people in the country would be living in
fear as a result of a recent law that
criminalises homosexuality in Nigeria,
with the possibility of 14 years
imprisonment.
But Saturday PUNCH investigation
shows that a bar by the roadside in
Agege, Lagos might be offering comfort
to members of this community.
Our correspondent visited the bar.
Aware of how dangerous this kind of
curiosity could be, our correspondent
went under the guise of being a model
looking for where to have fun and also
"organise" young men and women for
his homosexual clients.
The bar, which is located next to a
popular petrol station in the area, brings
to mind the popular saying that the best
way to hide anything is to put it in plain
sight.
Dressed casually to blend with the
crowd, our correspondent learnt on
getting to the bar that a 24-year-old
young man owns and runs the place.
Stoutly built with an average height of
about five feet, the bar owner's (name
withheld) feminine disposition seemed
to suggest that he might be gay.
Still apprehensive about a possible raid,
our correspondent asked if the place
had ever been raided by the police.
"No, my shop is very safe and has not
been raided before," the owner replied.
Outside the bar, left-over decorations
used during the last Christmas hung on
the grey double-leaf metal door
outside.
To any observer, the bar is like any
regular hang-out spot but visitors would
immediately be conscious of the
peculiarity that would suggest that this
might be a gay bar.
Our correspondent learnt that on a good
business day, homosexuality,
prostitution and Indian hemp smoking
thrive in the bar.
But during our reporter's first visit
around 8pm, the pub was not full. It
had just three young men who were in
their early twenties in it, apart from the
owner.
Two of the men seemed to be the bar
owner's friends from the way they
acted, and the fourth, a dark-skinned,
scruffy looking man wearing dreadlocks
sat by the wall, enjoying the music
blaring from the only two speakers in
the pub.
The squalid cubicle-size bar can only
accommodate a table with about ten
chairs arranged round it.
The coloured lights in the bar made it
impossible to determine the colour of
the interior. Even though there was no
television, guests had to manage the
non-stop party music. It was later learnt
that those who could not get inside the
bar stay outside to have their drinks.
The small bar is divided into two
sections, the section is where the drinks
are inner and sometimes used for quick
romance as observed by our
correspondent. The outer part is where
the table and chairs are arranged for
customers to sit and have a good time.
Immediately our correspondent settled
in the bar, the owner came to sit close.
"I think I saw you earlier in the day
strolling around, or was it not you?" he
asked.
"Yes, that was me. I actually noticed
you were looking at me and that's why I
decided to come and hang out here. I
came to see a friend and I would leave
here in some days," our correspondent
said. It was a cue to earn his trust.The
conversation ended there.
Barely five minutes after the brief
conversation, the bar owner astounded
our reporter as he kissed one of his
friends on the mouth before he briskly
went to attend to another male
customer that had just walked in.
When he came back, he sat playfully on
the laps of his friends before finally
settling down in the middle of the two
men.
The young man whom the bar owner
kissed wore a shirt with the inscription
'T-boi Swag.' He stood up and started
dancing seductively. It was not clear
whether the theatrical gesture was for
the benefit of our correspondent or the
bar owner's.
He was at it for a long while before he
finally stopped.
Shortly after, another young man walked
in and ordered a drink. As if jolted from
a long sleep, the scruffy looking dark
skinned guy with the dreadlocks
ordered a can of energy drink, dipped
his hands in his pocket and brought out
a roll of Indian hemp which he smoked
as he drank.
This reporter invited the young man
who came in last to sit with him and
started a conversation to determine if
he was a part of the happenings in the
bar.
He looked puzzled.
"I only came to see a relative around
here and I decided to come here to
have some drinks out of boredom," he
said.
He left shortly after.
Another scenario played out when one
of the young men was eating diced
pineapple. The bar owner asked to be
fed some and when his friend opted to
feed him, he shook his head signalling
that he wanted a mouth-to-mouth
feeding with his friend. Without
hesitation, his friend obliged and a brief
kiss was shared.
Some other three young men walked in,
all 'sagging' their trousers, ordered
drinks and brought out their stash of
Indian hemp. A smoking session soon
began as they puffed on their stuff
freely.
Just when this reporter thought he had
seen it all, a set of four girls dressed in
skimpy and tight-fitting clothes walked
in and greeted the bar owner in a very
familiar manner.
It was later discovered that they were
commercial sex workers. They ordered
some drinks.
Few minutes before this reporter left,
another pair of commercial sex workers
came into the bar.
Our correspondent spent three hours at
the bar.
Before leaving, he called the bar owner
outside for a brief discussion and to get
his phone number. The young man
initially hesitated.
But when the bar owner was told that
there was money to be made if he could
arrange men for orgies for our
correspondent's homosexual clients his
disposition became friendly and
receptive at this point.
He told the reporter that he was also a
make-up artiste and asked where the
reporter was headed.
"I close around 12.30am. When you are
done, you can come and pick me and we
would have a nice time. I will call my
aunt to tell her I am not coming home
tonight," he said.
This reporter never showed up till a few
days later.
The next time our reporter visited the
bar, it was around 1pm, but the bar was
locked.
While pondering on what to do, he
noticed a light-skinned lady staring at
him. Just when he wanted to turn and
leave, the lady and her friend came and
tapped at his car glass, asking if he
wanted to see the bar owner.
