Saturday, January 10, 2015
News Man
Commercial sex workers in the country under the aegis of the National Association
of Nigerian Prostitutes, NANP, have thrown their weight behind the
Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Gen. Muhammadu
Buhari.NANP said He would declare a-three day free sex across the
country if president Jonathan eventually loses the seat to Gen.
Muhammadu Buhari of APC.
A statement signed by the group’s General Secretary, Jessica Elvis noted
that NANP was not happy with Jonathan’s government over the way
commercial sex workers were being treated in the country since he
assumed office as the
first citizen.
Recall that the group had in 2013 declared one-week free sex after the
Super Eagles defeated Burkina Faso to lift the AFCON trophy after almost
20 years. It described Jonathan’s government as the worst in the history of Nigeria, saying that it recorded the lowest income during his tenure.
The statement also quoted Elvis as saying that several approaches to the presidency to legalize prostitution were turned down.
Abraham who heads the Nigerian chapter of African Sex Workers Alliance
(ASWA) and the Women of Power Initiative (WOPI), led the protests with
demonstrators wearing T-shirts screaming “Sex work is work, we need our
rights”.
“We are tired of dying in silence; we want to be able to practice our
profession with pride like every other person. We want an end to
name-calling and stigmatisation. We are sex workers and not asawo [a
derogatory Yoruba name for prostitutes]”, She told Aljazeera.
“Sex work is normal work and there are sex workers everywhere under one
form of disguise or the other. The government should stop criminalising
our work”, she further said.
Backing Abraham’s point, Elvis said for failing to legalize
prostitution, the group would not support Jonathan for a second term.
“We sent a proposal to the government in March 2, 2012, almost a year
after Jonathan was fully elected as president of Nigeria on the need to
legalize prostitution. That was when our late president, Micah Ejoyo was
alive, but the presidency rather declared war on us by arresting some
members on the street of Abuja.
“Most of them are students who are using the job to pursue their
education. We all cannot work in Aso Rock, NNPC or Shell. We don’t rob
people. We are using our endowment to fend for ourselves. We deserve to
be respected. Enough of this hypocrisy because even Jonathan and his
team are not saints.”
Speaking further, the statement as obtained by DAILY POST on Friday enjoined all members of the association to come out en mass come February 14 to vote out Jonathan from Aso Rock.
We are calling on all our members and every Nigerian in particular to
join the march. No to Jonathan! Because under Jonathan’s government, we
lost over 400 members in the north to the Boko Haram insurgency and we
are not ready to lose anybody again. We would be declaring a three-day
free sex if God eventually sends Jonathan out of Aso Rock. You can count on us. We did it before and we can do it again. Enough is enough,”
