Mother Theresas of Lagos
brothels
By Jossy Idam
Saturday, September 16, 2006
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•Victoria
and Ada
Photo By Sun News Publishing |
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Victoria Sylvia Kankara and Adaobi Ifejuka are nuts in a
nice way. They barge into places where decent ladies dare
not.
Even men talk about such places in whispers and hushed tones.
They raid red light spots of Lagos for underage girls. They
go there armed to the teeth.
But they don’t belong to the law enforcement agency.
They storm the joints where girls in see-through, skimpy clothes
live, hangout and unashamedly solicit for men. The duo go
to such wild places and pepper underaged whores with sweet
talks, gentle prodding and religeous preachings.
They approach the girls like nice, senior sisters, talk sense
into them and gently win them over. They tell them a girl
can be great, have fun without demeaning, debasing herslef
as a play thing and spitton for men with low morals.
Those not far gone, listen to them, change and remorsefully
go home like the prodigals which they are. But most of the
girls in their care now claim to have left their homes for
economic reasons. So, taking care of them is Victoria and
Ada’s headache.
Sad tales
They have rehabilated about 25 teenage prostitutes. Each of
the girls has a history and a sad, tear-jerking tale on why
she took to the streets and self-destruction.
To interview some of the new girls in their care, Saturday
Sun promised not to use their real names and to mask their
photographs.
Tear-away
Eky is 18. She was born in Cross River State but she grew
up in Lagos. She used to live in a high brow estate in the
city wih her uncle, a medical doctor and his wife, a nurse.
Her background ought to have put her in good stead. But she
began playing truancy in primary school. Her folks were too
busy to monitor and find out what she was up to.
According to her, her class teacher used to send her to hawk
ice cream for her.
“She say she likes me. When I come to school every morning,
she will give me key and send me to her house to go and sell
ice cream”, she recalled. One day. She perhaps realized
she was doing the wrong thing and refused to sell ice cream
for her teacher.
The teacher, a mother of a child in the same class with Eky
got angry and punished her. Enraged, Eky organised some Area
Boys and waylaid her teacher. The youths not only beat her
black and blue but stripped her bare. Her teacher headed for
police station, Eky took-off from home and hasn’t gone
back, or go to where her relations will find her. She told
Saturday Sun, she ran for fear of being arrested and punished.
Sex slave
Wumi’s uncle brought her to Lagos. He promised her parents
he would enrol her in a good school and ensure she got a sound
upbringing. But on getting to Lagos, Wumi’s uncle turned
her into a sex slave. He neither enrolled her in any school
nor bothered about her future. He kept her at home and raped
her repeatedly.
The 16-year-old former JSS 3 student was soon sent out to
solicit for money and give financial returns to her so-called
uncle. Feeling let down by her parents and uncle, Wumi scampered
out of her uncle’s hold and began fending for herself
by sleeping around. Her new benefactors found her in a small
bed space at Patience Hotel, on Adesina Street, Ikeja, Lagos.
Dream job
Tina says she was a good girl until her friend, Nkoyo visited
her home in Port Harcourt. “I lived there with my parents
until one day Nkoyo came with plenty of good gowns, trousers
and photo of a big super market where she say she dey work”.
As Tina told Saturday Sun, she dropped out of school and came
with her friend for the easy, dream job in a big supermarket
as a cashier in Lagos. Two years ago, Tina abandoned the comfort
of her home and came to Lagos with Nkoyo, an older girl who
grew up in her neighbourhood in Port Harcourt.
She was shocked when her high-flying friend took her to a
run-down hotel in Agege, a Lagos suburb. Nkoyo kept a blind
eye as some ruffians forced their way into their hotel room
and raped Tina in turns. “Those men are bad. They raped,
beat and even stole our money and things”, she said,
making herself comfortable on the dinning chair of the ladies
who has now given her a fresh start. She is now an apprentice
hair dresser.
What manner of women
After two years of rescuing underaged whores, Victoria and
her friend, Ada are now trying to register an NGO. They simply
call it, the Good Sisters Project. They want a half-way house,
a hostel for the grils and oodles of money to re-tool, rehab
and re-direct the girls. By the way, Ada is a theatre artist.
She graduated from University of Benin in 1992. She later
did a post graduate course in management at University of
Calabar, Cross River State. She was born about three decades
ago in Akwa, Anambra State. She also has interest in events
management.
Victoria is a writer. Her debut poetry collection Hymns and
Hymens was published last two years. She is the naitonal deputy
general-secretary of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA).
Born in Kaduna State, Victoria recently resigned from Mama
Cass as special assistant to the company’s CEO, to get
into politics.
She is gunning for the House of Representatives in Jaba/Zango
Kataf constituency. She wants to improve the lot of Nigerian
women and ensure that government implement good policies.
“A community dies when its people have no system to
preserve and progagate its values, culture and centres of
learning”, she reflected.
How it began
Theirs is a project founded in friendship. They both used
to worship at Kings Heritage Church at Soji Adepegba Street,
Off Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos. a mutual friend, Sharon Ogbang
introduced them.
Seeing tender, vulnerable teenagers clustering Allen Avenue,
soliciting openly for men, gave them concern. “We wept
at first and later resolved to do something. Some are tough,
especially the older ones. They rain curses on you and tell
you to mind your busienss. But we are not bothered. Those
girls need help”, she said.
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