Lagos, the ‘promised land’ for Beggars in Nigeria
 | Lagos October 23, 2012 She was moderately dressed, nice colour combination and a good grasp of Queen’s English. “Good afternoon sir, please I left my ATM (Automated Transfer Machine) card at home and I need to fuel my car now, (she pointed to a parked Range Rover SUV). Please sir can you help me with any amount to fuel my car?” this woman asked. Out of compassion Olayinka Ojo, who was about to make a withdrawal at an ATM located around Ikeja, gave her N1000. She gladly accepted it with thanks, but instead of moving toward the SUV, she walked across and approached another passer-by, obviously with the sole aim to use the same guise to beg money. Mama Doe is a known corporate beggar in Mushin area of Lagos. She tactically transacts her ‘trade’ with unsuspecting victims. Peter Ede, who almost fall victim of her antics, recently narrated his story to Daily Independent. |
“I was just driving through Agege Motor Road in a heavy traffic when an obese woman greeted me warmly. This woman, who sounded familiar, further accused me of not asking after her welfare. Before I could reply she jumped into my car but I was deeply convinced that I have never met her. Hence I screamed at her while commanding her to get down from my car.” According to Ede, the woman speedily alighted from his car while raining abuses on him as she went away.
Marvellous Michael, a socialite just like Ede, came across Mama Doe but due to the fact that Michael is a socialite he played into her hands as he parted with N500. “She greeted me warmly and accused me of not taking time to ask after her. Honestly I couldn’t recognise her but I was quite friendly with her because I am a socialite. And there is every possibility that our parts have crossed. I gave her N500 and she even complained that it was too small. I was angry with her because of her complaint that the money I gave her was small. She apologised thereafter, as I zoomed off my car in annoyance. Two weeks later when I passed through the area I saw her again. This time around I didn’t give her room to talk before I shut her down.”
Narrating his experience with a beggar, Ajobola Opaleye said, “I was on my way from a friend’s place recently, a young man approached me to give him N100, which I did out of compassion as he looked so responsible. To my amazement I saw him the following day on the same spot. I was dazed when I saw him. I just walked passed him when he approached me for help.”
In the past beggars are simply people with one form of disability or the other, those who hides under their disabilities to beg for alms. However the reverse is the case nowadays as many people have chosen begging as a fulltime profession. Funny enough it pays their bills, puts food on their tables, and the proceeds also clothes them. No country in the world is without the poor and needy, but it takes only the serious government to provide for them, at least, basic needs like food, cloths and shelters to discourage them from resorting to begging and even outright crime. Fingers really are not equal. Some state government recently, in their attempts to sanitise public places, clappeddown on beggars, returned non-indigenes to their various states of origin while those beggars who are indigenes were sent to rehabilitation camps.
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