‘I’ve not eaten for 2 days’: Sex workers decry poor patronage over protest

Commercial sex workers in Kano have appealed to the organisers of the nationwide protest against economic hardship to engage the Federal Government in dialogue.

The sex workers said the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest which commenced on August 1, 2024, had crippled social-economic activities, leaving them without customers and struggling to survive.

Monica James, who operates on France Road in Kano, said dialogue was the only option to address the grievances of the protesters.

“I have not eaten for two days because of the curfew; our customers are nowhere to be found,” James said on Thursday, August 8.

She urged the organisers to shelve the nationwide protest and negotiate with the government to end the demonstration.

A sex worker on Yoruba Road, Deborah Iliya, who reechoed James’ statement, described the situation as horrible, saying she has not been able to find customers for days.

Protest: Kano govt relaxes 24-hour curfew

Hannatu Ibrahim of Weather head area also called for an end to the protest, joining the growing calls for a return of normalcy.

A sex worker operating from a brothel on Enugu Street in the Sabon Gari area of Kano, Caroline James, said the infiltration of hoodlums and subsequent violence “spoilt our business”.

James disclosed that she had booked clients who were willing to pay between N30,000 and N40,000, adding that they were unable to keep their appointments due to the tension and curfew in Kano.

A sex worker, who preferred to remain anonymous, said some of her colleagues were forced to share rooms due to the lack of customers during the protest.

She appealed to the authorities to relax the curfew, stating that it had severely impacted their ability to conduct business.

Also speaking, a bar attendant, Moses John, said the curfew had severely impacted business activities in Sabon Gari, with hotels and bars hardly selling due to the absence of customers.

A dealer in Esi Ewu (goat head) on Aitken Road, Kenneth John, told NAN that the curfew had negatively impacted business activities in Sabon Gari, lamenting that he had lost several heads of goats due to lack of power supply.

The Star