‘We Wake up and No Go See Ordinary Food Chop’, Says Abuja Hookup Babe

Queen Paul, a well-known personality in Nigeria’s sex work industry, spoke candidly and emotionally with the Abuja City Journal podcast ABUJA REAL TALK about her difficult life experiences. Her candor revealed the challenges, trauma, and deep-seated pain she experienced while living on the streets of Lagos before to moving to Abuja.

“Omo, my experience no good gon!” she started, her voice heavy with emotion. “I used to have good days and bad days, but mostly, the customers are very annoying. Some of them don’t have understanding; they believe because they have money, they can do anything.”

Despite her brave front, she admitted that beneath the surface, she and many of her colleagues are suffering in silence. “E no clear, but person no know wetin person go do. Na im make person put body. Last last gon, some of us dey cry,” she confessed, describing how some days, they even struggle to find food to eat. “Sometimes, we dey wake up and no go see ordinary food chop sef. But person wey no tell you, you no go know. Sometimes we go act like everything is okay, but omo, last last na wash.”

Her path into the streets was a painful one, marked by abuse and neglect from the very people who were meant to care for her. “Wetin first carry me enter street? So many reasons. Number one, na male,” she shared. “People dey say mama na blessing, but me, mama no favour me at all. I prefer my papa, and he never tey wey I know that man, but he’s the best.”

Her mother, whom she described as cruel and unloving, played a significant role in her troubled upbringing. “My mama na woman wey I grow up with, but even when I dey grow up with her, I dey think say she be my auntie because of the kind things wey she dey do me. Na woman wey no like me at all. If she see me, na so she go dey boil. I go even kneel down beg her say, ‘Mommy, if I do you bad thing, forgive me.’ But na that time she go vex pass. I no know why.”

Her childhood was further clouded by the cruel gossip of neighbors who noticed her suffering. “Certain neighbors go dey talk say, ‘This woman go kill her again,’” she recalled, her voice shaking as she described the constant emotional and physical abuse she endured. “Omo, I get many marks for this body wey I fit show.”

Even as her mother moved on to have other children, the scars of her past remained fresh. “I be the only pikin wey dey with her for that time, but God come give her three more children. One boy and two girls – Dorathy and Jessica. My baby sister Dorathy, she be 18 years now, and you know how Lagos children dey be. Yahoo boys don dey buy them things anyhow.”

The interview offered a sobering look into the dangerous world many Nigerian sex workers live in. Beneath the facade of the vibrant nightlife and transactional exchanges lies deep-rooted pain and hardship. The woman’s story mirrors those of countless others who, despite societal stigma, continue to put their lives at risk every day, simply to survive.

When asked if she ever considered leaving the trade, her response was one of resignation. “E no easy to comot. Wetin I go do? Na survival mode I dey,” she admitted. “Na person wey never see suffering go talk say ‘just stop.’ But for we wey don dey inside, no be so e easy.”

Despite the hardship, her story speaks to resilience. “I don’t wish this life for anybody, but na the life wey I get, and I go manage am.” She remains a survivor, navigating a harsh reality with no safety nets. Her story serves as a reminder of the urgent need for societal reforms, mental health support, and targeted initiatives to help vulnerable women find alternative means of livelihood.

“If person tell you, you no go know. This life na wash. But omo, last last, we dey here,” Queen said in a tone of indignation.

Her remarks reflect the silent laments of many across Nigeria who are voiceless and forced to live risky lives for survival. As she finished her story, it became evident that every face on the streets hides a deeper, unseen story of struggle, survival, and hope for a brighter tomorrow.

ABUJA REAL TALK holds every week.