(Modest Thoughts with Ayuba, Yilgak'ha, July 1, 2023; 08116181263)
Prostitution is one of the age old problems of man. Though an underground or shadow practice in many countries, it is estimated in the report of Foundation Scelles (2016) in Encyclopaedia Britannica (2023) that, globally, there are between 40 - 42 million people practicing commercial sex out of which between 8 - 8.42 million were thought to be men. In Nigeria, the estimate of women who are into transactional sex is put at 103,506 as reported UNAIDS in 2019 and the number is counting.
In Plateau state, there are no short of prostitutes in major towns, especially, the Jos Bukuru metropolis. A drive around old airport junction, Hill Station Junction, Gada Biu-Zaria road, Double-Dollar, Bukuru express, etc. will convince anyone of how bad the situation has become in the highly religious state capital.
Basically, prostitution is the practice of engaging in sexual activity for payment. The phenomenon, also called "hook up" in local jargon, is a form of disservice to one's self and humanity. It is evidence of poor value judgement which seeks to pursue wealth through unacceptably lazy and leisure means rather than hard but legitimate means. This has a destructive repacaution as contained in the book of Proverbs 21:25: "The desire of a lazy man kills him, for his hands refuse to labour."
Against the erroneous insinuation that prostitution is better stealing, the practice of transactional sex is a dent on human progress. It is a demeaning orientation that does not project human dignity. It is dehumanising, degrading, immoral and perversed means of survival which can be ranked side by side with criminal tendencies like drug abuse; pornography, trafficking in persons, contrabands, bunkering, etc.
No legitimate economy can be created or made from these rotten moral enterprises called prostitution. To be under any of the underground ventures and feel comfortable is to be under a subtly toxic, corrosive and destructive spell which erodes one's personal dignity and pride in the community of people, that is, if the practitioner(s) survive it; otherwise, it kills outright!
Prostitution is a degrading adventure. It creates an elicit and unlawful economy which is not tax worthy. It is a broad way to pleasure but gateway to shame. It is a runway to pleasure but crumbling and shortest distance to the grave.
Prostitutes are naked. No matter the quality of fabric they wear, the clothes have holes and their nakedness is evident. The simple reason is that many including nerds, dirty people both in character and physical appearance.
One of the major problems with prostitution is not prostitution itself but patronage. Prostitution sets a profound problem: Why is it that a practice so thoroughly disapproved, so widely outlawed in western civilisation, can yet flourish so universally?, Asked a sociologist Kingsley Davis in an article titled, 'The sociology of Prostitution'.
Like all other illicit ventures such as the sell and consumption of hard drugs (doing drugs) or endulging in criminal activities such as armed robbery, cybercrime, smuggling, cultism, examination malpractices, Rape, etc, prostitution is a dangerous gateway and point of contact to hydra-headed social problems like addiction, Sexually transmitted Diseases (STDs), etc. A prostitute is an untamed possibility in crime and an active suspect in the act of aiding and abading criminals or criminality.
Even though, men can be prostitutes, prostitution is associated more with the female folks. It is a misguided and dishonest activity that is tended toward messing up the practitioners in the most subtle manner. In the words of Oliver, a contact on my phone, dated June 30, 2023, "Once you place your value on money as a lady, there are men who are willing to pay just to mess you up. There is no honest way to state the obvious than this. The prostitute gets the money but the expense of her human dignity!
Prostitution for all intents and purposes is a profile in reversed civilisation. It is a moral disorientation that tends to make a jest of the collective sensibilities of humans. The practice of it can only make sense within the realm of 'animal spirits, that is, randomness which cannot be explained. The irony is that even animals do not indulge in it.
Prostitution is a bestial social order. It is an activity of altered species of mankind who are bereft of the capacity to create value. It is socially unacceptable service of perishing folks who do not want to die alone. Indeed, prostitution is a drag net toward eternal demnation. It is a crusher on one's self worth.
Having x-rayed prostitution for what it true means, there is need for reorder and reorientation among females folk who are into it or contemplating a trial. Here is a profound counsel from "The Female Hustlers", a female social media platform which focuses on promoting the dignity of women in the social space: "Find yourself... Don't be a female with no sense of direction, thinking of nothing but looking good, turning up and seeking a man. Don't ever be the type of girl who is worth nothing more than just a pretty face and body to lust for and sleep with. Increase your value and preserve it." Reading and meditation on this counsel could help a great deal.
Understood, those engaged in commercial or transactional sex will obviously cite economic frustrations for it but the excuse is not morally and economically correct. For emphasis sake, it should be recalled that there is no legitimate economy in prostitution but an illicit drain legit economy of gullible me. Prostitution is a dubious massage on the drive towards vain orgies. It is a morally cheap armed robber which stripped weak men of their sense of personal honour and discipline.
Difficult times could trigger desperate tendencies or actions in men but it can be managed with strong character. Hear what John Maxwell has to say: "A difficult time can be more readily endured if we retain the conviction that our existence holds a purpose - a cause to pursue, a person to love, a goal to achieve!"
When a man is strong willed and character stable, he must stand for upper ends in his fragile life. In this light, John Foster has this to say: "He who would do some great thing in this short life, must apply himself to the work with such a concentration of his forces as to the idle spectators, who live only to amuse themselves, looks like insanity." This means that lazy and dubious practices prostitution is a failure of reason, focus and the will to dare to achieve great things through hard work.
The most honourable thing to do in trying times is to always learn to adjust and face the difficult situations in the most responsibly decent manner not to concede to weak and regrettable actions. On this one Zig Ziglar counsels as follow: "When obstacles arise, you change your direction to reach your goal, you do not change your decision to get there!". The goal is a constant but strategy can change to make it more effective, efficient and, more importantly, morally decent.
If you stand for something, you cannot fall for just anything or everything. There is no place for prostitution in the kingdom of sane and hard working people. Only the lazy and morally derailed minds do that and I hope the one reading this is not or should not be one, no matter the hardship!
