OAU, UNILAG Students Speak On Prostitution

Prostitution in Nigerian campuses has come to stay except
God intervenes. Pm News Campus Square went about to ask some students why they
think prostitution is so rampant on campuses and what they think can be done to
curb it and here’s what they have to say…

“Prostitution in our tertiary institutions is a trade that
has grown to the extent that it demands serious attention from the government.

“It is a business which the culprits are sometimes not
ashamed of. Prostitution is something that the government should really look
into.

“But at the same time I am not surprised by the negligence
of the government because when you investigate those patronising these young
students, you will find out that they are our so-called senators, and
government officials.

“They (government officials) are the ones that throw the
parents of these students into abject poverty and at the same time destroy
their children.

“Also, parental role should not be pushed aside because good
upbringing is also crucial in curbing prostitution. Poor parental care pushes
students into prostitution. Because their parents can’t afford financial
support, they tend to venture into prostitution to survive.

“The government is not helping at all with the level of
unemployment and also high cost of going through our tertiary institution.

“To curb prostitution in our tertiary institutions, there
should be law prohibiting prostitution on campuses. Those who indulge in it
should be arrested. This will deter those who want to venture into the trade, ”
the first student Akorede said.

Adediran Bukunmi, a student of the Obafemi Awolowo
University, OAU said: “some OAU girls have PhD in prostitution. Archy, Motion
Ground, Ajose, First Bank are some of the ‘mini-hotels’ we have on OAU campus.

“You find condoms, pants and sometimes blood early in the
morning if you pass through these areas. You see ‘lovers’ hanging around this
love spots at night, many even go further to make love in these places as they
are often very few people around at the time.

“Anglomoz is the mother of ‘mini-hotels’ where ‘big boys’
come to pick up the willing ladies. Some have even been recognized by the cars
they bring as they do not miss the rendezvous every night.

“Their activities reduce during exam period. Honestly, I am
indifferent about it. I really do not care what they do with their lives.”

“The practice of dating older men for money has taken over
Nigerian schools by female students who so much desire to live a life beyond
what their parents can provide for them,” Jerry Adeyemi said.

”Prostitution on our campuses is no longer news. But it is
difficult to pin point who to put the blame on. Is it the campus girls or their
patrons?” he queried.

A senior lecturer with one of the universities in Lagos who
pleaded anonymity, told our reporter that the issue at hand is beyond
university students as there are many young ladies who engaged in street
prostitution parading themselves as students thereby mingling with students.

According to Bashorun Aminat of the University of Lagos, “I
don’t think it is seen as prostitution any longer. The issue is that basically,
girls here are after the tall, cute guy who can pay their bills and must have a
car. That is very important.

“The girls do not hesitate once such a guy approaches them.
If he has a car then they are good to go. A case happened last semester when
some girls left the hostel in the evening and told their roommates that they
wanted to stroll out just within the school premises.

“A report was brought later the next day that the three
friends were involved in a serious car accident in which one of them died.

“They come to pick them with cars or they take cab to their
destination and when they return the next day, they come back big with a huge
intimidating amount of money and they flaunt it for all to see.

“We are in deep trouble in this country if urgent step is
not taken to address this crisis. But, the question is; who will provide the
platform for such reforms to take place, when it was the same politicians,
political office holders, bureaucrats, and some traditional rulers that are the
major promoters of such illicit business in the first place.”

Seun, another respondent averred that, “campus prostitution
is a general malaise in our institutions today. It is of two sides; lecturers
wooing students and students flirting with lecturers for favour.

“Morals are of no use to the lecturers as all they want is a
piece of the cake instead of standing as a pillar to uphold morals.”

Education is supposed to be 360 degrees in a student’s life,
which should consist of moral teaching, character building and motivational
teaching. But the reverse is the case in our dear nation.

Though it is difficult to pin down the exact year campus
prostitution started, it has been widely acknowledged that it started in full
swing in the 90s.