"I recognised you from your first visit,"
she said. The ladies got into the vehicle
and took him to the bar owner's house.
The young man came out 10 minutes
later with signs that he must have been
sleeping.
Our correspondent and the bar owner
drove away from the compound.
In the car, both our correspondent and
the bar owner had an extensive talk,
which was secretly recorded.
Our correspondent said he was a model
based in South Africa. The bar owner
was asked to handle the business our
correspondent had told him about
during the previous visit, promising that
he could make between N50,000 and
N70,000.
He was also asked how safe his bar was
for the business as no interruption by
the police would be needed. He said his
bar had never been raided by the police
since he had been running it for about
five years.
The bar owner later opened up on his
life as a gay, his bar and how he
deceived his parents into thinking that
he had a normal sexual orientation.
When asked about the kiss with his
friend, T-boi, he said it was a normal
thing but he was not in a relationship
with the young man. He said that he
was in a relationship with a boy and a
girl. The girl was to serve as decoy to
friends and family, so they won't know
his sexual preference.
He said, "I just kissed him that day but
there is nothing between us. I am in a
relationship with a guy and a girl; both
of them."
He explained that whenever his friends,
the commercial sex workers, wanted to
go out and have a good time with their
customers, his bar was always the first
point of call.
"They come to my bar first, drink,
smoke shisha or weed if they want.
From my bar, they go to their various
destinations," he said.
The bartender said that he also
organised young ladies and men for
interested clients. He said that for
clients with a normal sexual orientation,
he charges between N10,000 and
N15,000. But homosexual clients pay
more.
"Yes, I have girls that can have sex with
other girls. If there is money, they can
do anything. If they want to do two
some, not with lesbians, sometimes
they collect N20,000 or N30,000 for the
night. T-boi, on the other hand, does it
for money. They always give him
money. The guys I have collect about
the same amount. If you give the girls
about N20,000, they would be
interested in being with a lesbian
partner but if it is a normal day that
they are not going to club, you can give
them about N10,000."
He told Saturday PUNCH that he would
rather be with someone who has a
normal sexual orientation and wait till
the person flirts with him than with
someone who already knew he was gay.
The young man said he was more of a
romantic person and would not readily
want to have sex with another man for
money. He, however, said if he needed
the money, he would take it.
He said, "I am always scared when I go
out with a complete stranger. I am
always careful when I meet people for
the first time. I don't know what the
person could be up to; that is why I am
scared.
"I really don't like people that are
openly gay; I prefer people who have a
normal sexual orientation and do not
know about my sexual orientation but
make advances.
"I like them like that, but if people that
are gay like me offer to give me money,
I don't accept it. I would rather
introduce them to another guy. I have
friends that would be interested mostly
because of the money," he said.
He believes that being a homosexual is
his destiny. He said he embraced it
wholeheartedly about three years ago
when he turned 21.
The young man told Saturday PUNCH
that there were tell-tale signs that he
was homosexual when he was young as
he always mingled with the opposite
sex. He said it was his nature and that
was the way he was created.
He said, "While growing up, I was always
mistaken for a girl till I began to grow
beards. Now, I'm attracted to men
instead of women.
"I believe it is the nature of my body
and my destiny. I cannot deceive myself
anymore because I have more feelings
for men than women," he said, making
feminine mannerism.
"I count myself lucky because when
people come from South-Africa, they
come to my shop. I don't know how
they know my shop. This thing is
natural, you cannot hide it. I was still a
kid when I knew I was gay. Then, I used
to play with girls and I was always
involved in girls' games like ten-ten,
playing with dolls and the likes.
"Back then, people used to ask me to
take money or bet on whether I was a
girl or a boy. It was not until I started
growing beard that they knew I was a
man. While growing up, my girlfriends
would always come to my house to
invite me to play with them."
The bartender said that he did not like
the location of his shop as the
neighbourhood sometimes scared away
his customers. He told Saturday PUNCH
that when he got more money, he
would establish a hotel with a much
bigger bar for his customers.
"I want to move because there are
times when I meet some clients and I
give them the address of my shop and
they are scared to come because of the
location. Most times, they like me but
the location of my shop discourages
them," the bartender said.
The last born in a family of four, he said
that he came from a good Christian
home and none of his family members
was aware of his sexual orientation. He
said he once impregnated a girl to prove
that he was not a homosexual.
He said that the baby had a striking
resemblance with him and that he had
been responsible for the child as the
mother insisted on keeping the baby.
"My family confronted me about
whether I was gay once but when I got
the girl pregnant, they stopped doubting
me. People in my area were the ones
feeding them with all sorts of rumours,"
he explained.
The young man who said that he could
play the role of both a male and a
female in a relationship, gave hints on
how to know who is the "king or queen"
in a homosexual relationship.
He said, "In a homosexual relationship,
it is easier to know the king than the
queen. For example, the king in a
lesbian relationship is the one that acts
like a man. She likes men's sports,
dresses like a man and even fights like a
man.
"The queen is not so easy to spot. If a
girl is naked before her, once she sees
her nipples, she would become aroused
and attempts to touch the nipples.
That's when you would know the person
is a lesbian. I play the two roles of both
a male and a female."
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