Naira scarcity: Sex workers in Kogi reject transfer, introduce POS

Sex workers in Kogi State say they are not left behind in the biting scarcity of naira notes in Nigeria.

Inquiries by Track News show that they now carry POS to avoid being defrauded by their customers when they do bank transfer.

Since the Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN) announced February 10, 2023, as the deadline for the swap of old naira notes to new naira notes, many Nigerians have found it hard to do transactions, even though they have money in their bank account.

The naira became an emergency gold in Nigeria, as anyone in custody of the new 500 and 1000 notes is treated like a king.

Just as many people in the country, including residents of Kogi State are obeying President Muhammadu Buhari’s pronouncement on the usage of new naira notes, business owners, including sex workers (prostitutes) have now opted to collect transfer or use POS machines to sustain their businesses in Kogi.

In Lokoja, some of the popular hot spots where prostitutes gather between 7:30 PM in the evening to do their business are Nigeria Television Authority, (NTA), roundabout, Jackins, Nigeria Union of Journalists, (NUJ) road and 16 Hours drinking spot.

Other prominent spots where sex workers gather in Lokoja include Lounge 1, in Phase one Lokoja, Federal Medical Center, (FMC), road, Ganaja Junction by flyover, Felele axis, and many more.

In these flash points, the sex hawkers wait for their customers to patronise them, with both parties agreeing on an amount before sex.

It was gathered that, in these areas, some of the sex hawkers who do not have a specific hotel, or their customers can’t afford one, decide to have quick sex outside in a dark place.

In a chat with one of the sex workers in Jackins, identified as Zarah, (not real name) she explained to Track News that she has been in the business for more than one year.

According to her, she lost her parents and does not have anyone who will cater for her needs, hence she decided to go into prostitution business.

When asked how she is sustaining her trade with the naira scarcity quagmires, Zarah responded, “it is not easy at all. It is difficult to buy food or even do anything because of this naira scarcity. We just have to come here every day to try our luck so that we can get something to eat on a daily basis.

“If I don’t sell my body, how will I get food or pay my bills? I am an orphan who has nobody to run to. Any person I meet, especially men, they will want to have my body. So I had no choice than to go into this. For now, if I can’t get physical cash, my customer will transfer. If I see an alert, then we go into business”.

Scarcity of Customers

The sex workers lamented over the scarcity of customers in the last two weeks. According to them, since the issue of naira scarcity, their customers have continued to drop on a daily basis. A sex hawker in NUJ road, Queen, who spoke to Track News said she hardly makes half of what she earned before.

Queen, who noted that she is still finding it difficult to come to terms with the cashless policy introduced by the Federal Government, said she hardly gets two or three clients in a day.

“I don’t trust the cashless policy we are into right now because it does not favour me and my business. Before now, I normally had at least eight men before daybreak. But right now, it is hard to even see two.

“They keep saying they don’t have cash but transfer. I don’t have a bank account, so how will I now receive transfers for my business? This is really hurting my business, I must tell you. As I speak to you, I normally collect N2000 for a short time, while for daybreak, depending on the client, I collect nothing less than N7,000. But now my brother, things have changed. If I see who will give me physical cash, I normally collect N500 for a short time and N3,000 for daybreak