Flashy cars. Blinking bank
accounts. Good businesses.
They have it all. The good
things of all fall on their
laps. Like the queens that
many see them to be
outside, they live large.
Welcome to the world of
the Nigerian ‘big babes’ who
call the shots as far as
prostitution is concerned in
Dubai, that artificial
creation in the United Arab
Emirates which has caught
the world’s attention.
Dubai covers an area of
1500 square miles and sits
52 feet above sea level. It is
the gateway to Asia and is
described as the Las Vegas
of the Middle East. On the
streets of Dubai, these
ladies are the centre of
attraction and back home,
especially in cities such as
Lagos, Abuja and Port
Harcourt, they own big
businesses and drive flashy
cars, yet from time to time,
they acquire two months
visa to Dubai for no reason
other than to indulge in
commercial sex. With the
help of syndicates, they
secure accommodation in
hotels and apartments.
It came as a shock to this
reporter, whose first time it
was in Dubai. Having
booked her
accommodation online at
the Africana Hotel, Deira,
she was hopeful to have
some quiet time and
arriving the Dubai
International Airport and
seeing the Arabs all
covered, with warning
prohibiting indecency, she
thought: “At last, there is
some decency here!”
But she was soon to realize
that beneath the cleanliness
and splendour of the city
lies a dirty trade, which
even Sheiks are said to
patronise when no one is
watching. The moment this
reporter stepped into the
hotel she had reserved
online, she saw an army of
half-naked women,
parading the premises.
Shocked by the contrast,
she had quickly asked:
“What’s going on here?” The
reply from the smiling front
desk person was: “They are
from your country, Nigeria.
They are our guests. See
these ladies, they pair
themselves in a room, some
even stay three in a room.
So, in case you want to save
money, you can pair with
any of them!”
But her response did not
quench the reporter’s
curiosity. It did not answer
why half-nude Nigerian
women, as early as 9am,
were flaunting their bodies
in front of the hotel with
some black guys giving
them signals.
At that moment, she made
up her mind she was not
going to stay in that hotel
but would definitely visit
the place at night for a
better understanding of the
mystery.
Having successfully checked
into another hotel, with the
help of an agent whose
number she got from her
friend who frequents Dubai,
the reporter revisited the
Africana Hotel.
The time was 11pm and the
environment well lit, with a
beehive of skimpily-dressed
trooping in and out of the
hotel. Observing quietly, the
reporter overheard some of
the ladies, seated at the
reception complaining how
the business has gone sour.
One of the ladies said:
“Things are not as easy as
they used to be when I
started this business. There
were some weeks I made
about $5,000 from these
Arab and European men.
“But since more babes from
Nigeria got into it, there are
so many ‘runs girls’ in Dubai
that for the past one
month, I have not made up
to $5,000.
“Worst still, some of my
clients have suddenly
changed and started
demanding anal sex. I had a
terrible experience recently
with a European whom I
met inside an elevator at a
big hotel.
“We exchanged contacts
after he paid $300 for a
‘Mouth Action’ in the elevator.
Then, subsequently, we met
and had pizza and he
offered $1,000 for sex in
his apartment.
“I thought he was a decent
guy until I got to his
apartment. He threatened
me with a knife to accept
sex with me through the
anus or he will kill me.
“I begged him to collect his
money and let me go but
the oyibo man refused and
had his way. Imagine what I
have denied most of my
contacts, who would have
even paid more for it, that
stupid European got it by
force and still he collected
his money back.
“I am just tired of this
business. Though I own a
big boutique in Festac, it is
through these ‘runs’ that I
foot my bills because there
is little profit in the
boutique business.”
Another one, whom they
called Jane while
sympathising with her
friend, told the girls that
Alhaja (her love-vendor) had
earlier warned her not to
carry money to her
customer’s place.
“Alhaja warned me that
these days, the men will
sleep with you and still
collect your money. So,
since then, I usually drop
any advance payment with
her.
