‘I am tired of this job, but God seems to have forgotten me’

In Ekiti State, there are here and there – in the capital city of Ado-Ekiti, in the towns and even in the hinterlands –  hotels and brothels where a certain class of professionals ply their trade.

These professionals residents of the state have been so charitable as to label ‘the midnight stars’.

The euphemism seems overstretched. The  ‘stars’ are actually prostitutes and they don’t limit their practice to only the midnight.

Gone are the days when prostitution was mainly a red-light, nocturnal job; now, those ‘stars’ shine 24 hours a day.

And they come in all shapes and sizes: rising stars (teenagers), shining stars (young, beautiful women and their middle-aged counterparts) and the fallen stars, who are the wizened that have probably been practising the profession for decades but are still stuck in it either because old habits die hard or they have an eternal pact with poverty and failure.

In the Oke-Oniyo area of Ado-Ekiti, a 38- year-old ‘midnight star’ and mother of two children is lamenting her years in the trade and praying not to degenerate into the fallen category. Oyinbo, as she is popularly known in the area, wants out.

Oyinbo would not give her real name, saying she couldn’t be proud to flaunt her identity as a prostitute and was only compelled by cruel fate to be trading away her integrity.

As she narrated, she was once happily married, or so she thought, until her husband travelled abroad six years ago and hasn’t looked back, leaving her and their two children to the vicissitudes of life.

Oyinbo said, “When it was difficult for me to take care of myself and the two children, a friend introduced me to this business. I am into prostitution basically to take care of myself, my children and even some of my family members.

“One of the children is about 22 years old and I have fixed him as an apprentice with an Igbo trader to learn the business rudiments. The second one is eight years old. I had them for my husband out of wedlock and now he is not ready to help me. He has not contacted us for years. He is not calling. When I called, if he picked at all he would just snap he would call back, but he would not.

“He hasn’t sent a kobo since he travelled. My baby was just two years old when he travelled but his father has never sent us even N5.”

Oyinbo, who said she came from a very poor family and grew up in a poor background, lamented there was nobody to turn to for help when the situation became unbearable for her and the children, hence her decision to heed her friend’s advice when she came dragging her into prostitution.

When our correspondent drew her attention to the health and safety implications of the job she has chosen for survival, Oyinbo replied, “I can’t see anybody without the man putting on a condom. And I don’t have sex with any man until he pays me first. I don’t follow men to their homes, although I can agree to lodge with a man in a hotel I consider safe.

“This is part of how I protect myself against the dangers of this job. There are some men who will approach me for sex that I detest, but because I must raise money to take care of my children, I will force myself to meet them.”

The ‘midnight star’ spoke of how the prostitution business has been able to solve her immediate problem.

“It is manageable anyway, because within three years that I took to prostitution, I have been able to relocate my children out of my village to another town. I have rented a room for them and have a househelp who takes care of them.

“I also rented a shop out of the money I have made from this work. I am now looking for money to invest in the business,” she said.

Oyinbo disclosed she travels regularly to visit her children and her own mother, saying, “I stay like two to three months here and then visit them. I have a mother who is old, so I ensure she and my children don’t miss me too much or feel lonely. They are very close to me.”

Oyinbo admitted to be a secondary school drop-out, but argued that happened because of the excruciating challenges of her poor background. She added, “This is why I will do anything to train my children well.”

Despite saying the prostitution business has been paying her bills, Oyinbo expressed her frustration with the practice. “It is hard for me to venture outside this house (brothel). This is not a job that one can boast about, but I need it for now to survive and also take care of my family members. I am tired of this kind of work,” she declared.

When reminded that she claimed to have rented a shop and could have left prostitution and be operating the shop, Oyinbo swore she would ditch prostitution immediately to begin a legitimate business once she got financial assistance. She said she had once learnt catering and would want to do a business along that line.

“I always pray to God to take me out of this immoral job. Some days ago while praying, I had to ask God if He has forgotten me. I need help to move away from here,” she said.

In a sweeping movement with her right hand, Oyinbo stated that most of the women engaged in prostitution in the Oke-Oniyo area have had the same nasty marriage like hers.

“If you count 10 women here doing this job, eight are married women, some still in and moonlighting, while others are separated. They are doing this because they need help financially to take care of their children and family members. Yes, there are some who are in it because of greed and laziness, but not all prostitutes. Some are boxed into it to raise money to start clean businesses,” she said.