Nigerians
have been talking about the popular Lagos socialite, Pretty Mike and
how he put some girls on a leash in public. Dele Agekameh in this piece
talks about the matter.
Pretty Mike and his girls
Wonders will never cease. Nigerians have for long been known to be
copycats of foreign ideas or behaviours, especially in fashion and other
social trends-cum-vices, as practiced in other climes, particularly in
Europe and the Americas. Talk of a lawless, morally debased society and
Nigeria is increasingly coming into focus.
More than 10 years ago, Nigerian youth caught the bug of the social
malaise called ‘sagging’. This is a form of dressing in which a young
man or even sometimes a young lady wears on a pair of trousers,
otherwise called pants in the United States of America, shorts, knickers
or boxers, skips the waistline where the sartorial item is supposed to
sit and positions it somewhere between the buttocks and the thighs. This
way, the underwear, which is supposed to be tucked secretly beneath the
trouser or pant, now plays the ignominious role of being the only
clothing item covering the buttocks. The list is endless.
The fact is, there is a growing tendency amongst some Nigerians to
attempt to outdo their foreign counterparts in their own rotten and
maggoty cultural afflictions, which ordinarily should be alien to our
own culture and tradition in Africa. Not long ago, we were caught up in
the web of resisting the importation of homosexual practices into the
country. Although the government managed to stave off the pressure from
some of those who were hell-bent on towing this path, nevertheless it is
quite understood that many of these rascals merely disappeared
underground to continue the satanic practice.
Many Nigerians were shocked to the marrow last week when the
nauseating story of an attention-seeking Nigerian, Mike Eze-Nwalie
Nwogu, who goes by the appellation Pretty Mike broke on the social
media. Mike or Pretty Mike (you may be wondering how a man, not a woman,
describes himself as ‘Pretty’) who is said to be the owner of ‘Club
Uno’, located somewhere on Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos, revels in the
fantasy of turning young girls into human puppies.
By the way, my only previous idea of a club whose name comes close
to being identical to this Pretty Mike’s club’s name was a particular
club called ‘Numero Uno’ otherwise known as Number One, located within
Bobby Benson Hotel, Jibowu, Lagos and was patronised by Majek Fashek,
Black Rice and his Boys quarter Boys who were then based in Ojota, on
the outskirts of Lagos about 32 years ago.
From the narrative, 30-year-old ‘Pretty Mike’ appears desirous of
standing out in the society even though in a very negative and
controversial way. This is possibly why he thinks the best way for him
to achieve stardom is by putting young girls on a leash by tying dog
chains around their necks while the girls perform the role of human
outriders heralding him into important functions in town. His style is
to get at least two girls, dressed in the same attire, (known in Owambe
parlance as “And-co”), chained up like dogs, who lead him into the venue
of functions, while holding their chain leashes like a dog owner would
do to his dogs.
His recent appearance created a lot of furore, provoking a huge
social media umbrage. The appearance was said to be at a wedding
ceremony somewhere in Lagos. For the outing, the girls appeared in pink
dresses with their signature black masks and dog chains woven around
their necks, while Pretty Mike held on tightly to the leashes. The
picture of the parade of madness, particularly showing about five
policemen laughing hysterically at the bizarre sight of human dogs and
their heartless owner or handler, sparked off a social media war.
What is not immediately clear is the reason the policemen at the
scene of this bizarre occurrence were so amused that they erupted in
uncontrollable laughter when, in fact, they should have accosted the
shameless boy, made him untie the chains from the neck of his victims
and taken him in for questioning. They did not do this. Rather, they
turned the whole sickening show into a sort of melodrama. When
eventually the Lagos State Government rose up to the occasion by
ordering his arrest, all Pretty Mike could say was that he was trying to
make a statement on women’s advocacy because “most of the people that
have become popular on social media, did so by doing something drastic,
different and unique.”
I remember a famous photograph in the 1960’s showing the late
flamboyant politician, Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh, otherwise known as
Omimiejoh, the then Federal Minister of Finance in the First Republic,
moving into a gathering with a long, flowing wrapper worn by a
nationality in Delta State, which descended from his shoulder, ran over a
distance of 30 metres or more backward and ended up being tied to the
neck of a man who appeared to be his slave or house boy. Laughable as
the widely-circulated photograph was, it only showed the reckless
opulence relished by the political class at that time. Present day
politicians are even worse. That could have been an inspiration for
Pretty Mike anyway.
Although there may not be any law directly opposed to this type of
behaviour, but I think there are laws against public nuisance which can
effectively take care of this type of misdemeanour. This is a form of
cruelty to fellow human beings simply because of the lure of filthy
lucre. It is quite astonishing that due to the general economic meltdown
in the society, our women have become easy pawns in the hands of
dubious businessmen and women, who are out to capitalise on the growing
misfortune of many families in the country to do whatever they like with
human beings in exchange for a few naira notes.
The good news is that Fatai Owoseni, the Lagos State Commissioner
of Police, said last week that the Domestic and Sexual Violence Response
Team (DSVRT) of Lagos State is already looking into the matter. The
fact is that many of our young girls, especially University graduates
who are daily roaming the streets of major cities in the country have
become vulnerable to the despicable antics of Pretty Mike and his likes.
Those of them who are lucky to find jobs either in banks, insurance
companies and other blue chip companies, have been turned into glorified
prostitutes in order to attract business to their companies at the
expense and detriment of the future of these young girls.
Unfortunately, our government or policy makers have deliberately
turned a blind eye to all the nonsense going on in the society because,
at any rate, most of them are the owners and directors of these
blue-chip companies who want to do business regardless of its cost to
the health and well-being of these young girls. Many of them also enjoy
frolicking with these young girls who are so immature and barely out of
sucking feeding bottles. Ironically, these proprietors jealously guide
their own teenage daughters back home. If we allow this to continue
unchecked, only God knows the type of society Nigeria will become in the
foreseeable future.
As for this so-called Pretty Mike who has re-enacted one of the
ugly features of the long-abolished slave trade era, the best place for
him at this moment is to throw him behind bars until he purges himself
of this dehumanising behaviour. He could also be kept in a zoo for some
time to atone for his sin against humanity. Beyond investigating the
issue as a criminal offence, as Owoseni said, the security agencies need
to do a comprehensive profiling of him to uncover any other form of
debilitating behaviour or atrocity he might have committed in the past.
He looks more like a dangerous individual who must be tamed before he
turns the society into George Orwell’s animal kingdom in order to
achieve his dream of being widely popular.
******
Written by Dele Agekameh
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