*This piece has been medically reviewed by Dr Temitope Fadeyibi
Did you know you can have gonorrhoea in your eyes? Or that kissing transfers more micro-organisms than licking a toilet seat because saliva contains more bacteria than a toilet? No? Well, you should probably avoid getting people’s bodily fluids anywhere near your eyes or kissing other people indiscriminately. And just wait until you find out about pubic lice.
September is sexual health awareness month. ‘Sexual Health’ goes beyond just the absence of sex-related diseases, but rather includes the complete state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being in relation to sexuality (WHO). Simply put, your sexual health involves everything that goes on in your life related to your sexuality and sexual practices.
Because we at WTS do not encourage sexual anyhowness rooted in a lack of education, we’re bringing sexual health information to you. More correctly, we’re telling you where NOT to get said information from, like from the mouths of the following Afrobeats stars:
- Wizkid
When Wiz guest-starred on Burna’s track Single in 2015, he hit us with the line ‘I wear 1 or 2 or 3 rubbers sometimes, just to keep it on a low-low’. While his heart is in the right place (yay, safe sex!), he’s doing too much. Literally.
Fact: Condoms are designed to be worn one at a time. Although it may seem counterintuitive, double (or triple) bagging actually offers less protection. This is because the material is made to rub against flesh, not itself. When you double up, the increased friction is likely to cause tears in both condoms, increasing the likelihood of catching STIs or pregnancy. This also applies to using an external (male) condom and an internal (female) condom simultaneously. You can find more tips on how to properly use a condom here (with diagrams!).
Bottom line: When people say ‘less is more’, this is one of those situations. By being overzealous with your protection, you might actually end up making things worse. Maybe someone should have explained this to our dear Wiz years ago.
- Niniola
On her recent hit Ginger Me, Niniola assumes the persona of the older, more exposed ‘Area Sister’ and sings the line ‘Lo alum s’abe die, wa ri pe o ma tight’ which translates to ‘use a little alum down there, you’ll see that it’ll tighten’. That’s just wrong! Please do not ever do this.
Fact: Potassium alum, commonly called alum, fitkari or tawas, is a chemical compound that can be used as a water purifier, in baking, and in wound care to stop bleeding. It is an astringent, which means it causes tissues to contract when applied to skin, which is what brings about the ‘tightening’ sensation.
Alum is NOT safe for use in the vagina for several reasons:
- It dries out the vagina by drawing out all of its natural moisture, which is the opposite of what you’d want for sexual intercourse; as it can cause discomfort or pain during sexual activity and lead to microtears, which increase the chances of contracting an STI.
- Outside of sex, it can affect simple daily comfort, as you might experience pain and mild to severe irritation.
- It alters the super delicate pH of the vaginal environment, which can increase the chances of getting infections like bacterial vaginosis (BV) or candidiasis (yeast infections).
Bottom line: Don’t put alum or any other harsh, unprescribed substances in your vagina because of anybody, abeg. The vagina is elastic; it returns to its normal size after sex or even childbirth, so you do not need anything. If you’re having issues with your muscle tone in that area, try pelvic floor exercises like Kegels.
- Olamide
Do you remember when we all couldn’t stop dancing to Reggae Blues? Well, if you listen closely, you’ll hear Olamide deliver a lyric that’s very much in line with what many Nigerian parents consider comprehensive sex ed: “If your body touch omoge, she go get belle”. Hate to say it, but that’s not actually how pregnancy works.
Fact: You can’t cause or catch a pregnancy just by coming into external contact with a person of the opposite sex. Pregnancy usually requires some form of sexual activity (except via medical intervention such as artificial insemination). Fun fact: you actually can get (or cause) a pregnancy without penetration or ejaculation, if sperm cells somehow come in contact with the vaginal area and swim towards their goal.
Bottom line: It’s the sperm and egg cells touching each other that can cause a pregnancy, not Baddo’s body touching any omoge’s.
- Mr Eazi
Life was good when Mr Eazi dropped Miss You Bad featuring Burna Boy. You know what wasn’t good, though? The relationship he was fighting to save in the song. ‘Sake of I cheat, wey you cheat, wey I cheat, wey you cheat back, baby make e cancel out’ is actually nasty work.
Fact: Please try as much as possible to stick to one partner at a time. Increasing the number of sexual partners directly increases your chances of contracting an STI, as well as a host of other risks. Even if you think you’re being safe, one of your partners (or their other partners) might not be.
Bottom line: If you know anyone who thinks like this, please inform them that nothing is cancelling anything; instead, they & their partner are infinitely compounding their chances of catching icky stuff.
To give credit where it’s due, our artists have been known to write lyrics that actually promote sexual health. For example:
- Niniola (again).
On the very next lines of the song earlier mentioned, the Area Sister redeems herself with ‘Lo condom, lo condom, ko ma d’oyún, ka ma gbọ́ story to touch; Ṣo’ra fun gonorrhea, to ba ti yun e, ko gbóná lo pharmacy’ which basically translates to ‘use a condom so you don’t get pregnant and we don’t hear stories that touch; be careful of gonorrhea, if it itches, go to the pharmacy.’
Yes to all of it, except you should maybe visit a hospital/clinic rather than a pharmacy for diagnosis.
- Tiwa Savage
In 2022, Tiwa was featured on Asake’s song Loaded, on which she said ‘Sex tape o le baye mi je’ meaning ‘a sex tape can’t ruin my life’, in reference to the 2021 incident. Obviously, while it’s totally uncool that her intimate moments were leaked and no one should ever have to go through that, sex positivity is an important part of sexual health. It’s important to note that your life is not going to end because people know you did it.
- Rema; Patoranking
These two artists both have lyrics that emphasise consent. On Patoranking’s hit No Kissing, he sings ‘if you no give, i no go take,’ while Rema sings ‘if them no do, no be by force; plenty dey wey go con-con (consent)’ on Woman, which is ironically a song about how much he enjoys having multiple women. This just goes to show that good advice can come from the most unexpected places.
- Tiwa Savage and Rudeboy of P-Square
In 2016, these two artists released Get It Together, a song for the Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative. ‘Na people wey sabi, na dem dey plan well-well’ was aimed at teaching Nigerians the importance of responsible family planning, which can never be overemphasised.
Knowledge is power. Because Nigeria has a notoriously bad attitude towards sex education and sexual health awareness, it is up to us as individuals to research and find out what we should and should not do. However, be mindful of where you get your information from. We should all know by now that doing things just because a celebrity said so is a quick way to run into trouble, so please verify all information before adopting it into your daily life. Visit trusted media sources like dedicated health websites or medical practitioners with verified credentials on social media for all of your health information, including sexual health. If you still do anyhow after reading this, well, posterity will have it that I tried.
