Boldly inscribed on the red gate  is: “Aid is Real, Play Safe.” And this is  undersigned: “The Youth of Honour”.  This gate leads to one of the dingy neighbourhoods of Lagos where men, fat rats, roaches and bed bugs cohabit.    It is a place where black, smelly water spills into the streets from brimming gutters when it rains and  where naked children romp in the day, oblivious of the filth around them. The place is an enclave of sorts  for some alcoholic loafers  who wake everyday to eat, drink and play Lagos lotto. And make more merry. In the night, it is also a hangout where nubile young girls stand half nude by the road sides to hawk sex at low–cost; where men of unruly libido meet women of inordinate sexual cravings. It  is  reminiscent  of biblical Sodom and Gomorrah--- a centre of sin where no pure person passes through undefiled.Welcome to “Empire”, one of the numerous sex markets in the city of Lagos.  Tucked in between Yaba-Ojuelegba and Surulere-Mushin it is the same place where the late Abami Eda, Fela Anikulapo reigned and ruled before he relocated to the new shrine in Ikeja. Four   streets lead to Empire : Oguntokun, Okesuna, Atan and Folarin.In the day, Empire looks like a small shanty town, not anything close to the slum of Mumbai in Slumdog Millionaire though. Small sheds for food, cheap liquor, cigarettes and “weed” dot the roadsides. Young men with dark-burnt finger tips crowd at the sheds smoking hemp and downing spirits recklessly. The revolutionary renditions of legends like Bob Marley and Fela oozing from a CD player nearby help set the mood -- or so it appears. Far from the red gate entrance comes also the music of Don Moen and a collage of other gospel music. But, no one pays attention to the religious melody here. The boys play lotto even as the revel continues, and occasionally sing along with the music box. Atimes, they launch into hot arguments on trivia. Topics like who is richer between David Beckham and Michael Owen? who sings better between Fela  and Bob Marley or Pasuma and Osupa?Much sound and fury, signifying nothing.But no one seems disturbed by the regular nuisance of the boisterous youths. At one corner of a stall, a few elderly fellows are sipping paraga,  local cheap whisky. They all bear the same features: yolk-yellow eyeballs, puffy cheeks, decaying teeth… They are relics of  their old selves, a result of several years of indulgencies. Yet they appeared cheery even in their degenerate state. Past their prime, these men   can no longer give lustful pleasure to a woman, not even the fallen angels of Empire. Now, lurid jokes is the pastimes of this old gang. Sitting there on a broken bench, they do not mind the noisome bunch of youths around them; they are mere reminders of their own heydays. At Empire, girls are bat-like. They don’t walk the streets in daylight, except to buy food and cigarettes. Then you could see a bare-bottom bimbo stroll towards mama-put shop, get her order and go back to her shack. Her  prancing  might not even win a leer from the boys in the hood. They have seen it all. Generally, Empire is a quiet community during the day.  But the mood of the place changes at nightfall into something of a street party with music blaring from every corner, each side of the roads lined by girls of various shapes and sizes. Young attractive girls, dressed up with intention to lure buyers of quick sex. In this business, looking sexy is it. They all look ravishing, and smell like mobile perfume shops. But some are more aggressive than others in their marketing. The more daring ones would hold your hands and throw some endearments at you even as you walk past. “sweetheart, come now;” “Honey Pie, look here;” “Hi handsome.” Some would even invite   you to touch their breasts to feel the firmness.  Those with sagging breasts try hard to do a push-up with iron-cast bra. Some succeed. But experienced eyes can identify the firm from the fallen. Whoever tarries long enough to listen to the  sales talk of  these Empire girls could forget all moral lessons  in the holy books and follow Adam to gobble  the apple. Well, The Guardian spoke to a couple of these ladies of the evening --Joy and Nkem--- separately, amidst blaring music. Here is a record of our conversation:The Guardian: HelloThe girl: hiThe Guardian: What is your name?The girl: NkemThe Guardian: I like to catch some fun with you tonight, how much will it cost me?The girl: How much you wan give me?The Guardian: How much you wan take, don’t you have a   regular price?The girl: No specific price, any amount wey you and the person talk.The Guardian: Can you do night?  A whole night?The girl: Where?The Guardian: Ikeja The Girl: Ah! That’s far o. E far. Please pay N7,000The Guardian: Seven K just like that.The girl: Yes now, you know where you are taking me to Now?The Guardian: But I am taking you in my car.The girl: I know.The Guardian: So talk, how much be your last price?The Girl: Ok, give me N6,000The Guardian: No, I am thinking of three.The girl: You know what, I don’t want us talk too much, give me four and we would leave for ElevenThe Guradian: I would give three.The Girl: It’s four.The Guardian: OkThe other lady, Joy, looked older and friendlier. And so is her price. She was willing to take N2000 to ‘do night’, but she  would not follow any man to spend the night outside Empire. “Lagos is risky,” she says However, the two ladies promised The Guardian On Saturday a rewarding night any day.While the conversation was going on, no curious eyes strayed towards our direction. No querying stare. Everyone appears to be minding his or her own business. Some men were wolving down suya with beer at the bar nearby. Some clustered around a TV set, feasting eyes on the ongoing World Cup match. A number of Empire girls were swaying to D-Banj music on the roadsides. Some could be seen negotiating prices, after which they would disappear into a small room to eat the forbidden fruit.Admonitions such as “Aids is Real, play Safe” fall on deaf ears. At Empire, life is lived at its most worthless . But it is more about survival than choice. It is also about the failure of various institutions: marriage and family, schools, churches and mosques, and government. It is a collapse of values which turned the young girls of Empire into sexual perverts. And when a society loses it moral compass, it ends up building  empires of sin…