I Don’t Have A Sugar Daddy Backing My Career – Liz Anjorin

The year 2016 was definitely a good one for Nollywood actress, Liz Anjorin.

 Not only did she move from a rented apartment to her own house in Lekki Phase One, she also embarked on a multi-million naira movie project titled, ‘Owo Nairabet.’

With all these achievements under her belt, it was only typical of Nigerians to wag their tongues as some insinuated that she had a rich sugar daddy somewhere bankrolling everything.

In a chat with Saturday Beats, the actress who is a single mother of one, said she had heard of such but in all honesty, all she has achieved has been through her sweat and blood.

 She said that even though she is a celebrity, she sleeps on the bare floor in her shop and even has her bath in public all because she is “hustling”.

“As a young woman, no sugar daddy would want to invest in you without getting a baby from you. I work like a slave and I sleep in my shop in Ogba.

 I don’t just sleep there for a day but for weeks. I stay in Lekki Phase One but I sleep on the bare floor in my shop for months.

 I bathe in a gutter, my workers would hold a cloth to cover me from the public eye and I would bathe there and I am a celebrity.

This is what I do often and I work like a slave. Aside from being an actress, I am a fashion designer; I also sell jewellery, shoes and bags.

I used to travel out of the country most times to Senegal to buy goods but I cannot do that anymore because of the exchange rate.

The clothes that we used to sell for about N70,000 is now about N160,000 and nobody has such money anymore.

 When I travel to Senegal to buy my goods, nobody knows that I am a celebrity because I work like a slave.

Sometimes if I am in a hurry to return to Nigeria and they have not finished my works in Senegal, I would join them and begin to sew.

If I had a sugar daddy somewhere, would I go through all this stress? I thank God that I am doing fine on my own.

I have paid my dues. In fact, you cannot tell children of nowadays to sleep on the bare floor, they would not listen.

When my daughter is around, she joins me and sleeps on the bare floor and same goes for my sister, Arike.

 I do all these because if I decide to always go to Lekki, I may not be able to save money.

 The truth of the matter is that I have paid my dues; I endure a lot even more than my age and stardom. If you work hard, God would surely reward your effort.

I don’t have a sugar daddy anywhere. If I had a sugar daddy, people would know because they would want a child from me.

No man in Nigeria would invest so much in you without expecting something in return,” she said.

The actress further hinted that she is in a relationship at the moment and she feels blessed to have a partner who understands and appreciates her work.

“I have a boyfriend and I really appreciate him for being there.

He is very understanding and nice.

 As a young woman, if you date a man that is always collecting money from you, the lady would not progress in life but when you are dating a man that is not after your money, whatever you get, people would notice that you are doing well.

My boyfriend is a very busy person, so my busy schedule does not really affect him. As a celebrity, if you want to date a man, go for the busy ones.

If you need to have time for yourself, both parties would clear their schedule.

There was a time my boyfriend travelled for about two months and when he went to my house, my guard told him that I had not been home for weeks so he called me.

I told him I was in my shop and he decided to have a video call with me.

 He was shocked the way I looked and had to ask why I looked terrible because I had been in the shop sleeping on the ground,” she said.

Read More

We're Branded as 'Sugar Mummies' - Abuja Women Lament Discrimination for Marrying Younger Men

The discrimination against women marrying younger men, while the society see nothing wrong in men having much younger wives, has led some women in Abuja to a massive protest.

File photo: Women protesting

 

Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja, some women in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, on Thursday, decried discrimination in Nigeria against women marrying younger men, while seeing nothing wrong in men having much younger wives.

 

Some of the women alleged that they had been discriminated, judged and labelled “sugar mummy” for their marriage to men they were older than.

 

A businesswoman identified as Esther David, said she was five years older than her husband, who is also into the same provision business with her.

 

She added her decision to marry her husband was borne out of love, admiration and respect she had for him, and not because she was desperate to get married as alleged by some persons.

