am just seeing this post-o. Is this some kind of joke. what are they doing to help this women financially get off this job. why is the govt so mean to women in that country. there is no mention of any real strategy in this new law, absolutely no mention of a proper economic solution. What is all this rubbish!!!! hiss!!!!!!!
Did this official say anything about rehabilitation? I didn't hear or see any word like 'rehabilitation'. That's because there is a lot of hypocrisy going on. I live in Abuja and I see what's going on. I am in no way encouraging prostitution but frankly my heart goes out to those of them who have genuine needs, and who do not have the mental, psychological or spiritual resources to make real changes. Rehabilitation is a word I would like to hear.
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