In the past, part-time prostitution, popularly called runs, and a degree or certificate were not synonymous; but not anymore. It is a part-time job for some female undergraduates. These commercial sex workers popularly known as ‘Olosho’ among female undergraduates are the big girls. Their pastime has become even more compelling on campus due to the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU.
They are involved in numerous runs just to earn a living, which they call Home service, Short time, Body for ground, cash for hand and Sex for money, among others. There are various categories of university sex hawkers; it all depends on the packaging and ‘swag’ (panache) which determines the type of men they service.
It is not so difficult to identify them on campus during the day because most of their outfits are obviously expensive and sometimes indecent. Many times, their attires do not suit an academic environment, but their body language attracts their customers, investigation has revealed..
The ASUU strike which has left the universities almost empty since 1 July, has allowed these girls to ply their trade full-time, especially in private hostels and private accommodations within the university axis. Hostels on university campuses are empty and hardly will one find up to three roommates in a room. But activities peak on Thursdays through weekends when men (Aristos) come in with exotic cars to pick them up.
Even some of the sex hawkers sleep with the hostel porters so they would always have the freedom to leave the hostels and come in at will. In the University of Lagos female hostels, Moremi happens to be the hottest on campus, Fagunwa Hall and Madam Tinubu Hall (MTH) are the second and the third in the rating of the sex spots. Some girls are also agents, who organize girls for men at a fee in hotels around the university and even outside the state.
It is very easy to get a UNILAG sex hawker with just a blackberry phone, if you own a car and have cash to spend for them.
A 300 Level runs girl in the Psychology Department, told reporters : “I no fit go runs, if motor no dey, na the client go organize how dey go carry us. Sometimes if I go clubbing, from there I fit follow man go for overnight runz and I know how much I go carry commot.”
Another runs girl said: “For me parole no dey like that before, it’s just roadside. I try stopping vehicles and any interested man will pick me. At the end of the groove, I come back with something like N10,000 or N20,000 depending on the consumer” .
Some are lucky enough to get a gift of a laptop, phone, and a set of jewellery, depending on how generous the male client is.
The fact still remains that most of the runs girls prefer private hostels due to constraints or harassment by porters and their classmates. Some of their clients pay for the private hostels, most of which are off-campus accommodation for students.
Meanwhile, many female students in the hostels prefer to sell their bed space in the university and add money to get an accommodation in a private hostel. Some rent apartments with the money they get from their runs.
During the day, they spend most of the time making their hair, fixing nails and eyelashes and in the evening, around 5:30 to 6p.m. they come out for their business. Before they hit the road, they drink alcohol heavily to bolster themselves and erase any trace of shyness while negotiating with the male clients.
Debbie, 24, (not real name) who claims to be in 100 level in the English Department told reporters: “The truth is that there’s nobody to take care of us and I have a daughter to cater for. It is part of this money I use to send her to school. At times, I leave Lagos to Abeokuta, Sagamu, Ibadan, Edo, depending on the pay. I’m doing all this just to raise money for her upkeep”.
A 200 level student in English Education Deparment said: “I risk my life to travel as far as Jos and Abuja, and I spend at least two weeks, depending on the agreement I strike with my client. Most of the time, I follow my client around over there under the pretence that I am his personal assistant.”
Another runs girl said: “I have to hang around hostels and bars just to get customers for the night.”
The price varies depending on the girl’s negotiating skills and desperation for cash. Some female students leave their phone numbers with hotel attendants and will ‘settle’ them after the home service transaction.
Lecturers are not left out. The female sex workers go to bed with lecturers to get higher marks. A particular female student, who does not want to be named, said having sex once with a lecturer earns one a ‘D’ twice is ‘C’, thrice is ‘B’ or ‘A’. It all depends on your bargaining power. One lecturer connects them to other interested lecturers.
The sex-for-marks girls are organised, work and move together. They hardly attend lectures but make fantastic results at the end of the day. A cab man on the campus said: “I do take some lecturers to meet students in their houses in Iwaya, Bariga and Makoko and I also go and pick them up around 5.00 a.m. in their house sthe next morning. Female students even pay the lecturers after having sex with them.”
One of the security guards at one of the private female hostels said “most nights, when I see those girls going out, I do wonder what is going on. The next morning at about 3.00 am, they start coming back. No one will even know they went out.”
Some girls do the runs to meet the financial demands of the lecturers instead of having sex with them.
Sometimes it is sex-for-marks; they don’t have business with lecturers’ assignments and they will be the ones that go to the hotel and pay the bills, order the food, organise transportation and invite the lecturer.
When politicians and government officials have social gatherings, the girls link up each other. The use social media platforms such as facebook, badoo, and smart phones to solicit for wealthy prospective male clients they call Aristos on campus.
Some of these so-called Aristos are old enough to be their fathers or even grandfathers, but the girls don’t give a damn. All they are interested in is the money.
They also go through so much pain. Sometimes, they are either beaten up by clients or not paid.
Investigation also revealed that some students still get involved in runs after graduating if job opportunities don’t come on time. They buy bed space like students and stay with the ones they have trained on campus. They really find it difficult to quit completely. Most of the experienced sex workers never think of getting married; instead they turn into ‘sugar mummy’.
PM NEWS
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