“Our society tends to judge women negatively for marrying younger men, even if that relationship was borne out of love and respect for each other.

“But the same society sees nothing wrong if a man marries someone that he is old enough to even be her grandfather," she lamented.

 

According to her, she faced a lot of challenges from her in-laws due to the age difference before she was fully accepted as his wife, despite performing the traditional, Christian and even the court wedding.

 

A mother of two identified as Bose Ade, said even though she was eight years older than her husband, whom she has been married to for over a decade, her being older had not affected the love, affection and respect they had for each other.

“At first, it was very difficult for me to accept his marriage proposal because I was far older than him with over eight years.

“But I was later convinced by his persistence and support from his family that he was not dissuaded by our age differences,” Mrs. Ade said.

 

However, she added that even though she was accepted by her in-laws, she still faces discrimination from some of his relatives and the neighbourhood they reside in.

 

According to her, she ignores all the subtle attacks on her person, urging other women that are facing similar challenges to ignore gossip and concentrate on building their homes.

“I don’t have problem with my in-laws, it is just some distant relatives of his and people in our area who still gossip and call me names like old woman, and all sorts because he looks younger than I do.

“I choose to ignore them and make sure I exhibit love and affection for my husband just to spite them,”she said.

 

However, Fatima Musa, an unemployed graduate said she cannot marry a younger man because the society would see her as “desperate’’ and she may not get the respect she deserves from him.

“Women naturally look older than men. So if you marry someone younger in age, one might end up looking like his mother or elder sister than his wife, especially when one starts bearing children,” Ms. Musa said.

 

On his part, Idris Samaila said there was nothing wrong in a woman marrying a man she is older than, as long as mutual trust, respect and love exists between them.

“Age is just a figure that people put so much emphasis on. It does not matter if a woman is older than her husband or the husband is older than the wife as it is commonly practiced in our society”, Mr. Samaila posited.

“The main issue we should be concerned about is how to build our homes within the tenets of our religious believes, as well as sharing love and understanding.’’

 

Mr. Samaila said the fear of marrying a younger man by some women who feel the age difference might bring disrespect between them, was uncalled for, as respect was earned.

“The claim that marrying a younger man would make him disrespectful to one in the future is a flimsy excuse, because I have seen instances where a matured man marries a woman like his daughter’s age mate and she still does not have respect for him.’’

 

He therefore appealed to the society to shun any form of discrimination against men or women, who marry much younger spouses. ¨

 

He said Nigerians should encourage the sanctity of marriage within the religious or traditional belief so as to reduce the rate of illegitimate children in the society.

Read More

Sugar Mummy Hunt Gains Momentum in Lagos Amidst Scams by Fraudster

Some young Lagosians have constantly fallen victim to 'sugar mummy scams' organized by unscrupulous people in the city to swindle lady men who want to make easy cash in exchange for pleasure.

 

The Nigerian Tribune has done a concise investigation into the sugar mummy hunt scams that have become prominent in the commercial city of Lagos with ambitious Nigerian youths towing that line for quick money.

 

Along major streets, on pavements beside the roads, on pedestrian bridges, and on notices posted on buildings and walls around the metropolis, there is almost always a note asking you to call a particular number or visit a website should you need a “sugar mummy”.

Even though initial information gathered by Saturday Tribune identified Ebute Metta and Gbagada as the major hubs for the business, residents in those areas who were contacted last week said they were not aware.

“I have lived in this area (Ebute Metta) for more than twenty years now,” said Thomas Nwike who owns a fashion shop close to Alagomeji. “I know there are sugar mummies everywhere in Lagos; but I don’t think that this place is their headquarters or anything like that.”

It is not often possible to reach a sugar mummy directly, as many of them are represented by “agents.” It is the responsibility of these agents to “screen” prospective “sugar boys” and present them to the women.

According to findings by Saturday Tribune, the boys are expected to be handsome, reliable, trustworthy, and “durable” in bed. The more influential women prefer university students or recent graduates who are unemployed.

