Unusual crossover – The Sun Nigeria

By Chuks Wale-Bello 

For most Nigerians –Christians and Muslims alike- the night of December 31 each year is an unusual night. It is a sober, solemn night that must be spent in the house of God. No other place would do. Some even spend the entire day praying and fasting, meditating on how the outgoing year had fared, and spiritually projecting into the New Year.

For many, all pleasures of the flesh – sex liquor, smoking – are placed on hold, even if such pleasures would be recalled sometime in January.   

Between the hours of 8pm and midnight, not a few Nigerians would be holed up in religious homes, praying to God with all the energy they could muster, seeking peace, good health and prosperity in the New Year.

So when anything bordering on the bizarre takes place, and some people decide to against the norm, it becomes news. That was happened between the night of Saturday December 31 2022 and the morning of Sunday January 1 2023 in some parts of Lagos. 

On that night in Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre, some nonconformists ushered in the new year in weird ways. Such people include street urchins, touts and hooligans (known more in popular parlance as area boys), prostitutes, commercial motorcycle operators and cult members.

While some others celebrated the good luck of crossing over from the old year 2022 into the 2023 with fireworks and joyful greetings, these ones took it a notch higher in bizarre manners.

Night of the weed smokers

It has been explained that the fireworks used to send away the old year and usher in the new was invented by the Chinese to supposedly ward off the evil spirits of the old, passing year from crossing over into the new year to continue with their havoc. It is also used to pray for prosperity in the New Year. But at 31 Road Junction, Gowon Estate, Egbeda, Lagos, rough-heads marked the New Year with a weird tradition they referred to as ‘Smokers’ Night.’ It is a tradition during which marijuana smokers converge to test their strength or staying power as to how many wraps of weed they could smoke before being knocked out. A hawker interviewed by this reporter informed that the smokers would start buying wraps of weed from vendors to store for the competition while the day was still young, long before midnight set in.

Then at the set-time, about 15 minutes to midnight, you would see assorted columns of smoke snaking their way into the air from the surrounding corners. Hardened smokers simply took a deep inhalation of them and then exhale them with ecstasy. This comes against a backdrop of wide music beats from a disc jockey who himself also seemed to be high on some mind-bending substance, even as fireworks going off intermittently and painting the dark night sky with bright colours provided some unusual accompaniment to the music. For some, the effect started after three or four wraps. But there were others that went on and on until their brain could no longer take it in. Sometimes, to make the weed wraps have maximum effect, some of the smokers accompanied their marihuana dose with sachets of strong bitters with high alcoholic content.

Prostitutes’ promo: buy one, get one free

On the eve of the New Year, at a popular hotel along Okunola Road, Egbeda, Lagos, commercial sex workers were doing what they called ‘promo.’ They offered themselves to ready clients at half the usual price. Some called it buy-one, get-one-free promo. And many randy men looking for fun grabbed the opportunity with their two balls. Going topless in order to attract ogling clients was also not frowned at.

On that day, as Lagosians prepared to chase away the old year and welcome the new, in a blaze of fireworks and wild drumming and dancing, business started at the hotel, at about 11 pm. From that time, men started flocking into the foyer of the hotel like sheep without a shepherd. The girls who claimed to be doing a ‘promo’ explained that that they were doing that to usher in the New Year.

As men took their seats, they bought drinks for themselves and for girls that caught their fancy.  Then they got into talks with their catches before standing up to go and enjoy themselves somewhere. Earlier before this time, some prostitutes who had attended to some clients before midnight were seen rushing to the bathrooms to have their baths, before rushing out with their handbags to take part in the crossover service going on at a nearby Pentecostal church.

But when this reporter returned at about 1am, he found out that the hotel bar been turned into an open market-like scene, with strippers performing their first nude acts of the year and some hookers still holding on to the arms of their male clients. 

One of the call girls joked in Pidgin English that she was just returning from church with New Year blessings. She asked a client why he would watch such blessings pass him by when he could easily pay a token and collect his blessings before others would take all the blessings she brought away.

