By RITA OKOYE and AMEH COMRADE GODWINSome Nigerians consider homosexuality of the male type stuffs of fables. But in recent times, gays have been coming out of the closets and are becoming more daring in their overtures, especially on the social media such as Facebook, 2go, and Whatsapps chat-enabled applications common to many mobile devices.
For those with their ears to the ground, rumblings and rumours about gays and their damned activities are becoming ramparts in the city of Lagos so much so that discerning members of the public can now pinpoint some of the locations where they use as rendezvous for pick-up or meet-up.
A Sunday Express investigations came up with credible findings that indicate that a cluster of hangouts at Maza-maza, a densely populated area at Mile Two along the Badagry express way is currently the beehive of gay activities. Other gay enclaves include Agric and Festac, two outlying locations along the same axis.
In the course of the investigation, Sunday Express encountered a gang of four young men who could be referred to as “gay busters” based on their confrontational encounters with the “men of sodomy.” Johnson, Peter, Cletus and Ebuka (all students) who constituted themselves into an anti-gay club shared their experiences with SE reporters. Their experience is an aperture on the pervasiveness of this sexual cankerworm that is gradually corroding the fabric of the society.
Cletus started with his personal encounters with a gay stalker.
“I am a fun-loving guy. I often go to hang out in notable hotels in Festac town during the weekend just to watch entertainers perform. But to my utmost dismay, most of the guys there started making sexual advances at me.”
The twenty-something-year old continued: “These are guys who ought to have pretty girls by their sides. One in particular was quite persistent. He is a famous Igbo gospel artiste-cum-actor, fair-complexioned, he acts and sings like a woman. He calls me with such endearment as “baby, my love,” and “sweetheart.” I was embarrassed because it was so unromantic coming from a fellow guy.”
When Cletus failed to take the bait, the artiste raised the stake by promising him a smartphone, a N100, 000 cash one night stand and a tour with him to other states where he was billed to perform.
“When he was becoming obsessive with his calls and requests even at ungodly hours, I had to call him to order, by threatening to report him to the press if he doesn’t stop his incessant harassments,” he narrated.
Peter’s case was not so different from that of Cletus. He was consistently harassed on 2go and Whatsapp, two mobile phone chat applications popular among youths.
For Peter, the most maddening part of the episode was the noisome habit of one of the gays who likes sending him pictures of his erect manhood and other exposed parts of his body and also prompting him to do same, after his promise of cash and other enticing material things failed.
“In the course of our chat,” Ebuka, recalled his encounter with a Facebook gay, “he confessed to have been in the act for over 10 years. Though he has a girlfriend, he hardly feels aroused whenever she’s around him or touches him. Instead he feels a sensual chemistry for fellow men and easily gets aroused when he feels a sensual touch of a male on his body.”
In retrospect Ebuka reflected: “If I wasn’t careful enough, I would have fallen into his snare. I must confess, his offer was really enticing. And a student like me could do with such support. Another sad thing about these gays, is that they like luring young and under age guys living around Mazamaza and its environs.”
From these thrust-and-parry encounters with gays, the four young men found a common calling: punishing gays. They formed an anti-gay club in their neighbourhood. Subsequently, they set up some gays using a hotel located at Satellite town.
Ebuka reconstructed one of their outings: “There was this particular fellow who was disturbing me for months. I informed my friends about it and we agreed to teach him a lesson. I finally accepted his overtures and I invited him to come around. I told him to meet me at a particular hotel where we have already booked for a room. He came from Coker, close to Orile Iganmu. When he arrived he paid for the room. Inside the room, I told him that my service fee would cot him N50, 000. After haggling, we agreed on N20, 000. I insisted he took a shower and while he was at it I made the bed. In his presence I stripped off my clothes save for my brief. When he saw me, his manhood became erect and he became impatient. He wanted to insert his manhood inside my anus right away but I insisted he take his bathe first. When it was finally time for ‘action,’ I cued my friends and they burst into the room. He was caught ‘pants down, naked. We dealt with him. We seized his cloths. We had wanted to create a scene, by parading him outside in the nude. But he begged us seriously. He claimed he doesn’t know why he prefers making love with male than with the opposite sex. Eventually, we set him free after strong-worded warning.”
Their next encounter was with another “homo” who simply gave his name as Biodun. This man of deviant sexual inclination from a reputable family in Ajah, Lagos, confessed that he was born abnormal. In his late 20s, he admitted that while he has never had sex with the opposite sex, he has had it countless times with boys even while he was still in secondary school.
Biodun, who tried to lure Peter, was described by the latter as “a terrorist on 2go.” His modus operandi was simple: he lures young boys, mostly under-age to his lodge with cash and expensive phones. And those who fell for his wile, were sodomized. But with Peter, he met a homophobe, who together with his friends were on an anti-gay mission. They framed him too, inviting him to the N4000 per room hotel at Satellite Town. Boxed into a corner, Biodun was not only beaten, would have been pushed into the street naked. But after a session of serious begging, he was allowed to go but minus his valuables, notably his high-end blackberry.
Girly voices, girlish gait, dandy dressing and over-the-moon reaction to well-built guys – these are the tell-tales signs of a gay, but these four young men are of the opinion that finding a gay now is as simple as abc. “Just go to any cheap hotels and popular hang outs, even clubs where plenty men dey,” Ebuka averred, “If you stay long, dem go come to you, especially in this our Mazamaza area. The government should urgently do something before these gays begin to kidnap, rape and initiate more young boys, especially defenceless under-age.”
