The trend of young ladies dancing almost naked in videos on the internet has been eliciting concerns from Nigerians, who wonder if the women received home training or if the parents failed to bring up their children responsibly; PAUL OKAH reports.
Anyone surfing the internet or social media, especially Facebook or Instagram, is bound to come across videos of young, half-naked ladies singing and dancing to music, no matter how contentious or careful the internet user may be.
The sensuous ladies have the trademark of wearing see through tops without bras, thereby exposing pointed nipples and making sexual gestures at anyone watching them in the videos always accompanied with the soundtrack of sultry Nigerian music.
Some of the daring ladies even go to the extent of revealing backsides in see through skirts, tights, lingerie and anything that will show there’s nothing else under whatever they’re putting on for the benefit of whoever is watching the dance videos.
While many Nigerians often make derogatory comments against such an open display of un-African lifestyles, others often compliment the half-clad ladies, thereby promoting questions of whether the little encouragement they get encourages others to join the trend.
Students/hook-up girls
Speaking with Blueprint Weekend, a civil servant, Mrs. Rosemary Okafor, said the girls dancing naked in videos are mostly students or ‘hook-up girls,’ from broken homes and products of single parents.
She said: “Our so-called illiterate parents raised doctors, professors, teachers, nurses, pharmacists, engineers, scholars, etc. Now, we educated parents are raising Tiktokers, hook-up girls and immoral girls who are not ashamed to stand naked before the camera and disgrace the family they are coming from. This is the reason our forefathers didn’t value a girl child as the supposedly modern girls keep shaking their naked breasts and buttocks on purpose before cameras. The viral nude videos are just evidence of irresponsible parenting.
“Sometimes, I begin to ask myself if all the girls don’t have parents or senior ones at home. I have daughters and sisters who are well trained not to behave like the majority of girls on social media. I thank God for the family I come from. Thank God we are not useless and none is disgracing each other online. It is good to have civilised guardians looking at their wards, whether at home or away from home. It is clear that the parents of the naked girls are not together. Some are from broken homes, raised only by their carefree mothers, who often refused to obey their husbands.
“The result is the girls, majority of them being students, taking to prostitution or what is now commonly referred to as hook-up for a living. Many of them carry infections about, which they distribute to some unfaithful married men, who will in turn transmit to their innocent wives. This is the present situation of things in this country and I sincerely wish that the government can stop the nonsense. Government should put policies in place to tackle the trend by partnering with tech companies, otherwise we are doomed.”
Videos used for fraud
On his part, an ICT consultant, Abdullahi Ahmed, said the viral nude videos are used for fraudulent activities by those behind them, as sometimes men use the immoral videos to attract and steal from interested men, including kidnapping them for ransom.
He said: “Parents are failing in their responsibilities of training up their children, which is evident in the growing trend of young girls dancing naked in videos and photos circulating everywhere on social media. It is not what is known for Africans, Nigerians or as Muslims and Christians. You don’t even need to search for the nude pictures or videos, they just pop up as long as you are a social media user.
“From experience, I’ve noticed that men fall for women and other antics they would have ordinarily suspected or ignored if not that sex were offered. Look at this way, if a man makes a video to beg for money, he will not readily get the help he wants. In fact, he will be told to go and work and solve his financial problems as those he is asking for money also have financial problems.
“But if it is a woman dancing naked before a camera, men will rush to request for her phone number and later account details for patronage because the idea behind the videos is for sexual transactions. However, in many cases, men are the ones behind the nude videos as many of them create social media accounts posing as women to defraud unsuspecting members of the public. Any man who is attracted to the nude videos and photos circulating on social media is already asking for trouble.
“The supposed alluring woman will give out a phone number and insist the conversation should be on Whatsapp and not phone call. At a point, the man posing as a woman will request for payment before coming to meet the man in a hotel or any appointed place. The account details will be any of these Fintechs you open within minutes, but used without verification and for fraudulent activities. Once the desperate man longing to have sex with a stranger he saw her nude photos or videos on social media sends money, he will be blocked from ever interacting with the person behind the photos or nude videos.
“In extreme cases, the criminals behind the nude photos and videos go to an extent of setting up a date with the sex seeker, whereby the victim will be kidnapped for ransom. So, any way you look at it, men should be careful because we see a lot of things on social media. While many use it for good purposes, others use it for evil purposes. So, men, especially the married ones, are advised not to fall prey to the antics of those behind such viral nude videos or photos. The outcome is not always nice and should be avoided at all cost.”
Parents should monitor the girl-child
Similarly, a secondary school teacher in Gwarinpa, Mrs. Jospehine Enang, advised parents to always monitor their children, especially girls, to know what they are doing at a particular time.
“Posting of viral nude pictures is a worry to many of us as parents. It is not even done by young girls alone; even many adults are doing it. I will advise parents to be careful. They should monitor what their children are doing, especially girls. Many of them are succumbing to peer-pressures. Some do it out of ignorance or ‘to catch cruise’ as they call it. It is the failure of parents if their children go morally bankrupt. We are not known for that as Africans,” she said.
Nude videos for prostitution
Speaking with this reporter, a social commentator, Mr. Anthony Olabisi, said the society has degenerated to the point that it is nudity that sells, especially on social media.
“I have watched with alarm the way our society is going and we are losing our moral values as Africans, let alone as Nigerians. Nudity is the order of the day. It seems our ladies are in a competition to disgrace their parents and families on social media. Whether it is Whatsapp, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or Messenger, it’s always a video of a lady dancing practically naked before a camera.
“Of course, the videos are used to advertise their professions as prostitutes, socially called ‘hook-up’, but meaning the same thing as offering your body to a man for financial gains or for payment. Many of them don’t see it as anything as a result of loose morals, especially as a result of the family background they came from. I will also point out that some useless men are the ones urging the girls on and encouraging the nonsense,” hje said.
He added, “I mean, many of them will desist if they were ignored by men. But in the comment section of such immoral videos, you will see men egging them on and even requesting for contacts to be able to see the girls physically. From there, they will set up a date in the hotel, where even some married men will patronise the hook-up girl and pay for sex, which is the whole essence of the video.
“That’s the pathetic situation we have found ourselves in as a country. It is even because of issues of this nature that I support the past government’s effort to regulate social media because we are misusing it on a daily basis. I sincerely hope sanity will be restored because the situation is getting out of hand. Parents should also monitor what their children, especially girls, are doing outside their homes, because the naked videos are all pointing to the irresponsibility or failure of our African or Nigerian parents to instill moral values in their children.”
