BEGGING has been part and parcel of human existence and assumes a bigger dimension in Nigeria where most religions do not frown at the practice at all. In fact, giving alms to the less-privileged is considered an act of worship by many religions in Nigeria. For this reason, it is considered uncharitable for Christians and Muslims not to give, especially to those who are persons with disabilities and are always on the road soliciting for alms.
While many have taken advantage of the presence of these unfortunate men and women to donate cash, food items and clothing to help them live happily, it is shocking that others rather prefer to take advantage of their predicament. For instance, it has since emerged that some heartless fellows now drop dangerous or harmful items for hapless visually-impaired beggars under the pretext of making use of such ‘gifts’.
Snakes, needles and faeces as gifts for the blind in Niger State
On many occasions, many blind men and women received gifts from the anonymous donors that left them in tears and regret. Many of them said they received such harmful gifts as snakes, sharp needles and charms from donors who they could not of course recognise because they are blind.
Dangerous snakes
The Chairman of the Niger State Chapter of the Blind Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Rabius Abdullahi, told Arewa Voice that they had been handed dangerous items because of their lack of sight.
“Those who have eyes and are better than us capitalized on our handicap and have been handing us very dangerous killer items such as snakes, sharp objects that injure us and many other things we cannot describe,” Abdullahi lamented.
“Some of my members were given snakes as gifts in the past. They are neatly parked in sacks and dropped as gifts to them on the streets. It is at the point of checking and opening the ‘gifts’ at home later in the night that they discover that they are snakes. The good thing about it is that none of those who received these strange, dangerous gift were bitten or came to any harm. Only God knows the motives behind such gifts.
“Just three days ago, somebody brought one measure of Guinea corn as a gift to me in this my office and I gladly received it with thanks. But as one of my wives was trying to turn it into a bowl, bad odour oozed out of the nylon; that was when we discovered human faeces wrapped with the grains with maggots coming out of the nylon. We ended up just throwing the ‘gift’ into the dustbin.
“These are the dangers we face almost on daily basis. Unfortunately, there is no way we can trace those who give us such “killer gifts” except Allah exposes them. We don’t rain curses on such people knowing fully well that Allah will personally take care of them on our behalf, especially since we are never harmed,” he declared.
Arewa Voice correspondent said that apart from snakes and faeces, needles and charms are also neatly packaged and dropped as gifts for the blind. But Alhaji Abdullahi said that they have handed over the donors of the dangerous items to Allah as they will not challenge them.”
The chairman of the blind association said it was because of the frustration they are facing daily that they want the government to do something tangible for them in order for them to leave the roadside and return to a more meaningful and dignified sources of livelihood. He pointed out that they would not be able to quit roadside begging until the government comes out with a blueprint for the less-privileged in the state, especially the blind who cannot see and do not know what is going on in the society.
He said: “Let government at all levels come out with laudable programmes to take care of us and our family instead of threatening to take us off the streets and dump us somewhere where we will be left doing nothing. Honestly, this cannot work because it will amount to killing us installmentally if we don’t have anything to eat and take care of our family. All the physically challenged people in the state are Nigerians and most of them are even from Niger State and they should therefore be treated as human beings and given a sense of belonging,” Rabiu advised.
We’re exploring solutions to street begging – Information Commissioner
The state Commissioner of Information and Strategy, Alhaji Idris Sani Mohammed in an interview recently said the state government is not working in isolation on the issue of the beggars and Almajirai roaming the streets.
“The matter has now become an issue being discussed at Northern Governors Forum.
We realised that when you move them from the streets, by the time you come back the following week, they are back on the streets. That is why the state government is collaborating with other states to ensure that we put a structure that is water-tight so that all states can accommodate their own people by the time we take back their people,” the commissioner explained.