Homeless in Port Harcourt: How a Friend Betrayed Me and Tried to Sell Me as a Sex Worker

I remember when I was homeless and slept on the streets of Port Harcourt for a week.

One of my male friends I called that week—I asked him if I could just spend the night at his place to bathe and sleep.

Instead, he sent me to a location and told his friend that I was an "OS" (commercial sex worker) and that he should sleep with me.

It was in Iwofe. At first, I thought it was his house. Poor me—thinking I had a true friend. When I got to the place, it wasn’t him that picked me up, but his friend. He told me the guy wasn’t around.

But it wasn’t even the main friend’s friend who picked me up. It was another guy entirely who later brought me to meet them.

I was quiet, just observing the situation. It was already late—around 10 p.m.

I asked where I could sleep, and they gave me a bed. I lay down and quickly fell asleep.

About 10 minutes into my sleep, the guy started tapping me, holding a condom in his hand, saying I should get up so we could have sex.

I asked him if he was mad or something. I told him his friend said I could stay the night. (They were students at Ignatius University.)

He replied that his friend told him I was an "OS" and that he was supposed to negotiate a price with me.

I laughed in disbelief and told him I wasn’t one—I just needed a place to sleep.

He kept disturbing me for almost five hours. Eventually, the other guy, who seemed like the more reasonable one—maybe he was just minding his business—got tired of the harassment.

He got up, told me to lie on his side of the bed, and told his friend to stop.

In the morning, he left the room angrily. That’s when I realized it wasn’t even his house either.

I asked him if I could bathe. He gave me everything I needed.

I changed my clothes, thanked him, and went on my way.

Men.