Life in Marakana

Surrounded by shanty houses, situated on the bank of the lagoon in Tolu area of Ajegunle, Ajeromi/Ifelodun Local Government Area of Lagos State is the popular Marakana football field.

For an innocent first timer, the environment is just like any other located along the bank of La­gos lagoons, with mosquito infested shanty hous­es and makeshift hot drink as well as local fast food joints scattered around the landscape. But in reality, Marakana has more activities than meet the eyes. The boys playing football on the pitch during the day erroneously give the impression that it is a centre solely mapped out for recreation­al activities.

However, that is not what Marakana is known for. According to a young lady, who trades on Ojoku Street, the end of which leads to Marakana, it is known for everything bad except for the foot­ball practice. In other words, apart from the game of football on the pitch, Marakana is brimming with potpourri of criminal activities by all manner of people – the minor, the young and the old.

Checks revealed that the name, Marakana is synonymous with danger for Tolu residents and its surrounding environs; it inspires awe and sends goose pimples down the spines of the lily-livered. That much was confirmed by our reporters who rambled round the Marakana environs and occa­sionally rammed into groups of young boys and girls deeply engrossed in consumption of Indian hemp and Marijuana.

Saturday Sun gathered that the field, which most part have been taken over by heaps of re­fuse and brackish, stagnant water, presents a de­ceptive picture to strangers especially during the day. The clement seaside breeze that envelopes the arena during a hot afternoon coupled with quiet nature of the vicinity during the period will blur one’s imagination as to what actually happens in the place. But from investigation, Marakana fully reveals its ‘glory’ at night, starting from 10:00pm.

Such activities as teenage prostitution; fighting; stealing; drinking of gins and alcohol; smoking of Indian hemp, marijuana and other hard drugs as well as incidents of rape, among other crimes, are the appurtenances of Marakana.

It was learnt that Marakana, which attracts people from every part of Ajegunle and even beyond begins to unfold its dramatis personae from late evening. Our reporters observed that from 6:30pm, major players at Marakana night life were seen strolling into the arena in twos and threes. From their mien, one could hazard a guess about their character and mission. Though, some of them dressed in such a way that would conceal their true character, others appeared in manners that depicted the roles expected of night visitors to Marakana.

On hand to ensure that those who have taken enough quantities of alcohol or doses of Indian hemp and Marijuana are re-energized for the real business of the day, are local food vendors. Mid­dle-aged women hawking local and even modern aphrodisiac were also seen scrambling to settle down. While, Marakana is gradually building up in readiness for night life, different local football clubs as well as club-less young boys were still busy running around the round leather game.

Dotting the waterlogged, marshy gangway that connects the end of Ojoku Street to Marakana are red-eyed, dishevelled and haggard-looking boys. Our reporters stole a glimpse of one them loosely throwing his manhood around in the name of uri­nating. That sight alone was enough confirmation of what happens in the area. There was no respect for his manhood, which appeared loose and weak from the way it was violently dangled around be­fore it was finally buried behind the dirty, tattered trousers.

Saturday Sun equally learnt that fighting, which forms part of lifestyles there, is most times spilled over from Marakana to surrounding streets like the Ojoku street, where they use deadly instruments like jack-knife, broken bottles, log of woods, nails as well as razor blade to settle their scores.

According to a source within the surrounding kiosks on the arena, “when we talk about prosti­tution, it is not like the one you know. Here, it is not just that young secondary school girls sell sex for peanuts; sex is displayed on the corner. What I am saying is that people make love openly on that field at night. It is not a new thing. Those who don’t have a house around this place cannot but make love in the open, although it is in the night but people still see them. That is how bad it is here.”

Meandering through the gangways of the sur­rounding houses during the day, one is faced with the stark reality of a people who revel in noctur­nal activities. At some points, you find a cluster of about five or six young men, whose looks betray them as roughnecks, drinking locally brewed gin and lacing it with marijuana. At some other points, you find women, probably house wives, washing clothes with their babies strapped on their back. At another point, you find young ladies baring their breasts and wearing skimpy shorts or skirts idly seated by the entrance door to their individual rooms, looking alluringly for no one in particular, but hoping for a ‘big catch’ as well. Yet, there are other points where reggae and soft music are fil­tering through the windows; a clear indication that the boys are inside having good time.

Investigation also revealed that Marakana can­not be in short supply of ready-made teenage girls because of the concentration of secondary schools around the place. At the last count, our reporters identified more than 15 secondary schools located in the area. Popularly referred to as Tolu School Complex, it could also be rightly referred to as ‘school estate.’ Students were seen in groups loi­tering about when they were supposed to be in the classroom. Asked why they were outside at that hour of the day, a boy who identified himself as Ayo and a JSS 2 student said: “Our classroom is loaned out for the JSS 3 exams. So, we take turns to study and it will continue like that until the ex­ams are over. For instance, we shall make use of the class tomorrow but it will be used by those in JSS 1 a day after tomorrow.” Other students that it was exams period and that was why many stu­dents were seen outside.

