Obalende’s resurrection: Welcome to Kaduna’s sin city

The fun spot in Kaduna known as Obalende has been bulldozed to restore sanity to the area. Muhammad Sabiu, reports that the ‘insanity’ has only relocated, as another Obalende has sprung up in another part of the city.

UNTIL recently, Maiduguri road in Kaduna was called ‘Obalende’. It is so named after a suburb on the Lagos Island in Lagos State. While, the Lagos Obalende houses the famous Dodan Barracks which was once the seat of power, the Maiduguri road location in Kaduna was infamous for its night life as it was the preferred abode of night crawlers.

The story of night life in Kaduna, up till a few months back, was not complete without Obalende getting a big mention. People of different classes, the young and old, including visitors often storm the place in order to ‘catch fun.’

According to Hajiya Hajara, who once owned a pepper soup joint there, “there was no police harassment. We could stay and be selling our pepper soup until the wee hours of the morning. You could always see people coming in at every hour till day break.”

When asked her why and how Obalende became popular, she promptly responded: “Obalende stood out from the other joints because it was the only place you could see ladies dancing naked. So many visitors trooped to have a glance of these ladies who were only under the age of 18.”

Apart from that, she disclosed that male prostitution was also common, adding that “Young boys stormed the street at night waiting for their would-be customers who were usually rich ladies.”

Hajara, however, revealed further that all these now belong to the past.

A shop owner who wouldn’t want to disclose his name, but who still sells ‘provisions’ on Maiduguri Road  remarked that he never in his wildest imagination believed  that Obalende would one day become deserted and eventually vanish from the map of Kaduna’s night life,

“When one day we saw bulldozers pulling down the shops and we were told it was on the orders of Governor Nasir El -rufai, we knew it was over,” he said.

Also, a resident of the area who gave his name as Abdul disclosed that “all the structures which the state government labeled as illegal were pulled down.

“As you can see, all the shops which used to serve as beer parlours and eateries are gone. The government has fenced the LEA primary school. Who would think that this is the Obalende we used to know,” he wondered.

However, findings gathered by Sunday Tribune revealed that demolition of Obalende was just a temporary setback for night crawlers as they are now back to their beats. Another Obalende has resurfaced on Katuru Road at Unguwar Sarki area of the city.

When the Sunday Tribune visited the new Obalende at Katuru road, apart from the traffic, there were

quite a number of joints like the NAF club, Benue Guest Inn and AFSC suites where fun seekers besieged to unwind and catch fun.

Also, it was learnt that a prominent politician in the first and second republics as well as a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation are among the prominent persons living  in that street.

There are also other edifices on the road. According to a shop owner, who pleaded for anonymity, the night life usually starts  around 7.00p.m everyday when young boys and girls begin to storm the busy road. According to him, while some of the boys sell different drugs, the girls and some of the boys, on the other hand, engage in prostitution.

The shop owner dared Sunday Tribune to wait a while and observe the scenario that would soon unfold. And  not long after, some boys came into view.

“The boys you see there (pointing at some boys) on the street are selling drugs,” he whispered.

Surprisingly, no sooner after that, different cars stopping to ask the boys for the stuffs they had with them. Sunday Tribune was curious and moved closer pretending to want to buy too. After asking one of the boys for the stuff he had with him, he fired back by asking guardedly what specifically his would-be client needed.

Not sure of what was being sold, he was asked if he had Codeine. Sure now that he was talking to a customer who knew what he wanted, he said he had the one with a price tag of N1,500 and another one that went for N1,000.

He was asked to bring the one that went for N1,000 and he did. However, Sunday Tribune was reluctant to give him the money and instead began to ask him why was he not in school.

He said he had completed his secondary school education three years ago, but could not proceed. After sympathising with him for his inability to go further in his education, he was calm told that the stuff would not be needed again. He was offered a N500 note, which he took with much gratitude.

The young boy would later give his name as Hassan and that so many of his ilks are into the drug trade and making brisk business for their ‘Masters’.  He revealed that the drugs they sell include Tutolin, Benylin, Indian hemp, cocaine, among others.

According to him, on the average, he makes between N10,000 to N25,000 every day and that some of his customers include elderly people and even married women.  It was already 8.00p.m as the exchange with Hassan was going on.

Sunday Tribune also decided to enter a hotel located on the street.

At the entrance was a young girl who later gave her name as Khadija. “What are you doing here at this time of the day when you are supposed to be at home?” Sunday Tribune gently asked without any hint of reprimand.

Khadija without any hesitation said she had come to catch fun. She said if I was ready she was also ready to give me ‘Kayan dadi’ (sweet thing).

The message had been passed, but Sunday Tribune deflected it by asking where one could get fish to buy. She said fish was only available in the next street. For the next one hour, Khadija told Sunday Tribune her story. Her late father was a Chadian and her mother hails from Biu in Borno state and that as the first born of the family of four, she had to cater for her younger ones.

That was why she was on the street in the night. On a good day she makes N10,000 and when business is bad, she goes home empty handed. According to her, they are many girls like her who engage in commercial sex in new Obalende just to make some money to feed themselves or  their families.

When asked whether the police are not disturbing them, she affirmed that it was only until recently that  from 11.00p.m or 12 midnight, soldiers guarding the Armed Forces Staff College (AFSC) began to ask the girls to leave for their houses. According to her, this started when one of the boys who came to have fun snatched a handset from a girl and her boyfriend chased the young man and knocked him down with his car. Unfortunately, the thief died.

“Since then the soldiers don’t allow us to stay till daybreak again,” she said.

Speaking in the same vein, a gigolo who preferred anonymity confided in Sunday Tribune that he has saved money from his trade to live a better life.

“I have bought a plot of land at Danbushiya (a suburb of Kaduna metropolis).  Very soon I will start building my house,” the young man who said he holds a diploma in Marketing from Nuhu Bamali Polytechnic, Zaria, disclosed.

He also revealed that some of the male prostitutes are today proud owners of motorcycles and some have been sponsored to perform hajj in Saudi Arabia. He ascribed his presence in the trade to the prevalent poverty in the country. He said his major customers are the rich women.

“Some of the women are widows who inherited their husbands’ wealth. They would tell you the only thing they want is sex. Some are married, but they have sick husbands who cannot satisfy them sexually.

Some of the women are simply adulterous,” he revealed.

According to him, some of the ladies include society ladies, single mothers and even daughters of prominent politicians and top government officials.