Campus babes: How Yahoo Boys are displacing Aristos

EMMANUEL ONYECHE writes that a new set of men is making impressions on ladies on Nigerian university campuses Though Bode Olumide (not real name) is in his middle 50s, he still thinks he is the typical “Big Boy” and does not mind being referred to as such. After all, he fancies himself as having all that it takes to lay a claim to that title – a liberal attitude to life, flashy cars and tons of cash to spend.

In addition to that, he dresses lavishly in expensive clothes, carries himself well and makes sure he is seen in the right places and circles. As a top executive in an oil company in Lagos, he delegates many of his responsibilities and spends considerable time planning his leisure.

Women figure prominently in that plan. Like most men, Olumide has this problem with regards to women – he can‘t keep his hand and eyes away from them. This is in spite of the fact that he is “happily married” and has two children.

He likes them young and goes about his business of hunting for them discreetly so as not to raise the suspicion of his wife. His favourite hunting ground is the University of Lagos, where he numbers among the rich men who throng the place daily, whisking away the campus ladies, who are willing to play ball to catch fun with them.

At UNILAG, as in other campuses in the country, the students refer to his type as “Aristos,” a coinage from the word “Aristocracy,” which refers to a kind of government, where power is controlled by a small number of individuals – the social elite and noble families.

Though the Aristos in this case may not necessarily have any attachment to nobility, they certainly belong to the social elite and, with their money, wield considerable power over many of the fun-loving campus girls. Up till the early part of the 21th Century, their power was such that the girls went to great lengths to outsmart one another for the attention and company of the Aristos.

They had enough reasons to. The money of an Aristo came in handy to the girls in their unending contest to outdo one another in the business of looking good. They also loved to be seen in the flashy cars of the Aristos, who pampered them with money and gifts.

However, the power and tenure of the Aristos is waning – and that, considerably. Beginning from the rise in the crime of advance fee fraud, otherwise known as “419,” the typical Aristo has had to contend with a new set of money lords on the campuses. These are the ‘Yahoo Boys,‘ the kingpins of local and international internet fraud, from which they derive their name.

Carol, a student at UNILAG, says, ”We call them Aristos on the campus, but they are more popularly known as Sugar Daddies. They are far older than the girls and most of them are married.”

Ronke, another student adds, ”They don‘t operate in the afternoon and they must go through agents since they don‘t have direct access to the girls.”

Daramola, a male student, says many of the agents are male students, who have direct access to the girls. ”Some of the agents in UNILAG are also little girls. They call them ‘any work’ because they help the female students to run errands and do other menial jobs like washing and ironing.” The agents have the pictures of the girls in their best, sometimes, provocative attires, to show to the prospective clients. It is from this lot that the Aristos make their choice.

Depending on the bargaining power of the agent, Daramola says, the Aristos part with at least N5,000 for the services of the agents. ”Some agents can make as much as N50,000 from one Aristo,” Daramola says.

Joyce, who schools at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, says, ”Most of the Aristos that invade my school are businessmen, politicians and contractors from all over the country. They usually come during weekends and, if they have parties, they pay for the services of many babes. They take some of them to far places like Port Harcourt and Abuja.”

But the Yahoo Boys are different. They have access to the girls and they operate at any time. Joyce says, ”When you see a guy with a flashy car, who dresses in different designer clothes, shoes and accessories of the same quality, the thing that comes to one‘s mind is either the person is from a wealthy family, or he belongs to the clique of the Yahoo Boys.”

She continues, ”The Yahoo Boys are students in the school or neighbouring schools. Their lifestyles are ostentatious, probably because they don‘t sweat for their money. Moving closer to them, you will discover that they hardly sleep at night because that is when they operate. Many of them are of the view that they are collecting back from the white men (whom they call mugu) what they took from Africa.”

On the campuses, the girls, who swing with either the Aristos or the Yahoo Boys, are different. Joyce says, ”One thing that distinguishes these girls is their mode of dressing. They spend their money on quality clothes and accessories of all sorts. Where they live, they have virtually everything you can think of that makes a home comfortable – electronics of all sorts and even cars.”

Sometimes, the brand of cars they drive gives the Yahoo Boys away. ”They are usually in love with Honda brands - Honda Hala, Honda Bullet and Honda Baby Boy etc,” Daramola says.

Carol says many of the girls prefer the Yahoo Boys because of the age advantage they have over the Aristos. ”They are not ashamed to be seen around with the Yahoo Boys, many of whom are their age mates and who are also equally capable of providing for their needs. Besides, the relationships with the boys can lead to other things, like marriage.”

She adds that what the Yahoo Boys do to make their money hardly matters to many of the girls.

The girls, who prefer the Aristos, according to Carol, do so because they (Aristos) still dish out more money than the Yahoo Boys. ”Besides, many of them regard the relationships as strictly business and are not as possessive as the Yahoo Boys, who monitor the movement of their girls and are ready to beat them black and blue if they fumble,” Carol says.

Still, the business of frolicking with strangers for money or fun is fraught with danger.

A conspicuous signboard close to the entrance of UNILAG warns students on the dangers of this vice. Other signboards warn of other vices such as drug addiction and cultism.


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