Around 7pm on Saturday in a hotel on Abaranje Road in Ikotun, a suburb in Lagos State. He adorned black denims on a black T-shirt. He said his name was Kenny, of course, he admitted it wasn’t his real name. He sauntered into the hotel as if his main aim was to have a couple of drinks and maybe complement it with a plate of sizzling pepper soup.
But Kenny didn’t just come to only have a drink, Kenny is first of all, a male commercial sex worker and was looking for a customer that he would ‘service’ in order to make a quick cash for the weekend. One of our correspondents got to know Kenny through a regular customer, who had been patronising the motel bar for a long time and who once had a close contact with him.
Not even the crowd and almost non-availability of chairs could dissuade people as some, including our correspondent, had to lean on a car for some time before he could locate a seat.
Like Kenny, sitting at different tables, were young guys chatting, smoking and drinking and talking in loud voices. To the innocent eyes, they are just young men having a good time. But then, only a few would know that some of them are also commercial sex workers. They are available for women who are ready to have them in exchange for some cash.
Since the male sex workers may not readily own up or be identified as being available for ‘service’, one of our correspondents approached a female sex worker as if he needed a ‘quickie’ or ‘short rest’ so that in the middle of their chat, she could help in identifying a guy to service his ‘madam.’
“Babe, how far now,” our correspondent asked. “I dey o, wetin dey happen?” she responded. Our correspondent introduced himself as ‘John’ while she gave her name as ‘Debbie’ who looked to be in her mid 20s.
Our correspondent requested for a short service but that
before proceeding to the room or the car, she would have to help in arranging a
“strong guy” for his madam who parked outside the hotel.
“I brought my madam here so I could ‘arrange’ a guy for her,
but since I wouldn’t want to idle away while they would be having a good time,
we can quickly do a ‘short rest’ before they would finish theirs. So you go
help me arrange man for am. I mean guy wey strong well well o,” our
correspondent had asked Debbie. “That one na small thing now, guys dey. Make we talk our own first. It depends on what you want or what she wants; maybe tall or short, fair or dark, they are all here and they are all very strong too. In fact, I have some that I can’t give your madam because they can ‘wound’ her. I hope say your madam go fit pay o and she go get body hold am,” Debbie responded swiftly.
When the deal was sealed, she handed her drink to our
correspondent and dashed into the crowd to look for one of the male sex
workers.
A few minutes later, Debbie returned with five guys, averagely
in their mid and late 20s. On arrival, they introduced themselves, which
sounded like aliases. Among them was Water, perceived to be a strong and
qualified guy for the job. Others gave their names as TK, Segun, Uche and
Charles, all looking set for work as they gesticulated occasionally.While thinking of which of them to choose, they all promised to ‘deliver’ more than expected.
On a closer look, our correspondent had sighted one of them in the bar, smoking, drinking and dancing, all at once, but nothing would have given him away as a sex worker. Though he appeared like a ‘bad guy’, sagging his jean trousers as if his boxers had to be a part of the party.
With an assurance that money wouldn’t be a problem as long as he could deliver and satisfy the madam, Water boasted that he had been doing it and ‘servicing’ big women for a long time and that he was very popular in the bar such that those who had been patronising the hotel knew him for his strength.
“Some of the big women I have ‘serviced’ before still call
me till date, and once you do them well (sic), they won’t want to lose you.
They can even call you to meet them anywhere and they would pay,” he added.
On getting to the car where one of our correspondents
pretends to be the ‘madam,’ Water expressed a little reservation before going
into the car alone with someone he had never met before, but with assurance
that nothing would happen to him, he jumped in. But then again, once inside the car where ‘madam’ was waiting to ‘bargain’ with Water, the young man’s confidence waned a little as he kept looking from one corner of the car to the other, apparently looking for what would give away the correspondent as not being real.
“Ah! Madam! I will do you well. In fact, if I ‘handle’ you, I am not sure you would want to let me go. Just try me and you would find out that you have been dealing with the wrong boys.”
And of course, he didn’t waste time to tell ‘madam’ that he would charge N15, 000 for the night for his ‘services.’
“Madam, if na TDB (Till day break), na N15k I go take o, I no charge you. No be so we dey even collect. E get some people wey dey charge N20k. Last week, na N25k one woman pay me. I just like you as you set, na why I wan collect N15k.”
The bargaining eventually ended at N7, 000 for the night but Water insisted that he wouldn’t be the person that would pay for the room. “A room in this hotel is N4, 000. You will be the one to pay for it and my own money will be N7, 000. Na the last price be that.”
Apart from the money ‘madam’ was willing to pay, the young
man had some other ‘conditions’ attached to his services. “Madam, if you no wan make I use condom, that one will cost
you extra. The N7k is with condom o. Without condom dey sweet pass and na why
we dey charge extra N2, 000 for that. “Madam, you go first ‘ginger’ me well. Then we go come play.
Na you go ‘ginger’ me before we play, otherwise my body no go fit stand.”
When our correspondent assured him that he would be
‘gingered,’ Water was all eager to set the ball rolling. But our correspondent told him he would have to wait for her
the following day, that she had just come into town. Before they departed, ‘madam’ asked Water if he had other
people who could ‘service’ her friends and he replied in the affirmative. “The woman called me this morning to appreciate me for giving her a good guy. She told me the guy was very good and capable,” she added.
While our correspondent promised to get back to Water the following day, he gladly gave out his number as he pocketed the N1,000 gift given to him to buy himself a drink. He however added that he would be expecting a call, beaming with smiles as he walked away.
While the conversation lasted, some of the other guys had been moving up and down around the car, hoping the ‘madam’ would need them as well. And, on the other hand, Debbie had stormed out of the discussion with our correspondent out of impatience, complaining that she was losing money as she stood outside chatting, but not without a cash gift as well.
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