COMMERCIAL sex work is one that is as old as mankind because it dates back to even the Bible days. It is an activity in which people, especially the female gender engage in unholy canal excitement for money, against all known rules of social and moral acceptances.

BE that as it may, any act of physical activity involving two people, particularly the under-aged, in which they touch themselves, or engage in sexual intercourse; is, but an illegal act.

NATIONS the world over, have variously tried to eliminate this illegal commercial activity cum social malaise, but to no avail.

THE dangerous dimension which the illegal trade has taken in recent times, is the deceitful recruitment of under-aged into the illicit business. Concerned authorities are however worried about the effects which will be taking, its toll on even generations yet unborn.

THE hue and cry about sexually transmitted diseases, STDs HIV and AIDS and some other sexually deadly ailments is but like a reggae tune in the ears of many, feeling that it is a gimmick, on the part of the Non-governmental organizations, the National Agency Against

Trafficking In Persons (NAPTlP) and other medical agencies; that have been campaigning for people to take care about their lives, especially in terms of their social behaviours. Yet, the illicit trade has not abatted.

FOR example, an NGO coordinator, Mr. Taye Garrick, had told the world in a sensitization forum organized by the House of Representatives Committee on the Diaspora and headed by Abike Dabiri, in conjunction with a Benin based NGO ”Christ Without Borders” which came to express their concern over the plight of the over 10,000 teenage girls of between 13 and 17 and of Nigerian decent, who were held captives by sex-slave Lords in Morocco and Libya; pledged that they would work with all concerned, to tackle the matter, in the area of sensitizing people in the states, on the evils of human, especially trafficking in teenage girls for commercial sex purposes.

ALSO sharing in this concern, wife of the Edo State Governor, Mrs. Clara Oshiomhole, had in time past enjoined all and sundry, particularly women, to, at all times, preach against child abuse, women trafficking and prostitution; while also urging them not to dabble into negative ventures in the pursuit of riches.

COME to think of it, why would a mother who carried a-nine month pregnancy and suffered the pains of child-birth after labour, voluntarily allow their children, especially the girl child, to go into prostitution and commercial sex work? The reasons are not far-fetched - such women are immoral and inhuman in the pursuit of wealth to the detriment of their daughters future.

NO doubt times are hard, especially in the face of the current global economic meltdown, but it shouldn’t be to the extent that parents would begin to deceitfully jeopardize the health and future of their girl - child.

THE NIGERIAN OBSERVER at this point, urges all Nigerians, especially those of Edo State decent, to always try and explore genuine ways of survival rather than taking the short, but dangerous ways of money – making.

MORALLY, commercial sex job is wrong. Consequently, we should always embrace those institutions which have been put in place to encourage people to be self-reliant, like the various Skills Acquisition Centres established across the country, all the states and local government areas.

HAPPILY, more and more Non Governmental Organizations have now come to realize the evils in child labour, child-abuse, and above all, teenage commercial sex and they are not doing badly in trying to stop it, by creating local, national and international awareness against the international sex trade.

ALL these conscientiously and diligently observed, the already very battered image of the country consequent upon our notoriety in the teenage commercial sex work, would once again be redeemed.

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