11th June, 2010
The government of Lagos State, South West Nigeria, has ordered Ocean Blue, a strip club operating in Opebi axis of Ikeja to remove its signpost, but the order has been snubbed by the managers of the club, P.M.NEWS observed last night.
The signpost with photographs of some of the exotic dancers on it is located by the roadside adjacent to Sweet Sensation bus stop in Opebi area of Ikeja. Each night, the signpost comes alive with all the illumination on it to attract patrons.
The Lagos State Signage and Advertising Agency (LASAA) early this week pasted a removal notice on the signpost but last night Ocean Blue was still operating with its signpost in place.
Ocean Blue along with three other clubs on Opebi-Allen axis of Ikeja reopened recently after the state lawmakers said that there was nothing illegal about dancing naked in residential areas. P.M.NEWS reported last week that since their reopening, business has started booming again at the clubs.
The four nude clubs are Wallstreet, Club Unique, Magic City and Cazzbah. Wallstreet is located at 70B Allen Avenue while Club Unique is on Ogundana Street off Allen Avenue.Ocean Blue is adjacent to Sweet Sensation Bus Stop in Opebi and Cazzbah is adjacent to Opebi Bus Stop.
On 3 November last year, the four clubs were closed by the Lagos State Task Force for operating strip clubs in residential areas without permit. Two managers and 33 dancers were arrested and paraded. But since the girls were rehired early this year after the state lawmakers said that there was nothing illegal about their activities, it has become business as usual with even more rewards for the girls.
P.M.NEWS checks at the clubs in recent days have revealed that although open sex has been stopped with the girls wearing their strings as they dance, the other perks have remained in place. At Ocean Blue two weeks ago, the hall was filled to the brim as the girls displayed all they could. Two girls entertained the crowd by sucking each other’s breasts to a rousing applause from male and female patron watching them.
The girls were mostly different from those who danced last year before the closure. About a dozen belly dancers walk around the clubs asking patrons if they needed a lap dance or wanted to go to the VIP where they could go a step further with them.
One of the girls called Angel who claimed to be staying in Egbeda told our correspondent that she is a part time student in Lagos but did not disclose the name of her institution. She said money is the reason she is dancing. Just like before the closure, the daily show usually starts at about 8 O’clock and gets to its crescendo around 11 pm when the hall is filled to the brim. The belly dancers cover their bodies with only panties and gradually undress as they dance around a pole but no longer remove their light panties though there is hardly anything covered. The patrons show appreciation by throwing money at the dancers. The more money is thrown, the more the exotic dancers display.
—Simon Ateba