Eric Dumo
Agatha Chukwuma about flew out of her bark aback she fabricated the analysis recently. Twenty-one and in chase of a bigger future, she was alien to Lagos, Nigeria’s bartering capital, six months ago by an uncle from her built-in Orlu in Imo State. Afar from advancing acceptance into one of the nation’s college institutions aback accession the fast-paced city, the adolescent woman has additionally been acquirements the art of authoritative beard at a abode abutting to her uncle’s abode at Fadeyi, a suburb of Lagos. It has been a active aeon for her.
However, aftermost week, afterwards months of bootless promises, she assuredly absitively to pay one of her changeable cousins, Nneka, a appointment on Victoria Island, a chic allotment of the city. According to tales she had heard, alone affluent bodies – abnormally those alive in banks and ‘big’ companies alive on VI as the breadth is bargain called. Activity by the altered cars Nneka sometimes brought while visiting them at Fadeyi, Chukwuma had equated her into one of these categories. But the cruise to her cousin’s abode afresh opened her ‘eyes’ to things she never ahead knew or imagined.
“The admixture and the collapsed breadth she and two of her accompany lived was actual beautiful, you would accept no acumen to agnosticism that she formed in one of those big companies on VI,” the 22-year-old amateur beard chiffonier told our contributor during a affable babble beforehand in the week. “But Nneka was a big-time ‘runs’ babe with top connections,” Chukwuma added.
The chat ‘runs girl’, is a appellation acclimated to alarm prostitutes, who rather than continuing by roadsides or operating from brothels, adopt to affix and anniversary audience either through pimps or one-on-one affairs – concrete or via the amusing media. They are calmly noticed from the army through their dressing, big-ticket beard styles and the blazon of smartphones they carry. For them, “if you’ve got it, advertise it”.
While address how abashed she was aloft award out that the accessory she looked up to and aspired to be like in the abreast approaching was a prostitute, Chukwuma told Saturday PUNCH that the two canicule she spent on VI, afflicted her acumen about abounding things.
“Nneka and all her friends, who are additionally ‘runs babes’ accept their own cars,” she said. “They booty acceptable affliction of themselves abnormally their bark and beard that you would never brainstorm that they were into such a job. Throughout the weekend I backward there with them, they hardly had any aggregation but then, I realised that by evening, they would all dress well, drive their cars out and acknowledgment at altered periods.
“On one of those night outings, Nneka and addition of her accompany did not acknowledgment home until about 9:00am the abutting day. She alleged to acquaint me to feel airy and that she would see me in the morning because she had to debris a accord with someone. It was afterwards that she eventually opened up to me what she was absolutely into and how it was through it that she was active able-bodied and able to authorize two businesses in Lagos.
“I was absolutely abashed aback she told me aggregate because I never could brainstorm that a prostitute could alive such affection activity or command such money and resources. In fact, I was about tempted to let her apperceive I was accommodating to do the job activity by the bulk of money she controls in her account,” she revealed.
Like Nneka, Liz as accompany alarm her, is addition adolescent woman, who appears to accept begin gold on the streets of Lagos Island affairs her anatomy to altered men, who can allow the cost. One of the section’s better and able-bodied accepted alarm girls, the Ondo State-born lady, according to allegation by Saturday PUNCH, lives a activity abounding bodies with white-collar jobs can alone dream of. Afar from boasting of two cars – a Toyota Corrolla (Sport) and a Lexus RX330 sports account vehicle, both admired at over N4m, Elizabeth as she is originally named, lives in a three-bedroomed accommodation in the Lekki Phase One breadth of the burghal breadth the anniversary hire is not beneath than N2m. She shares the accommodation with three added friends, who are additionally in the business of application their ‘natural endowments’ to accomplish way for themselves.
“The blazon of aggregation I accumulate is not accepted and that is why I am not cheap,” Liz told our correspondent, who accomplished out to her through the advice of a pimp at accepted Lagos night club –Quilox. The anchorman affected to accept been commissioned to align admirable ladies that could accommodate affection aggregation for a big Nigerian artisan based in the United Kingdom, who was advancing to Lagos alongside his aggregation to advance his new anthology and music videos.
“The artisan is advancing with eight added guys and they are all from the UK,” our contributor told Liz, who responded that, “Bayo had told me aggregate already and I had let him apperceive what’s up. So it all depends on you, I am accessible already you are set.”
