They are called queens of
the night. Many refer to them as women of easy
virtue. In Benin City, capital of Edo State, these young
women, known as asewo, are more domiciled at the
popular Ugbague Street in the ancient city.
Investigation reveals that most of the girls trading
their bodies at this joint are cheap prostitutes willing
to accept any amount from potential customers. They
are usually lowly priced by male customers. For N1,
000 or even less, the prostitutes are willing to strip
and engage in a round of sex. The sex workers are
not the only occupants on Ugbague Street though.
There are a few residential houses on the street just
as there are traders that sell different legitimate
commodities. However, when one mentions Ugbague
in Benin and its environs, it connotes a place where
hundreds of ladies sell their bodies for money.
Prostitution at Ugbague, according to sources, dates
back to the 1940s and 1950s. and most of the
prostitutes were said to have migrated from other
states. They took abode at Ugbague area in the lively
Benin City. According to history, Ugbague happened
to be one of the busiest places in the region then,
where one could get suya delicacies 24 hours of the
day. Therefore, the street gradually evolved into a
centre of attraction for young ladies, who found it
strategic to solicit for men financially buoyant
because they could afford some suya and bottles of
drinks. The trend continued and as at the last check,
more than three hundred girls are now plying their
trade on this same street, selling their bodies to
willing men. On this day, at about 1.pm, this reporter,
in a company with a friend, Bright Izehiuwa, walked
into the right side of Ugbague, connecting the ever-
busy street from Mission Road. The visitors were
immediately accosted by about six ladies.
The girls were speaking at the same time: “Follow me
to my room to choose any style you want and enjoy
your money.” “There is AC in my room.” “I will
entertain you with blue film before we start action.”
“Do you want to enjoy touch your toes style”?
Everyday and every night, these ladies line up,
flaunting their buttocks and breasts in an inviting
manner. Unfortunately for the ladies, they are
currently working harder and standing longer in the
dead of the night to solicit for customers because
business is no longer as booming as it was. One of
the prostitutes, who spoke with our reporter on the
condition of anonymity, complained that the lull in
business might not be unconnected with the
unhealthy economic situation in the country as a
whole. She lamented: “There is bad market here at
the moment. It really started when the new
government took over power from President
Jonathan. I watch and listen to news all the time. I
hear how people complain that there is no money in
circulation. There are times no man would come to
ask what we are selling let alone buy. It has never
been as tough as this since I started this job three
years ago. Is it a man who has no food in his stomach
that will remember the road that leads to a hotel? But
the owner of this place will not understand that
customers are no more coming to have fun with us as
it used to be.” The walls in some of the walkways
leading to the brothels where the transactions
between the harlots and their customers are
confirmed were decorated with salacious posters. The
hotels are ancient houses, built with mud that had
only seen skeletal renovations in decades. You may
not be wrong if you call the houses shanties. The
ladies, some teenagers, others adults, walk about,
puffing cigarette smoke into the air. Every now and
then, they utter uncharitable remarks at any male
passerby who doesn’t look their way. Their services
are available day and night, but patronage usually
hits the peak at nights.
When one enters the street from Mission Road, the
right part of the hotel has assumed considerable
notoriety. It is a place where prostitutes accept any
amount for a quick round of sex. These prostitutes, of
all shapes, it was gathered, take a position and stand
all through the night to solicit for men. Those who
can’t go through the ordeal of standing for endless
hours in front of their building for men to come loiter
around Ugbague and adjoining streets. Streets like
Akpakpava, Mission Roads, Lagos Street and others,
then host a large number of the prostitutes, all in
search of customers. Our reporter further gathered
that for as little as N500, a hard-pressed man can
have a quick sex, waggishly called ‘touch your toes’
with the desperate prostitutes at any of the dark
corners outside the buildings. At night, they swarm
like bees. One might not be wrong to conclude that
sex has become the main commodity for sale on
Ugbague Street. For N1,000, some of the prostitutes
would be willing to rush inside a parked car to satisfy
any randy man for what is usually referred to as
‘sharp sharp’ sex. A waiter at a popular bar on
Ugbague Street explained that kind of sex to be
shorter than even the popular ‘short-time’ service.
The ladies, in their hundreds, and between the ages
of 17 and 45, congregate in the area everyday and are
clustered, ready to melt into the waiting arms of their
one night sex partners. Most of them come out in
see-through dresses in the hunt for Benin men. Yet
for some of the ladies, business is smooth. “What
they only need to do is have their bath, make-up and
sit down just by their doors to make passes at
customers who come in,” a trader on Ugbague Street,
who simply gave his name as Osas, explained. It was
also discovered that some of the ladies take the risk
to have sex with men without the use of condoms,
but with a higher charge. With a bottle of big stout
and two sticks of cigarettes as enticement, a
prostitute at the hotel, who engaged in a long
conversation with this reporter, revealed all.

Still Rape Is On The Increase.

Somebody posted this like 3 -4 years ago