Post by omos on Oct 28, 2006 2:01:52 GMT 1
In the past two decades, a phenomenon has emerged in the Edo state of Nigeria. It involves a large number of females from this part of the country facing the rest of the world, especially Europe, with their one and only asset, which is their body. Some concerned people of that part of the country and other Nigerians have frowned upon this. But nevertheless, the phenomenon still prevails.
I decided to take a look at this disturbing trend critically. These females, who are supposed to be giving their state or the country in general a bad name, are actually the real heroes of the land.
Nigeria has the dubious fame of being home to the biggest looters of the world, with corrupt ex-dictators that have siphoned off a considerable amount of government funds, which amounts, since Independence of the country in 1960, to an outrageous approximated 280 billion dollars. This has led to the country being pushed into disarray: poverty, corruption, a system in which nothing works and decay is pervasive.
Imagine a society where people are so poor that they constantly have to go to bed hungry. This is the direct result of the failure of the elite and the government to provide for their people. The majority of Nigerians are poor. Many children can't go to school because their parents cannot afford to send them there. When illness befalls individuals, they often cannot afford medical treatment. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Due to these circumstances, many brave girls have decided to sacrifice their lives in order to provide for their families.
Prostitution is a dirty business. These girls will go through a lot of hardship and suffering. It is not a pleasurable job, which often comes with physical and psychological abuse. Yet, despite all this, they prevail.
Granted, not all Nigerian women who are in a desperate situation will prostitute themselves. The women who get into prostituting themselves abroad are lured into it by the fact that they will make a considerable amount of money while preserving their anonymity through being far away from home. The funds they acquire from their work are then put toward sustaining their family and providing for their needs, a job which government is obviously incapable of. These women have decided to take the well-being of their family into their own hands, and pay the high price of the physical and emotional abuse they will encounter along the way, alongside being frowned and spat upon by others for their endeavours.
Until the Nigerian government is run by leaders who have their people's interests at heart and set out to correct the mismanagement of resources, as well as introduce a functioning social system, these women will continue to sell their bodies to feed their families.
The Nigerians who criticise theses girls should think again. Nigeria is a country rife with corrupt leaders, armed robbers and 419 con artists. Unlike these culprits, prostitutes don't harm anyone with heir trade. What they do is between them and God. Contrary to what most people believe, Edo prostitutes do not even have high rates of HIV/AIDS. But their money does a lot of good in their community: it enables their family members to go to school, build houses, afford healthcare and keeps many people alive.
Edo prostitutes are like soldiers going out to battle in order to save their people. They are heroes, and should be remembered as such.
I decided to take a look at this disturbing trend critically. These females, who are supposed to be giving their state or the country in general a bad name, are actually the real heroes of the land.
Nigeria has the dubious fame of being home to the biggest looters of the world, with corrupt ex-dictators that have siphoned off a considerable amount of government funds, which amounts, since Independence of the country in 1960, to an outrageous approximated 280 billion dollars. This has led to the country being pushed into disarray: poverty, corruption, a system in which nothing works and decay is pervasive.
Imagine a society where people are so poor that they constantly have to go to bed hungry. This is the direct result of the failure of the elite and the government to provide for their people. The majority of Nigerians are poor. Many children can't go to school because their parents cannot afford to send them there. When illness befalls individuals, they often cannot afford medical treatment. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Due to these circumstances, many brave girls have decided to sacrifice their lives in order to provide for their families.
Prostitution is a dirty business. These girls will go through a lot of hardship and suffering. It is not a pleasurable job, which often comes with physical and psychological abuse. Yet, despite all this, they prevail.
Granted, not all Nigerian women who are in a desperate situation will prostitute themselves. The women who get into prostituting themselves abroad are lured into it by the fact that they will make a considerable amount of money while preserving their anonymity through being far away from home. The funds they acquire from their work are then put toward sustaining their family and providing for their needs, a job which government is obviously incapable of. These women have decided to take the well-being of their family into their own hands, and pay the high price of the physical and emotional abuse they will encounter along the way, alongside being frowned and spat upon by others for their endeavours.
Until the Nigerian government is run by leaders who have their people's interests at heart and set out to correct the mismanagement of resources, as well as introduce a functioning social system, these women will continue to sell their bodies to feed their families.
The Nigerians who criticise theses girls should think again. Nigeria is a country rife with corrupt leaders, armed robbers and 419 con artists. Unlike these culprits, prostitutes don't harm anyone with heir trade. What they do is between them and God. Contrary to what most people believe, Edo prostitutes do not even have high rates of HIV/AIDS. But their money does a lot of good in their community: it enables their family members to go to school, build houses, afford healthcare and keeps many people alive.
Edo prostitutes are like soldiers going out to battle in order to save their people. They are heroes, and should be remembered as such.
