Bakassi: Despite the odds,groin business thriving

Despite the near isolation of the Bakassi Peninsula from mainland Cameroon, sex workers still defile the odds to make brisk business in the area.

The life threatening waves from the sea seems to be the least of deterrent factors as prostitutes stream into the Peninsula in shifts. Some have even taken up permanent residence in the area.

The business of what is regarded as the oldest profession in the world is thriving in the mainly fishing zone. Most of the girls who add up to the beauty of areas like Idabato are reported to be from the Northwest Region.

At first, information on the presence of prostitutes in the area sound more or less like a joke, but the reality dawns when a stranger gets immersed in the area.

For one thing, these girls who have traveled from their native land in a Region regarded for its high moral standards and grooming of cultured people seems to have thrown the moral fame to the abyss.

In Bakassi, their language is making money be it the Nigerian Naira or the Cameroon FCFA.

While others speak French or English, these sex workers seem to have a common bond which is their mother tongue.

From their mother tongue, it is easy to decode what area of Cameroon they come from. While cash from the Nigerians is a normal harvest, the sex workers face a dilemma when strangers visit.

Either their chalets will be rented out for a whole night or one of the visitors will hire their services for as long as their mission in Bakassi last. This is part of their daily dreams.

Recently, one of such bad days befell the prostitutes when a visiting delegation from mainland Cameroon stormed the area without their knowledge.

Their rooms were hired out leaving them and their regular customers 'homeless' for two nights.

Be it over a bottle of drink or a plate of food, once found in the red zone of the 'high sea' prostitutes, middlemen do not waste time to keep one posted on their availability.

Like civil servants and workers of other institutions who have travelled to the Peninsula, the mission of the girls from the grass land seem to have sink into the psyche of most Cameroonians in the area. No one dares to compromise their interest.

During the day, they engage in normal daily activities, but when the sun signals its departure, the sex workers know it is time to shower and paint up for an evening's hunt.

Be they visitors or the fishermen, the sex workers seem to be succeeding in their mission, for most of them are operating with a purely business mindset.

In this regard, their sitting positions, postures, gestures and attire complement the role of the middlemen who announce their presence to new comers.

Ideally, like the security officers and other state workers, the prostitutes too can sustain alcohol consumption for hours and other habits unique to the creeks.