Some of the localized schools in the area iden­tified by our reporters include Bola Ige Millenni­um Senior Secondary School; Oluwa Memorial Junior and Senior Secondary schools; Ojoku and Senior Secondary Schools; Expressway Secondary School; Creek Senior High Olodi Apapa High School; Mokoya Junior Senior High School; Preservation High Oshodi Junior and Senior Secondary Newland Senior Secondary School; Senior High School and Adeolu Senior School, among others.

Girls from the school, investigation are in the habit of satisfying the sexual the Marakana roughnecks popularly referred as Awara boys. Some of the girls are have made the place their classroom, where spend the whole day learning different skills, at the end of which they go home to have come back from school.

The sexual escapades of the girls at were confirmed by our reporters who positioned themselves at the end Street, which leads to Marakana. Between hours of 1:30pm and 2:00pm, the school time, some of the girls were seen holding hands with their lovebirds come out from their hide-out to board having had a hectic day ‘at school.’

According to a middle-aged woman, recharge cards around the area, it would to identify the girls because as soon as out of their parents’ houses, they find to change their school uniforms. “So, if waiting to see a girl on her school uniform, am sorry, you will never see one. They have extra-clothes in their bags into which change as soon as they step out of their But, just by their looks, you will be able that these ones are secondary school students,” she further explained.

Further checks revealed that the concentration of schools in Tolu has not helped the The initiators of Tolu School Complex have thought that just as concentration in a particular place brings about economies of scale, the concentration of schools in the place will also enable the to benefit academically from among themselves.

However, investigation have revealed of taking advantage of that rare opportunity to improve their academic performance, the male students are busy forming cult groups and fighting themselves while the female students have resorted to providing cheap sex to the Awara Boys as well as some of their teachers and other willing bidders.

The teachers, it was gathered, also take advantage of the female students. But, when our correspondent approached a female teacher in one of the schools, pretending to be teachers from a neighbouring school and wanting to know what their school was doing about the immoral activities of their female students, she denied that her stu­dents take part in such shameful conduct. She stoutly defended her students and ab­solved them from such immoral conducts. But, from investigation, female students from her school are top on the list of those who supply sex to the Awara Boys.

Also speaking about the activities of the boys at Marakana, a pastor of a pentecostal church located on a street off Ojoku said, although she has never stepped her feet on Marakana, she has heard so much about the place. She said that even though she is a pastor, she is sometimes afraid of the activ­ities of the boys.

“It is only God that is protecting us. This area is actually very bad. A lot of bad things happen here on a daily basis. But, we have to keep on praying so that God will remedy the situation, otherwise living in this area is like living in hell,” she said.

Another young lady, who preferred an­onymity, attributed the recklessness of the female students to lack of parental care. According to her, a situation where parents don’t care to even check the school bags of their children emboldens the girls to put ex­tra clothes inside their bags.

“Parents are to be blamed in all of these. They don’t check their children’s school bags often. That is why the girls could put extra clothes in their school bags only to change when they step out of their homes and head straight to their boy friends’ hous­es where they stay till the close of the school before they go home.

“Another way parents encourage them is that during exams, these same parents will use their hard-earned money to bribe the teachers so that these same wayward girls could pass their exams. They go ahead to do the same thing in WAEC and JAMB ex­ams,” she said.

She also informed that boys from differ­ent schools within the ‘School Complex’ take turns to engage in street fight. Accord­ing to her, street fight by one school against another usually takes place on Fridays, but can also spill over to Saturdays. On such occasions, residents of wherever street the fight is going on are at the mercy of the boys, who most often fight with cutlasses, knives, sticks, razor blades and stones as well as other deadly weapons.

A cross-section of parents, who spoke to our reporters, lamented the absence of secu­rity agents in the area. They decried a situa­tion where only one police station is provid­ed for the entire Tolu and its environs, when it is a common knowledge that the area is crime-prone.

They also confirmed that the cantanker­ous conducts of the Awara boys in the area coupled with the unholy activities in Mara­kana give them serious concern but they are helpless. They agreed with the position of the pastor that they live at the mercy of the boys.

A young lady, who could not understand how a community as large as Tolu would be held to ransome by few young boys, who take delight in fighting at the slightest prov­ocation, posited that only the provision of adequate security by the government in the area would arrest the situation.