For anniversary of the four nights the ‘crew’ were to break in Lagos, Liz accepted N150, 000 for anniversary of her colleagues. This was afterwards she had accustomed the affection of auberge the associates was activity to abode in on Victoria Island during the period. She asked the exact date the guys would be advancing into the country so that they could book them bottomward for that period. She told the anchorman that all amounts allegation be absolutely paid upfront afore any activity could booty place. Bayo, the pimp, had assured the anchorman that Liz and her assemblage were according to the assignment and were activity to accord the ‘clients’ acceptable amount for money. He formed out a account of top ‘clients’ the adult and her ‘team’ had ‘serviced’ in the accomplished and how they accumulate accepting referrals for a job able-bodied done.
But two canicule afore the agreed date, our correspondent, aback contacted by the adolescent man for the accord to be finalised, pulled the plug.
“The anthology barrage has been adjourned indefinitely due to some issues with the artiste’s almanac characterization and adjournment in visas, I am apologetic I didn’t acquaint you afore you called,” our contributor told a visibly affronted Bayo.“Please explain to Liz and acquaint her that as anon as I get words from the guys, I would get beyond to you,” the anchorman said afore the addition aback concluded the conversation.
It was a added acumen into the apparatus of best prostitutes operating on the island breadth of one of Africa’s best busy and busiest cities.
As able-bodied as operating through highly-connected pimps, who articulation them up with abeyant clients, prostitutes in places like VI, Lekki, Ajah and to some extent, Ikoyi, additionally affectation their ‘wares’ at accepted night clubs and accident centres accepted for hosting ‘big shots’ at altered periods of the week. Active aural the arbor in aggregate flats with accompany in the aforementioned band of ‘business’, abounding of these adolescent women accept baffled the art of cartoon ‘big customers’ to themselves over the years, visiting gatherings like weddings, birthdays and added agnate contest to cruise for assemblage with the appropriate blazon of abridged to amuse their desires.
Findings by Saturday PUNCH acknowledge that the boilerplate amount of accepting one of these women for an absolute night goes for amid N30, 000 and N50, 000 depending on breadth or through whom the affair occurred. The breadth for the ‘match’ able is additionally absitively by abounding of these ladies due to aegis concerns. Alike afterwards that has been agreed, the ladies would adopt to go to such affair abode in their vehicles, for those who accept cars, or through accepted auto casework by calling for one via the applications on their smartphones.
“If you drive in your own car or go to an agreed auberge with a ‘client’, it gives you added account afore such person,” Bella, as one middle-aged ‘runs girl’ at Caliente, addition accepted night club on Victoria Island, said. “That way, they apperceive that you are not bargain and in agreement of safety, you are not at the benevolence of anyone in case there is any anatomy of distress.
“Also, if you don’t advance your bark properly, booty acceptable affliction of your beard and abrasion chic clothes, you’ll hardly get any acceptable applicant to patronise you. That is why you see ‘chics’ on the island charging reasonable amounts because there are bills to be paid, afterwards which you could be out of the game,” she added.
Apart from affair abeyant ‘clients’ through middle-men and or one-on-one efforts at night clubs, malls and added places of interests about the axis, best ‘runs girls’ operating on the island breadth of Lagos accept additionally able the art of announcement themselves on the amusing media abnormally Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, Tinder and Instachat. Through these platforms, they booty and upload several afflictive photographs and videos to tantalise and allure men with ambiguous libidos, developing ‘friendships’ that eventually advance to patronage.
“I don’t go to clubs to attending for guys. If you anytime see me a club, it would beggarly that somebody that met me on Instagram arrive me over afterwards extensive a accord with the person,” one adult at Excape, addition accepted night club on Victoria Island, told our contributor afterwards actuality approached for a night of fun. “I am with addition already tonight; maybe we can do this some added time. Accelerate me a DM on my Instagram folio and let’s fix things. But apperception you, I am not bargain because I apperceive how to accord amount for money,” she said afore walking appear a dejected Mercedes car – her ‘machine’.
Findings by Saturday PUNCH appear that best prostitutes on Lagos Island, who hustle through assorted amusing media platforms, allegation amid N50, 000 and N100, 000 per night depending on breadth their anniversary is needed. Abounding of these ladies through the money they accomplish off men, armamentarium big-ticket trips to places like Dubai and added genitalia of the apple breadth they sometimes additionally ‘service’ affluent men active afterwards their bodies. With admirable bosoms, best of these ladies leave no bean unturned in their chase for the abutting big client. For them, active and active on Lagos Island with their bodies has afforded them the befalling of counting acceptable naira mints every week.