Another commercial sex worker called Grace had about seven men waiting for her. A black petite girl, the moment she sighted a client that she had apparently known somewhere, she placed her hand on his right shoulder and started praying and pronouncing New Year blessings on him. After that, she sighted another client and asked him what his New Year resolution was. Then she added that she had made her resolution while having a good time with one of her numerous clients.

Her words: “I had to make the resolution because he didn’t allow me to excuse myself. He said he wanted good luck because I bring him luck. The same thing goes for others. I treat everyone as a lover. They pay not only for sex but for companionship. I started this work because I had to feed my parents in Edo. My husband left for Libya six years ago. His friends came home and lied to me that he would return. But he never did. They didn’t want to help me without sleeping with me. When I saw that help was not coming from anywhere, I gave in. But trouble started for me when my husband’s younger brother came into the house one day, and saw one of his friends on my bed. We used to live in a one-room apartment.  He told everyone. Because of that, they never helped me or my children. That was how I left for Lagos to hustle. To me, any man looking for sex outside his home is looking for peace. So I give them peace and then wish them well.” 

Another girl named Annie claimed to have made a New Year resolution never to get into fight with any of her prostitute-colleague over a customer. She said: “I have seen that most of these girls don’t have a future. I want to get a husband this year and move on with my life. I want to make money and change business. Most of us leave this job after we get married. I will go back to my town and continue my business. I would be selling men’s wear only. Men are good to do business with than women.”

Then turning her attention to the reporter, she snapped: “Bros, this one that you are just asking questions and smoking cigarettes, you no go do? I dey do promo for now. New Year promo is that you pay me small, collect blessing. I just dey return from church. You no go do collect your blessing before your mate come collect am finish?”

Sexy dancers tease bachelors

Besides them, a group of seductively dressed girls entertained a crowd of onlookers with a dance-drama. The girls dressed in their traditional clothes, danced in a circle from where they would reach out their hands, from time to time, to touch some of the men folk watching their performance from the ringsides. The girls were half-dressed as their bellies bearing rings on their belly-buttons heaved up and down as they danced lustily. Mohammed Isa, the head of the group, explained that the dance drama was meant for bachelors, to make them see the need of settling down in marriage. 

He said to the reporter: “We do it every year to remind our people that they need to start life early to have a family. We use the New Year to announce the responsibility that awaits them. The smoke and others are part of the story. The best time to talk to the youth is when and where they are having fun. The more they smoke, the more they hear. The youth reason more when they are allowed to be free.” 

Riding ‘Okada’ into the New Year

Apart from the call girls busy with ‘promo’ services, the rough heads engaged in ‘Smokers Night,’ the sexy all-girls dance group, there was also a motorcycle show staged by commercial motorcyclists to usher in the New Year. In their own case, they would rev the engines of their motorcycles to the highest volume. In their hands, the crazy and dangerous act seemed effortless by them. Then they would hold motorcycles in their hands, turning it at will. Next, they would pass the motorcycles to one another in a jiffy without pausing. You found the expertise they exhibited in this well-choreographed demonstration quite exciting. They did it with beaming smiles knowing full well that they were being watched by curious onlookers who wondered at what “magic” they used in making the motorcycles ‘obey’ their commands with ease. 

Cult members renew covenant of blood

Also on same night, somewhere on Abeokuta Street, off Powerline Street, Egbeda, some young men said to be members of a dreaded cult gathered to renew their covenant of blood. The most senior ones sat in a bar, their tables filled with assorted drinks and eatables. They entertain themselves with local liquor. The money raised was shared among them. But the majority of it was apportioned to the elder who was allowed to bring in guests, especially female ones.

The younger members sat on a pavement directly opposite the bar. Their discussion centred on what their contributions would be towards the celebration of the New Year. Members of the fraternity, old and new, chose the day to celebrate with their members in the area. Most people use the New Year to make good resolutions. But members used it to renew their pledge to continue to brutalise opponents in bloody battles and shootouts. 

Their leader said: “This year we will show them that we own this area. Our bird shall fly high. We have shed blood, tears and there is no more mercy.” Others listened attentively. After the address, some of them walked down the Powerline Street, they pushed out their chests and spread their legs wide to block the wide road. Returning church members from the crossover service carefully and fearfully moved away for them.