Nigerian Prostitutes Take Over Social Media

In an extensive research undertaken by PM News, Nigerian commercial sex workers have upgraded their games and are now advertising on social media sites like Badoo, Twitter, Facebook, Eskimi, Twoo, Tango, Blackberry Messenger and 4clique, to advertise themselves to likely patrons either directly or through agents.

For many of these Internet savvy prostitutes in Nigeria, the coming of social media is a big blessing and a boost to their business as it is increasingly becoming a major avenue for them to meet clients and patrons.

While some of these media like Eskimi and Twoo forbid members from uploading and displaying nude photographs, others including Facebook, BBM and Twitter do not really give their members such restrictions apart from emphasising its rule against infringement of privacy.

According some of the scarlet ladies that were interviewed, the social media provides them an opportunity to expand their trade.

A lady named Bisi who is very active on Twitter reportedly said:

Some of these social media sites afford us the opportunity to display some of our assets to attract guys like you.

The use of social media is even better because some men are very shy to approach a lady physically. Some are also very scared of going to brothels. But on social media, they are bolder and encouraged to speak their minds because it is just like a blind date where they are not physically with the woman.

So for her and some of her learned colleagues, she has adopted a strategy to make it easy for them to meet with a client for sex over an agreed fee.

What we do now is to come together -maybe three of us- and rent an accommodation where men visit us and have fun. But before then, we would have agreed on a fee.

We fix the appointment after making sure it would not clash with those of our roommates. We either also give the impression that we are sisters or friends when our customers visit.

I think it is more economical that the customers visit us, do what they want and pay rather than getting a venue and spending more for short time.

On Eskimi and Twoo, the ladies are free to give details about themselves, their stature, marital status, number of children where applicable, and what they want from their likely catch.

A 32-year old mother of two, who registered her profile as Victoria, told the paper in an online chat that her husband left her and the children for another woman.

Since then, I have been made to cater for the children and their education. He does not care and I can’t just allow the children suffer. You also know that it is difficult to find a man that would marry a woman who has two children when single ladies are even finding it increasingly difficult to get a husband.

Instead of going about the streets to beg, the best thing is to make myself available to men who can afford it. That could help me take care of myself, the children and my rent.

A participant from Abuja who calls herself Chidinma, plies her trade on Twoo and said she is not cut out for men lesser that 30 years, stressing that many of them are still children who do not know how the 'sex business' operates.

I can only date you if you are married. I go out with only married men and on exceptional cases, with spoilt children of wealthy men in Abuja.

Philomena, a 28-year-old woman from Akwa Ibom State, says she operates on Twitter adding that the business has paid off.

I ran away from the family I was serving as house help after the woman’s husband continuously tormented me with sex till the day my madam caught us.

I then joined a group of girls in a brothel in Iyana-Ipaja and after a year, I was not meeting my expectations. So I started joining girls to seek customers around major streets.

But since someone introduced me to Twitter, things have changed. I have been getting more clients than when I was at the brothel. I now live in a rented apartment, but I select the type of people I bring into my apartment.