READER-RESPONSE TO "FOR GIRLS ONLY"

0705900xxxx: There is nothing you can do rather than to help her out in finding her the choice of man she desires because she has no hope of going to school due to lack of sponsor. She is from a poor family according to her. Do you expect her to go into prostitution? Please help her out…Thanks. Akor J- Port Harcourt.

Me: To pimp girls is like giving them an executive ticket to PROSTITUTION. Poverty is no excuse. What Happy needs is to get a job and work with her hands and not sleep around.

0705900xxxx: Please get me right, I did not say pimp her. She requested for a man to marry instead of her sleeping about. Secondly, she is not using poverty as an excuse- that is her condition. She needs to work, agreed. But where is the way out now that the labor market has been taken over by nepotism?

0805082xxxx: I read your article today- for girls only, I don’t think she should be scolded- at 22, it is better to get married if that is what she meant by her SMS than to be hawking in brothels in the name of funding her educational pursuit- please guide her with worthwhile options. Thanks. Ken.

0807162xxxx: hello Jenny, how was the weekend. I really enjoy reading your little column in THE NATION. You seem to always hit the nail on the head. I’m very impressed by your choice of words too...

0705823xxxx: Hello I’m Daisy from Benue State . Should Happy be blamed? There are countless girls in her situation who are encouraged, coerced or even forced by so-called parents, guardians and mentors, to sell their bodies in exchange for material things. Who then will educate these young women on the error of their ways when those who are supposed to take care of them are in fact responsible for their wayward behavior? Perhaps it is the mentors, parents and guardians who should be educated.

0803391xxxx: Good day Jen, ‘a nice and handsome man’ will of course empower your client, a man of her own, not moneybag, to lean on. She wants to be responsible, what is wrong with that? -Hankaka.

Me: Thanks for your text, but how will a nice and handsome man empower her?

0803391xxxx: Unless he wants to be saddled with a liability, he could identify her shortcomings and work on it. Heads together with love they can tackle it; remember it is now 2 heads.

Me: So any girls having issues now should start looking for a man to tackle their problem instead of taking up the challenge? The solution is not ‘quick fix it’ girls should learn to stand on their feet!