Tola Gbadamosi

The hospitality industry is no doubt central to the economic development and the social life of any nation. Its impact does not only reflect in the growth of the nation’s economy but also in the well-being of the citizens.
However, activities of fun seekers at the various Night Clubs and hotels, especially those located within residential areas and health institutions are gradually turning to nightmares for residents in such areas.
Activities of such Night Clubs with unbridled liberty and freedom are pushing the limits of acceptable behaviour and conduct.
Investigations conducted by our correspondent showed that mode of operations, employed by the hoteliers and their customers calls for concern.
Many of the Night Clubs in Akure are better described as hot spot brothels where yahoo boys and young girls have devised creative ways to trade in prostitution and rituals.
Some of these young girls walk in streets where these Night clubs are located, at night dressed half nude and the yahoo boys in flashy cars besieging the spots mostly on weekends .
Their activities are often accompanied with serious noise pollution, blaring of music late in the night till dawn, thus giving neighbours residing in the areas sleepless nights. Worse are those located around hospitals and clinics, as their patients found it difficult to cope with such noisy and unfriendly environment.
It was gathered that many of such hospitals or clinics having this experience are fast loosing patients, as they are recording low patronage .
This writer went round some joints in Akure to investigate the activities of such night clubs and the yahoo boys. Her first place of call was a building located around the Federal College of Agriculture, Oba-Ile road, Akure , once a residential building but has now been converted to an hotel (names withheld(.
Initially, the building was meant to be residential but now haven for Yahoo boys in the area. Their activities in the environs are worrisome and despicable on weekends as they play music from night till dawn keeping other inhabitants to stay awake on their beds.
A visit to a clinic in the area also revealed that the patients in the hospitals are traumatised due to loud noise. The doctor said he had complained bitterly to the authorities, but nothing concrete has been done.
Speaking with a residence around the area, a 69-year-old retired medical personnel who did not want her name mentioned said she was fed up living in such environment since it is no longer safe. She said she is always troubled, whenever she is going home at night.
“The fact that I am coming home to a noisy environment is very sad. There was a day I met with the owner of this joint, he actually told me he is always happy when I travel out of the country.
“What he normally do is to come to me and prostrate on the floor like a humble human being and yet, act at his own will.
“These yahoo boys staying in the lounge will play music round the clock. At night the music is louder.
“Every morning, I pick up used pants, condoms and plastic cups by my fence. They urinate, everywhere around my house, I found my house smelling of urine and open defecation.
“Activities going on there are highly alarming as we normally see young naked girls walking around the balcony in the evening, for that reason my grandchildren are scared seeing strange and bizarre looking ladies openly frolicking with men. They can not stay outside to play because of the fear of seeing naked girls outside.
They are compromising our female children by imparting negative influences on them, living in such vicinity as they often watch their indulged peers night after night dress in racy manner.
“The girls flood my street at night while the boys play music non stop. You see them fighting themselves all the time. And when they start fighting, it affects the whole street.
“I was told they have 12 rooms which they pay N20,000 daily for usage. The boys have lots of money to play around with.
“Every evening around 6:15pm till dawn, Okada riders are always active in the area with different faces. We are obviously not secure.
Another residence in the area, Mr. Michael Adepoju said his father just had his 71st birthday, but over time he had not been sleeping at night due to the noise from the club house.
“With so much pain in the voice of Adepoju, he said his heart bleeds whenever his father wakes up at night and unable to sleep. They have made my father to develop high blood pressure ever since and now wishing him death.
The Hope correspondent also spoke with Mr Alex Kosemani who lives close to the club house. He said,” this has been going on for a long time, we have written many petitions to the police and no action has been taken ever since.
“I greatly regret building my house on this street. My gutter is always filled with different cans of drinks as the Okada riders have turned the front of my house to a drinking joint where they hustle for customers day and night, we can’t sleep.
“When I drive out in the morning, I hear loud music and coming back home in the evening to rest hoping to get some sanity at home and my room is directly facing the location makes it hell for me.