“I do not want a situation
whereby one stupid man
will collect the money I
have laboured for. Any
valuable thing I have, I
usually drop them with
Alhaja and she gives me
back once I demand for
them.
“So, my dear, learn from
this experience and most
times, it is better you tell
the men ahead of time what
you can do and what you
cannot do,” said Jane.
Jane, who claimed she
resigned from her place of
work in Lagos where she
served as a marketer,
attributed her resignation
to meagre salary.
“I graduated from the
university two years ago
and got a job where I was
paid N20, 000 per month.
The hardship and
frustration in Nigeria
pushed me into prostitution
and I have no regrets
because I now have a better
life. I own my own
apartment, a car and a big
saloon in Lagos,” she said.
Baffled by the revelations of
the ladies, the reporter
asked a travel agent how
the women were able to
practise open prostitution
in a Muslim country.
Hear him: “Is there anything
Nigerians cannot do? Most
of these girls I know them
in Nigeria. Some are rich
and own big businesses,
while some are students.
“They apply and acquire
two months’ visa and with
the help of travel agents
and some big women, they
get accommodation in
hotels and even apartment.
Then, those women who
also have guys working for
them usually link them up
with men.
“Most of them register and
submit their international
passports to the women or
their contact persons and
every night; this is how they
keep going about.
“It is very embarrassing that
Nigerian ladies, including
married women, come here
for prostitution. That is how
one of them saw me in
Festac last year and she was
hiding because she knows I
know what she does in
Dubai.
“Once a woman calls me
that she wants two months’
visa, I just know that is what
she is coming for and I turn
them down. Some will say
there is no job in Nigeria
and they want to come and
hustle.
“What is paining me now is
that this nonsense that they
do has made it difficult for
us to secure genuine visas
for decent people. Also,
most hotels have increased
their rates, with some even
refusing to give their rooms
to single women coming to
stay that long.
“If you go around this
neighbourhood (Deira), you
will see that these stupid
girls even rent apartments,
which they keep and pay
for even while they are in
Nigeria, yet they claim it is
unemployment and poverty
that led them into
prostitution.
“It is a serious issue and I
think the Federal
Government needs to act
on it urgently, if not, these
girls will spread diseases in
Nigeria, aside the bad image
they are painting of the
country already,” said the
travel agent.
Continuing, the agent
narrated how one of the
prostitutes approached a
client of his who lodged in
the hotel sometime in June.
“The girl just knocked on
the door and when my
client opened, she called
her outside and was telling
her to stop acting like a
child. I just stood by the
door and I was hearing
their conversation. She told
my client that most of the
men who have seen her
want her to play by the
game.
But my client refused and
told the lady that she was in
Dubai for business and not
prostitution and the girl,
while insisting, said most of
them own businesses in
Nigeria and that they
prostitute to cover their
expenses.
“She even said that my
client can make the money
she will use to buy her
goods in one night, thereby
she would not spend the
money she came with or
buying more things.
“I was so angry that I had to
come out and warn the girl
to mind her business and
allow my client who has
told her she was not
interested in prostitution.
“That was why I came
immediately you told me
she gave you my number
and that you want a decent
place to stay,” he said.
Yet in this city, there are
strict religious laws against
prostitution. A western
women once got a month
imprisonment for a peck on
the cheek. The law in Dubai
has clear rules that
prostitution is illegal. If you
are caught by the police,
both you and the prostitute
will be put into jail and wait
for the sentence of the local
court.
If you are not a national,
apart from the punishment
of being sentenced by the
court, you will be asked to
leave the UAE and will not
be allowed back in again.
There are different
categories of prostitutes in
Dubai. There are the willing
ones and the forced one,
who are threatened into it
by pimps. The bulk of the
Nigerian ladies in the trade
are the willing ones and if
they are caught,
unfortunately they will go
for it.

I will read later. I wan sleep.