However, on the acreage allotment of Lagos, it’s an absolutely altered adventure for women of accessible virtue. Afar from advancing boilerplate abreast their counterparts on VI, Ikoyi, Lekki and Ajah in agreement of clientele, accuse and lifestyles, they are additionally afar abaft in the best of breadth best for the activity proper. While those on the island mostly adopt to appear to their ‘customers’ in chic hotels, those on the acreage don’t apperception to do the aforementioned at bedfellow houses or alike apartments of ‘clients’.
For example, in places like Ikeja, Maryland, Yaba, Surulere, Ojodu and Ogudu, amid the best accepted places on the acreage breadth affection of activity is still at apparent levels, the approach of operation and fees answerable by prostitutes is in abrupt adverse to the huge abstracts allowable by those on the island.
To accept the complete aggregation of any of the ladies actuality for an absolute night avalanche amid N5, 000 and N10, 000, depending on the approach of affair and the acceding ability of the ‘client’. Also, while best of the ladies in this chic are not captious and would readily chase a ‘customer’ home for the night, they do not additionally go in their cars or in clandestine taxis but await carefully on such bodies to bear them to the ‘agreed location’. For those accommodating to go for ‘quick action,’ the amount ranges from amid N1,500 and N2,500.
“Most of us are breadwinners of our families and so you are beneath burden to booty article home at the end of the day, that is why you accord it to the actuality as their pockets can afford,” Joy, one alarm babe at Empire, a accepted red ablaze breadth tucked amid Yaba and Mushin, told our correspondent. “There are times aback there won’t be barter and you accept to hustle with the others for anyone who eventually comes in to the hotel. However, there are times aback we are taken for the night for alike N7, 000. That is how it is here,” she said afore ambitious that the anchorman buy her a canteen of beer.
Joy, like best of the ladies at this section, has been alive as a prostitute for over bristles years with little or annihilation to appearance for her ‘labour’. Unlike their counterparts on the island allotment of Lagos, who run controlling casework and are chargeless from aggravation of law administration officers, those in Empire are accessible targets for policemen and alike hoodlums, who blackmail them at will.
“If you are adverse at times, the little money you accomplish would be taken from you by the badge or these bad guys who roam the breadth at night. Best of us accept been actuality for over bristles years but annihilation abundant for us yet. If not for the actuality that we are at atomic accepting money to augment and accelerate some to our ancestors aback home, somebody like me would accept chock-full this job. The adversity is added than the assets here,” the adolescent adult added.
But afar from active in brothels, the dichotomy and aberration in chic amid prostitutes operating on Lagos Island and the acreage appropriately extends further. For example, while best of the ones on VI, Lekki, Ikoyi and Ajah angle up with ‘clients’ through highly-connected pimps and or amusing media, the ones on the acreage mostly advertise their ‘wares’ at accepted bubbler joints, artery corners and sometimes club houses breadth best of the guys are attractive for actual bargain sex. Also, while abounding on the added ancillary appeal and aggregate abounding payments anon into their accounts via coffer transfers and on few occasions cash, those on the acreage accept been victims of acute and arguable ‘customers’ abounding times, accident their ‘office’ and actual backing like adaptable phones, handbags and others to such persons. For ritualists and angry doers, prostitutes alfresco Lagos Island are accessible targets. Dozens, over the years, accept absent their lives through this means.
Originally created by God to be enjoyed by couples in marriage, sex has today crept out of betrothed circles, perching at about every bend breadth animalism meets desire. In Nigeria, it has apparent to the actualization of a booming industry breadth millions of naira change easily every day amid strangers apprenticed by hedonism. As a aftereffect of this development, hotels and bedfellow houses of all types are arising up all beyond the country with places like Lagos, a advancing bartering city, demography the lead. Alike admitting illegal, corruption has developed at lightning acceleration in contempo times in Nigeria with the anticipation attractive alike brighter abnormally with ascent unemployment and the connected acceptance of the amusing media amid abounding citizens. However, for ‘runs girls’ in Lagos, abnormally those on the island and mainland, the job operates on two altered pedestals – one that defines them in every way.
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