The sugar boy’s fee is negotiable. Where the sugar mummy takes extra interest in him, she usually “buys” him off, by paying a large sum of money to the agent. For one-offs, however, payment is made per night, and it ranges from N80, 000 to N180, 000, depending on the status of the sugar mummy and the “quality” of the sugar boy.

An investigation, however, shows that this “venture” has been infiltrated by a large network of fake agents who, on a daily basis, con unsuspecting “sugar boys” out of thousands of money.

Most of these agents are active on the internet, where several websites are dedicated entirely for this purpose. Indeed, information gleaned from a number of general dating websites showed that requests for sugar mummies and sugar boys are dominant.

For example, on adsafrica.com.ng, as of midday on Thursday, the category “Women Looking for Men in Lagos”had 1,344 requests, while “Men Looking for Women in Lagos” had only 667.

To understand better how this business operates, Saturday Tribune, posing as a prospective customer, contacted one of the agents and requested help to meet a sugar mummy.

The first agent who identified herself as Mrs Ruth spoke briskly, above what sounded like generator sounds in the background.

After she had determined that the person on the phone was unemployed, young, handsome, educated, and could last a minimum of four hours in bed, she said: “I will get you a sugar mummy. She is a fine woman who is very rich. You will like her. Just send me N500 recharge card. I will use it to call her and arrange for the two of you to meet. The money you will get from her is N80 000, per night. After this call, send me a text message. Include your name, age, location, and the recharge card I told you about. I will call you after I have talked with the madam, ok?”
When she did not immediately receive the text message she had asked for, she called, and when she was told the whole plan was still being considered, she lost her cool.

“You’re not serious. You think I have your time, abi? Nonsense-man!”

A second agent whose mobile number appeared up to eight different times on a website identified himself as Mr Mark. Most of the questions he asked were similar to those asked by Ruth. But when Saturday Tribune observed that N500 was too much for him to use to set up the meeting, he brought it down to N400.

“You see, I want to help you,” he said. “You said you’re not employed, and I just want to help you. Just send the recharge card. Then send your full name, location and the hotel where you want to meet your sugar mummy. I will call her and you can meet her, even tomorrow. She will pay you N180,000 for the night, and you can pay us N40, 000 from it.”

Mr Mark seemed the better choice; and so, the recharge card and all the information he requested were promptly sent to him. Two minutes after, he called back, and sounded quite pleased.

“I got your text message,” he said. “Thanks. But there is a form you have to fill. It’s eight thousand naira only. I will send you my account number. If you can pay early tomorrow, I will meet you at 12pm at the hotel with the form. The sugar mummy will be there too. She is a rich woman; just tell her what you want; don’t be afraid; she will help you. She has companies, and since you said you’re a graduate, she can even help you get a job.”

Asked if it would be possible to pay him upon receipt of the N180, 000, he said, “No, this N8,000 must be paid before you meet her. It is for your form. The sugar mummy will bring the form to the hotel for you to fill. But because I know you are not employed, I can take N5,000 from you and I will use my N3,000 to complete it for you.”

There were several contradictions in his story. At a point he said the form would be brought to the hotel by him; at another he said it would be brought by the sugar mummy herself. Meanwhile, his text message which arrived minutes later read: “Maneger details: Uzoya, Bleep acc 0049288XXX. Bleep Bank plc.”  Strangely, it did not contain the name “Mark.” Even more puzzling, a caller-identity application (Truecaller) identified the owner of Mark’s mobile number as “Bleep Adebayo”.

When he was never contacted again nor paid the agreed sum, he continued to call throughout the day. When, however, he was finally contacted later in the day on Thursday and confronted with all the conflicting facts, he flared up:

“I was just trying to help you, and you are talking rubbish. You have to be a man… you have to be a man… What are you talking…? You have to be a man…” He spoke mostly the same words for a long time, repeating “You have to be a man” many times.

Read More