From Desmond Mgboh, Kano
The Emir of Bichi in Kano, Nasiru Ado Bayero, has called on the state government to empower street beggars to make them self-reliant. He made the call when the state Task Force Committee on Evacuation and Repatriation of Beggars paid him a courtesy visit in his palace.
He insists that to eradicate begging as a means of livelihood, beggars have to be economically empowered. The monarch urged the committee to educate and sensitize the people on the menace of street begging in the society. He directed all district, village and ward heads in his emirate to support the committee in its onerous task of tackling the social ill. Chairman of the committee, Rabi’u Suleiman, said they were at the palace to inform the emir on the preparation by the committee, and to seek his support and blessing to end street begging in the state. Bichi, who was represented by the Managing Director, Agency for Evacuation and Repatriation of Beggars, Muhammad Albakary Mika’il, stated that the committee consulted with all stakeholders that included heads of media organizations, the Ulamas, Civil Society Organizations, among others.