The owner of a clinic opposite a lounge at Ijapo Extension who does not want his name to be mentioned said “my patients have deserted me because the noise from the club is unbearable and unacceptable for an hospital environment which is suppose to be serene.
The doctor explained that patients are placed on bed to rest. For this reason some of them don’t patronise the hospital any more due to the noise and frequent gun shots which takes place now and then.
“Speaking with the Chairman Landlord Association of the area, Mr Bode Akintaju said ” like the people have said, we have written to the state government and nothing came out of it. The incident that happened recently was very bad. The people there were fighting. And you can imagine when over 100 people fighting at night. The noise is really disturbing the landlords here are all retirees and after a life style they are expecting to live in a serene environment to enjoy their retirement.
Now most of us have high blood pressure because we don’t sleep at night due to the loud noise coming from their musical good evening my but a lounge. We are told its not a hotel but a lounge which is to be opened. A launge is meant to be opened round the clock.
Everyday, we see different faces in our area, we are no more save in this area. Our lives are in danger because these yahoo boys staying in the lounge invite prostitutes and armed robbers to our location.
“As from 7:30 pm, there is always hold up at the gate of the estate. We cannot go out from our homes, we see different faces of young girls entering the house half naked.
“The landlords’ association has invited the owner of the building severally, he bluntly refused to come to the meeting.
“We don’t know what to do again as we are gradually dying.Those of us that can afford it, travel every now and then abroad to stay with their children. Others that cannot are calling for Save Our Soul. (SOS) to the state government to save us from these unwanted visitors.
“If you take a good look at the house, it is under high tension wire. I believe it is prohibited, not to build a house right under a high tension wire. All these we mention to the state government for over 5-years now. Nothing has been done about this issue.
Visits also to other hotels revealed girls appearing naked to the admiration of the boys enjoying the day.We sat on a table with other people at a night club located at Ijapo. We quickly gained relationship with two guys who came over just to have fun. After we all got acquainted, the man started talking about his nephew who overnight became a yahoo boy.
He opened up a discussion about his brother’s son who school in Ghana while his parents live in Nigeria. He narrated his experience with his nephew he described as a Yahoo boy. “Recently, that my brother’s son came to me and asked if I have a bank account, that he had some money ‘hanging in the sky’ and looking for an account to move it into. When he opened his laptop for me to glance through, it was a Federal Government’s account having N196 billion and he’s looking for an account to move the cash into.
According to the man, his brother disclosed to him that most bank managers are very much aware of such illicit transfer. The reason for the old account was that, Interpol would not be able to trace the account as it has no BVN and by the time they get to know about it. The cash would have been shipped out.
He continued: :One day, a security agent stopped us for checking and looked intently at the boy and called him a yahoo boy. “I was angry when he accussed my nephew, for going to Benin City to do ‘juju’ to defraud people.
The security man asked me to check his tongue. That was when I saw he has cuts in his tongue. I kept wondering what he does with his money because his father goes everywhere to try to get his school fee in Ghana.
After the man finished lamenting, I saw a yahoo boy beckoned on a girl standing by and she followed him.
Before leaving the table he said he was going to take a shot outside. I didn’t understand until I got out to see.
I was made to understand that not all girls are allowed into the hotel. That a lady without a man, would not be allowed inside. “You need to join girls’ club before you are allowed to go in alone,” he informed.
That made most girls to hang outside the gate at night, at the end of the day they may get customers from other men who wish to have a fling for the night including the bike men.
While sitting on a car by the roadside along with other might crawlers, as the music was baring these boys were seen dancing and drinking on the road with girls.
By my right, I saw a girl positioned herself by the gutter by the road side as a man mounted her. I wanted to jump out of my skin but controlled myself.
All I did was to shift base. I went across the road just by a shop pretending to be with my client who was my escort for the night.
I also visited another spot of these yahoo boys behind INEC office, close to a junction. You would see scores of half naked young girls standing at every corner of the road and the boys spraying them money. Viewing the scene, I could see that people were well organised.
With every table filled with assorted drinks they kept ordering for different girls O “One other thing I noticed was everyone was modest on each table.