Kuramo
village fell to ocean fury and the rage of the Lagos State government
last week. But tales of prostitution and drug peddling which defined its
exixtence have come to the fore, as insiders recount, reports SAMUEL
AWOYINFA
Kuramo Beach, to its residents, is escapism of some sorts. Besides
its regular occupants, prostitutes and drug peddlers see the place as
haven for their operations. It was like an island on its own.
For those who wanted to ‘feel high’ on illicit drug, Kuramo also gave
them that illusion of being on top of their world. Kuramo offered
unending music, blaring from speakers of numerous drinking joints that
lined the ocean front.
But the music stopped early hours of Saturday, August 18, around
3:00am, when ocean surge, entombed a large section of the shanties and
cabins. It was not only the shanties and cabins that fell casualties,
about 16 persons were also swept away by the ocean rage.
By Sunday, the picture became clearer, as government agents moved in,
and demolished the remaining shanties. As a result, the residents have
scattered. But some of them still wished it were a bad dream that would
soon go away. They were seen on Wednesday still hanging around the
Kuramo Beach extension.
Some of them lived there for over 10 years, and for those in this
category, it is difficult, having another place to call a home. One of
them, who pleaded anonymity, said Kuramo though offered them a shelter;
it also played host to a lot other negative indulgences.
According to him, over 50 per cent of the inhabitants were
prostitutes and they were the main attraction, given the number of men
who trooped in, mostly at night.
He said, “The prostitutes are the main attraction in Kuramo village.
They were there in all shapes and sizes. From 8:00pm, men would start
arriving. Some after gulping some bottles of alcoholic drink, would face
the commercial s*x workers.
“Besides prostitution, drug also came handy here. Whatever it was you
wanted. Is it marijuana or crack (cocaine)? They were available. A
pinch sold for N250, a wrapper of marijuana is N50. Again, there was
another form of marijuana, which a wrap sold for N200. That one was the
concentrated type.
“And for those who wanted to enhance their s*xual performance, there
were those who sold the local aphrodisiac called Bura ntasi.”
This source who spoke fluent English, said the prostitutes who lived
inside the cabins, where they paid between N800 -N1000 daily, depending
on the size of the room, were however, conscious of being infected with
HIV/AIDS, as they insisted their clients must put on condoms. But he
however, added that they had perfected some tricks, in which they
swindled some unsuspecting clients.
The source said,“These prostitutes had agents, and the agents
normally lurked around. As soon as any man entered the room with any of
them, he would be asked to hang his trousers by the window. As soon as
the client got carried away by the s*xual ecstasy, the agent stealthily
picked the trousers from outside, and emptied the money and valuables
therein.
“Many patrons of prostitutes here had lost their valuables in that
manner”. According to him, the prostitutes charged between N500 -N1000,
and all depending on negotiation skills of the client.
“Kuramo ran on 24 hours basis, it hadly went to sleep.”
One of the former inhabitants, Mr. Samuel Adebayo could not be bothered about s*x hawkers and their antics.
His concern was where he would start his tailoring business again.
Having lived in Kuramo for over 10 years, and being thrown out under
three hours, had left him puzzled for now. He was among those seen at
the Bar Beach sea front, about 100 metres from Kuramo, on Wednesday.
He denounced the claim of the Ministry of Waterfront Infrastructure that they were given four days notice.
“I had lived in Kuramo Beach for over 10 years, it was not true that
there was any notice. It was on Sunday (August 19) morning that the DPO
of Bar Beach police station led his men to this place and told everyone
to come out.
“We were given only two hours to pack our belongings. How many things
could one pack in two hours? So, some of us only took a fraction of
what we have, before the caterpillar moved in,” he said.
He recollected that there were about 110 cabins, and they paid for
everything there. “There was no water, no toilets and no bathrooms. We
bought water at the rate of N50 per bucket. To bath, one would pay N100,
and to use the toilet, it attracted N100.”
On his own part, Mr. Laja Obasi, who said he was a security man at
Kuramo, also said he lived there for almost 11 years, and he was almost
regretting it.
Obasi who explained that he earned N3,000 per week, stressed that his fear was how to get another job.
Himself and his colleagues were for now, living at the mercy of
friends and passers-by. He moaned, “I’m still fit to work as security
man, but who can employ me?” He suffers a limp in one of his legs.”
Another former resident, who simply preferred to be addressed as
Prince, said he was a tourism promoter at the beach front, and all that
had gone with the wind. Dressed in a jeans trousers and ash-coloured
sweater, he said he was in the business of making those who visited the
beach comfortable, providing them good drinks and accommodation.
As at Wednesday, Prince was still in a quandary about the way
forward. “I really want to retrace my steps by going back to God in a
seven-day prayer and fasting,” he began. “After that, I will now decide
what next to do. I have two options -either to raise money for my young
wife to start business, because I had been the one shouldering the
family’s burden or buy a car which I will be using to do kabukabu.”
The commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure, Mr. Olusegun Oniru,
who visited the site on Monday reiterated that a four-day warning was
given to traders and residents. He said, “It is not that we waited for
this disaster to happen before we started acting. We gave them a
four-day warning of the looming ocean surge and high waves but they
wouldn’t listen. It is rather unfortunate that they waited for nature to
force them out.”
Oniru added that the state government was faced with an Herculean
task, because some of the residents, had no place to go. Some have
constructed some shanties, directly in waterfront at the Bar Beach, and
inside and outside where they kept their wares and personal effects.
Besides, some traders who were equally dislodged displayed their wares inside their buses and cars.
While most of the residents and traders ruled out compensation of any
kind, some of them were still bogged down by uncertainty of their
future.
32-year-old HIV-positive Cincinnati woman, Candance Morris who
pleaded to four counts of unlawful s*xual contact with two minors will
only serve one year in prison, the Cincinnati Inquirer reports.
Venerable Folarin Shobo, has urged Lagos residents to vote in a
Christian as governor of the state in 2015.In a statement on Friday, Shobo said
Lagos residents could not afford to continue with the present political
arrangement whereby political officers were largely people of a
particular faith.
It
is no longer news that Peter Okoye, a twin brother of Paul Okoye the
duo of P-Square clan last week Tuesday proposed to his friend of many
years and mother of his two kids, Cameron and Aliona. The story now is
that Peter has revealed why he proposed to Lola after many years.
Recently,
rumour was rife that the state government was set to ban tricycle
operators, otherwise called “Keke Marwa,” from the roads following their
recklessness. However, the state government debunked the allegation.
According to them, Section 3 of the Lagos Road Traffic Law 2012, which
says, ‘No person shall ride, drive or propel a cart, wheel barrow,
motorcycle or tricycle on any of the routes specified in Schedule 11
of this Law, restricts motorcycles and tricycles from 475 roads out of
9100 roads in the state including highway and bridges. 
