TOPIC TODAY: Is the ladies selling wares under "Umbrella a Front for prostitution" a sign of a dying economy, a shameful social menace, or just a dangerous survival tactic?

SCENE: A Bar in Ikeja. Jide is looking out at the street where women are packing up their small umbrellas for the day.
​JIDE (Reflectively):
​I just found another "social business miracle" in our city. Have you guys noticed the ladies sitting under umbrellas at the motor parks, warehouses and markets? They sell small things - electrical materials, electronics, secondhand clothes, or socks. The whole shop isn't even worth 50,000 Naira.
​NNE (Shrugging):
​Everyone is hustling, Jide. 50k is a lot of money to some people.
​JIDE (With a satirical smile):
​Ah, but the wares are just a front. The real business is the "oldest profession." Their customers don't come for the goods displayed. They come to book a "Delivery" - that’s for a quickie. Or they book a "Lodging" - that’s for the whole night. The umbrella is just a signal.
​OLA (Angrily):
​This is a total social menace! It’s disgusting. We used to know where to find "those" women. Now, they are everywhere, pretending to be traders. They are teaching our young girls that you can’t make it by just selling genuine goods. It's a lie and a shame to our markets.
​JENNIFER (Tapping her pen):
​Actually, Ola, it’s a sign of a broken economy. When a woman can’t pay her rent by selling genuine wares, she adds a "hidden service." In sociology, we call this "informal survival strategies." It’s happening because the cost of living in 2025 has pushed people to the edge of the cliff.
​AMARA (Looking worried):
​My concern is safety. Think about it. These girls are going to meet strangers in hotels or "lodgings" based on a few minutes talk or old acquittance. No security, no protection. This "delivery" business is a trap for human trafficking and violence. It’s not just a menace; it’s a danger zone.
​NNE: ​But what can they do? If the government can't provide jobs and the price of food is 400% higher than last year, people will find a way. Is it better to starve or to do "delivery"?
​JIDE:
​The problem is that once the girls are used to the "front" and it becomes more popular than the "real business," no one will believe the honest girl selling under her umbrella anymore. We are killing the dignity of small businesses.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SCAVENGERS’ ORGY By OZIOMA IZUORA : EXPOSING THE CRAVINGS OF MEN AND THEIR FANTASIES

‘Scavengers’ Orgy,’ explores the role of customs in communities, in range of behaviour from taken for granted traits, deeds and actions; from child bequeathal, marriage, rape to all manners of exploitations and manipulations. Ozioma documents the shenanigans by individuals and organizations as they crisscross Nigeria to Europe and North America; identifying, exposing and amplifying associations and relationships that may not be obvious to casual readers. ‘Eyes glued to the mirror, Beatrice gauges the effect of the clingy black top she has just pulled over her black bra. It hangs over her short jeans skirt, revealing a wee bit of the alluring flesh of her tight abdomen. She screw up her eyes to better appreciate the effect of her apparel on her prospective audience…she is after all, the prize that has attracted all the attention. Normally she does not mind parading herself, a sinecure of inquisitive eyes, but not for these unpolished rural skunks. For three days, she has felt he...
Read more

WHY WOMEN WON'T GO TO HEAVEN

By DUL JOHNSON 1. I want to start from the very beginning – the opening; What does a reader want in an opening? First is to have the writer introduce the main character(s) and intimate something about the situation she/they are in-i.e the conflict that will provide dramatic twine for the story; (2) to get us interested and involved; and (3) to do it all in a timely fashion, i.e. it stops being an opening as soon as possible and gets on with the story.... ‘WHY WOMEN WON’T MAKE IT TO HEAVEN’ succeeded in doing just that...it introduces us to the characters, showed us where they were, and showed that they’ve gotten concerns or problems. And it does all these in the first page; starting with a long paragraph and quick five short paragraphs. After this, the story is up and running as the conflicts between a husband and his wife, then similar issues between other husbands and their wives escalates with disastrous consequences. The second story is more leisurely, comparably. Reading throug...
Read more

TENANTS OF THE HOUSE

BY WALE OKEDIRAN The historical real-life tale in the ‘Tenants of the House’ will come alive for all those who were fortunate to witness the shenanigans that went with similar attempt few years back; as in the ‘Tenants of the House,’ there was an impeachment procedure instituted against the Speaker of the House of Representative, spear headed by the president, then there was a successful fight back, but then, this was followed immediately by an attempt to institute constitutional amendment for tenure prolongation through the back door which caused an uproar and,...finally, a counter impeachment procedure instituted by the the two houses against the president. The book’s uncontested star is ofcourse, the president; a Chief Ambrose Oneya, a caricature; sloppy, foul-mouthed chief executive whose only ways to do things was to stampede everyone into doing whatever he wanted done, done his way and who never believed, until he was humiliatingly humbled, that Nigerian and Nigeria as a c...
Read more