As the 2015 presidential election in Nigeria draws near,
Nigerian prostitutes have come out to support General Muhammadu Buhari of APC.
The 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 it 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,”
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