Expensive Sex in Owerri

Expensive Sex in Owerri

Two weekends ago, a certain fraternity held its annual convention in Owerri. There is nothing new about it. The fraternity has been holding them for over forty years now. Thousands of members from all over the world meet up at the convention for drink and songs. Plus, hold discussions tantamount to building castles in the sky. What is most important about it all is the fun of the event.

Before we go further, is prostitution an ill of society or not? Just asking.

The fun was not so sweet this year though. Casual sex is central to the convention. The city that hosts the convention must ensure that as many sex workers as possible make themselves available to visiting members. Owerri is a different kind of city though. Casual sex provided by sex workers is not cheap. Sex costs more on average in Owerri than any other city in Nigeria.

In other parts of Nigeria, the lower prices for sleeping with sex workers is down to the abundance of “risky babes” at such events. Risky babes are often women who are less than desirable or desperate. Being too young is not a problem at all.

In Owerri the girls were desirable in every sense, pretty, well-dressed, well-spoken and brandished top of the range mobile phones. You could find the girls in designated places. All you need to do is walk up to one and haggle the price.

“Hundred K” or one hundred thousand naira was their minimum charge for all night sex. “Fifty K” for a shot. The men were stunned at such a high price. And the way the girls defended the price with dignity.  The price barrier discouraged so many men.  The Nigerian economy is very brutal at the moment. But not all fingers are equal. A few men were able to afford up to two hundred thousand naira a night for two nights. And they made sure others knew about it.

The girls were disappointed. They were told an elite UCGFs’ members would flood Owerri. Elite is often linked with wealth and power. Not in this case. One guy who was haggling twenty thousand naira for a shot was told something interesting. “I thought you guys (calling the UCGFs name) are elites. How comes you are pricing high quality sex like someone buying crayfish in the market.” Illusions often feel like facts.

Where price barriers are high men instinctively look for cheaper options.  In this case too many went for the cheapest choice. Prostitutes with rooms in palm wine bars. Poorly lit spaces where a good look at the woman is unlikely. With lots of alcohol in the men’s system and the psychology of a merry mob, who cares what the women look like.

The usual clients of these women are bus drivers, bus conductors, truck pushers, night watch men, and the like. On a good day, self-proclaimed elites would not patronize sex in palm wine bars. But the price was good; one thousand naira for a shot and eight hundred naira for antibiotics the woman needs to swallow before penetration. Unsurprisingly, the queues of these elite men waiting their turn were long and persistent.

The risk of collecting sickness from such places is high. But alcohol can be trusted to diminish a man’s sense of caution. To these men, it’s fun to have nooky at conventions, remember.

Missing from the convention in Owerri were the seasoned group raters. Group rate is a predatory bargaining tool used to lower the price of sex with a prostitute. Instead of one man paying fifty thousand naira per shot, five men will give the woman a lumpsum of one hundred and fifty thousand naira. Then they form a queue. Thus, each man saves twenty thousand naira. For group rate to work the time must be closer to dawn, desperate hours and the women risky. I doubt it would have worked well in Owerri.

When thousands of men descend on a location with sex on their minds and price barriers spoil their fun the risk of homosexual sex may happen aided with a bit of violence. It is usually kept secret because no man wants to report he was forced and violated.

The next city to host the convention must be vetted and verified to have affordable or budget level sex on offer. And the organisers must not inflate the attendees’ status. That pushes up the price.

Till next year. Neither the demand for nor supply of sex workers at these events will diminish in future.

Be good, not lucky.