Rotimi Ige, in this report, writes on the rising rate of professional beggars who have besieged major commercial cities in Nigeria and resorted to soliciting alms rather than engaging in meaningful jobs.A few years ago, beggars were considered runts of the Nigerian society. They were people who had lesser means of daily living. These people resorted to begging when all means of survival had eluded them or in some instances, were physically challenged.In the South-West of Nigeria, few Yorubas resulted to begging and usually, then, it was those who had either been neglected by their immediate families or were mentally deranged who begged for alms. Able-bodied beggars were disdained and shunned, as emphasis was based on hard work and pride, and took the country's economy was more robust than it currently is.Beggars from other parts of the country were mainly those who were either disabled or grossly indigent. But as economic situation in the country became stringent, many more people become beggars, with the hope of earning a living, and thus becoming a nuisance wherever they found themselves.Now, there seems to be new vogue of beggars in town. They are known as corporate beggars. As a writer succinctly put it, before their (corporate beggars) arrival, the unwritten beggars manual required that a street beggar must be either (a) physically handicapped with a visible deformity of leg or arm or (b) blind or (c) mentally sick to the extent that they fit what we, in local parlance, generally refer to as mad people. Alas! such is no longer the case as able-bodied men and women now seem to find an alternative to manual labour ' begging.The Lagos State government, in an effort to reduce the onslaught of beggars in the state, recently sent 3,029 indigent beggars back to their various states while 15 foreign others were also sent to their respective countries and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Youth and Social Development, Dr Dolapo Badru disclosed this, saying that at least, 3,044 persons were either transferred to other states or country, released to their relations for re-integration between January 2010 to date, he said. 196 beggars were deported to Sokoto State; 83 to Oyo State; 75 to Kano State; 67 to Osun State while 21 were deported to Ekiti State and seven to Ondo State, while 12 beggars were deported to Niger Republic ; two to Chad Republic and one to Cote d'voire and 2,580 others were handed over to their relations for integration.Nigeria is a country with a population of over 150 million people from different ethnic divides. With such an enormous number, the provision of adequate basic amenities in both urban and rural areas had been at the front burner for successive administrations, and this had proved difficult, according to economic watchers, owing to prevalent corruption and mismanagement among the political class and high-ranking people in the country, thus, plunging the country into the murky waters of a poverty-stricken society.With this development, a means of survival and to make ends meet have been the main priority of many Nigerians. For those who were lucky to get some form of education and have jobs, everyday living is made easy, to certain extent.However, for those without jobs, coupled with the rural to urban drift of people in search of a better life, and upon consequent realisation of the fact that available jobs are very limited, any means of survival becomes acceptable.There are several ways to make money, but the one seeming popular, more acceptable and stress-free method has surfaced, begging.However, these 21st century beggars have re-branded themselves.It isn't surprising, nowadays, to see an able young man walk up to someone at a junction or in traffic to solicit for alms. In most instances, the beggar, would regale tales of one misfortune or the other or nowadays, about a stolen wallet.And of course, these beggars try to look good, perhaps to give the impression that their stories of misfortune are true, while also passing a sublime message about the denomination of naira that would be commensurate with their appearance.One of those who had such experience from these beggars was Mrs Adesola Agbaje, a businesswoman. She was surprised when a young man in suit walked into her shop in the Maitama business district of Abuja and upon confirming that she was the owner of the shop, broke down in tears and recounted his ordeal in the hands of robbers, who, according to him snatched his car which contained all his belongings. Upon further inquiries, she began to get suspicious that he was lying."He told me that he was on his way to Abuja from Lagos when he was waylaid by armed robbers at Okene, Kogi State. But I very much doubted that story because he told me he was robbed in Kogi State and here he was in Abuja begging for money' And then, since he was coming to Abuja in the first place, why beg for alms again' Didn't he have family or friends in Abuja'", she asked.Lagos State, the commercial nerve centre of the country has continued to attract a large number of people from different parts of the world, especially from neighbouring countries. Some people believe that the state is a place flowing with the proverbial milk and honey where one could easily secure a job. Interestingly, one of the most attractive businesses in the city is begging which does not require a start-up capital. What has emerged from this line of business is what is known in Lagos and other cities today, as corporate begging. This type of business flourished during the Bola Ahmed Tinubu's administration as every street was flooded with beggars. In no time the corporate beggars became a huge nuisance on the streets of the city.When Mr Raji Fashola, assumed office as executive governor of the state, he launched a massive crackdown on the beggars using a task force popularly known as Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) officials to arrest these beggars.The efforts of the Fashola administration to kick beggars out of Lagos at a point seemed to have paid off. Spots where the beggars had adopted as their homes were demolished and in their places, Fashola had erected beautiful parks decked with exotic flowers.But the beggars have staged a comeback and in a bigger way. Unlike in the past when most of them were physically challenged, now the legion of beggars included children between the ages of four to nine years, and even well dressed and able-bodied individuals.At Marina, several child-beggars have turned the place into their operational base. Immediately they sight someone approaching, they would swoop on him/her begging profusely for alms. According to reports from people who have been besieged by these child-beggars, they say that the same scenario plays out in Oyingbo, Ketu, among others.One of the new tactics is that most young women now use the children kept in their care to beg for alms on the street. Old men and women are not left out in the business because they see it as stress free way to make money. Some of them sometimes strategically position themselves, with twins and triplets among others as major attraction.According to Isiaka Egbunu, religious institutions are partly to blame for encouraging beggars in the society. The Holy Bible and Qur'an teachings which encourage people to give alms to the less privileged as a way of attracting God's blessing have continued to attract more favour to the beggars, he argued. 'In Nigeria, when you need a certain favour from God, you are advised to give alms, as if your fate lies in the hands of such beggars. So, why would such beggars stop since they know that they would be patronised regularly'' Churches and especially, mosques are also a haven for beggars who besiege the places of worship to solicit for alms and other things.In major cities like Lagos, Ibadan, Abuja, Port Harcourt and the likes, it is commonplace to see many youths attending churches where the rich and famous attend, in order to solicit for alms or in most cases, jobs or some form of help.After Sunday services, these youths rush after the owners of the flashiest cars or the best dressed people with their resumes and other credentials in hope that they can get help. These youths, in apparent desperation, cook up tales of misfortune so as to be pitied upon and get assistance. In most cases, according to investigations, even if they do not get assistance in form of a job offer, such rich people part with some naira to assist the person in need.Lagosians are not enjoying the massive influx of the beggars into the city and they are complaining loud enough for the authorities to act. Sharing her experience, a woman who did not want her name in print, said on her way to Ojota from Yaba, she was approached by a young woman with two kids asking her for money to make-up transportation fares. She said because the woman was well-dressed and looked like somebody who was stranded she gave her some money without knowing that she was a beggar. She said that after two days she saw her again at Oshodi in the evening telling the same story to another man waiting to board a bus going towards Yaba/Onipanu.According to Nigerian Tribune investigations, there were people who did business with some of the beggars as they send them out to beg and collect some commission from them at the end of the day.Though begging is a demeaning way of earning a living, truth be told, the professional beggars, in most cities, are not regretting as they are smiling all the way to the bank.For this reason, most responders have called on the government to, as a matter of urgency, take the necessary steps to stop beggars from roaming the streets easily either by repatriating them to their respective homes or setting up vocational training centres so that they could be useful to the society.
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