Isaac Anumihe, Abuja
Far from the original purpose of providing parking space for federal civil servants and the public, Abuja’s Eagle Square Car Park has now become a huge market where clothes, phones, and even herbal drugs are displayed.
Also, food vendors have capitalised on the massive crowd the place boasts of daily to provide relaxation spots where workers, residents and visitors converge to unwind and entertain themselves with wine, beer and food.
Not left out in the scramble for their own share are women of easy virtue, who, in their bid to share in the riches of Abuja, approach virtually every male visitor for a sex romp.
They walk seductively towards a visitor with a sex-enhancing drug and assure him of great sexual performance after using the drug.
If they discover that you are an unwilling buyer, they offer themselves for a test to prove the efficacy of their drugs.
It is either you provide a ‘testing ground’ or they would take you to their own ground.
Most men have fallen victim to this tactic and have bought drugs they did not bargain for.
The drug is sold for N500, without sex, but with sex the least charge is N1,000, depending on one’s bargaining power.
Many civil servants, consultants and contractors who regularly visit the Federal Secretariat have fallen prey to this sexual snare.
Adamu (not real name) told Abuja Metro that the ladies were very daring and would not take no for an answer.
He claimed that he worked for one of the ministries in the federal secretariat. One day, he said, as he was about parking his car, one beautiful lady came to him. In a low tone, she did a sales pitch of the drug. As he looked at the lady, he was charmed and consented to all that she told him. When the lady discovered that he has compromised, she opened the door of the and he drove off. Before he knew what was happening the lady took him to a hotel in Wuse. The hotel, he said, was a familiar ground for the lady as they did not pay any money for the room.
“It’s like the room had been reserved for the girl because we just walked past and entered the room. I will never fall so cheap again,” he said.
Another man, Ebenezer (surname withheld), said that when one of the ladies introduced the drug to him, he told her that he did not know if it would work. But the lady told him that she was available for testing.
“Suddenly, she hopped into my car. I was so annoyed that I told her to get out of my car. When she saw that I was serious, she left.
“Those ladies think that they can entice every man with their eyes and breast. She knew that she met a different kind of man because not all men can fall victim to them,” he said.
When Abuja Metro tried to know the views of women on the issue, a resident, Esther, said that it was a debasement of womanhood that ladies would seduce men on the pretext of selling drugs. She blamed men who fell prey to the seduction tricks, saying, if the ladies did not get patronage, their business would collapse.
Condemning the act, Aisha, a worker in an outfit near the park, called on the authorities to move in and arrest the situation because it does not portary the government in good light.
Eagle Square , which was constructed in 1999 to serve as the platform for the official take-off of the Fourth Republic of the Federation of Nigeria, has a car park attached to it, which accommodates the cars of all government functionaries.
However, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, as FCT Minister, commercialised and opened up the car park to the public.
Since then, apart from providing the primary arena for cars, the park now accommodates vendors of all sorts, including sex workers.
But Eagle Square continues to serve as a symbol of the transfer of power and inauguration of the new government, notably the swearing-in of the Executive President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
It is used for hosting the National Day as well as staging a number of political rallies/programmes, religious crusades/rallies, musical concerts/shows, launchings and award ceremonies.
Eagle Square is conveniently set within the precincts of the major landmarks of the Federal Capital Territory; it is flanked on both sides by the Federal Secretariat, while it faces the national cenotaph, the National Assembly, and the Supreme Court.
It has a fabulous view of the Aso Rock Hills that serve as a backdrop to the Presidential Villa, while to its rear is a parking lot capable of holding at least 500 vehicles.