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Nigerian legal practitioner, Liborous Oshoma, has drawn attention to what he describes as the “economy of sex” in the country, arguing that it reflects the deeper societal issue of objectifying women.
Speaking during News Central TV’s Jasiri on Tuesday, Oshoma pointed out that vast amounts of money circulate within transactional relationships.
“Recently, they said Lagos State men spent about 644 billion naira in 2024 on sexual transactional relationships… The budget for sex in Nigeria is much more than the national budget,” he said.
He linked this phenomenon to the way women are portrayed in society and the media.
“You look at music videos, for example. You see the guys wearing jackets, fully clothed, and then you objectify the women with pants and bras,” he noted.
According to him, cultural practices further reinforce these dynamics, making discussions around transactional relationships difficult.
Initially sceptical about the figures, Oshoma admitted he reconsidered after analysing the data.
“At first, I said, oh, this is unbelievable. How did they arrive at this? But when I look at the statistics and how they arrive at that… by the time you add the Lambo, the poppy salad, the stars, and all of those things, you know, we’re talking about trillions,” he explained.
Describing the issue as a “big economy,” he noted that it influences relationships and even cases of harassment.
“It’s a big economy, and I once told somebody, ‘look, the budget for sex in Nigeria is much more than the national budget.’”
With such staggering figures, the intersection of sex, money, and power in Nigeria remains an issue that many find difficult to discuss openly.
