•Professional beggars flood Abuja roads seeking alms for patients with terminal diseases
By Martha Orubo
If you are a resident of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and a regular on some of the busy roads, especially the link roads to the expressways, you may have seen at least, one of two groups. Each of the groups usually made up of about five able-bodied young men and women with alms bags, accompanies a victim of either elephantiasis or drooping cancerous jaw positioned at the centre of the heavy traffic.
The ailments are well exposed for motorists and passengers to see, no matter which of the lanes they are. No matter how hard one may try to ignore them, the awful sight would move even a heart of stone to pity. That is exactly the desire of the group! Mindful of their fellow countrymen’s overflowing milk of human kindness, those with the bags move, in between vehicles collecting donations supposedly meant for treatment of the patient.
However, checks by Abuja Metro revealed that there seems to be no end to the operations of these groups. Several months into their regular appearances on the roads, they are still on duty and expectedly, people’s sympathy for the patients is waning. Although a member of the group once said they were nowhere near the target amount needed for the treatment of the diseases, not a few believe the groups are merely exploiting people’s emotions to make quick money and survive the hard times.
They wondered if the patients really want to be healed or they have been cajoled into silence by the healthy members of the groups or their unseen leaders who may be smiling to the banks each day.
Most of those who were interviewed urged the appropriate authorities to probe the activities of the groups with a view to ascertaining their motives and thereafter, ensure the treatment and rehabilitation of the patients.
A resident, Nnenna Shuaibu, said no amount of money garnered from begging on the roads would be enough for treatment of the patients because not all the motorists are so generous. She reasoned that at the end of each day’s outing, they may rake in about N5,000 from which both the patients and those working with them would feed and meet other basic needs.
Also, another resident, Nene Nweke, described the groups as professional beggars. Nweke advised them to close shop if they have gotten enough to enable them move on with life, stressing that it should not be a daily business.
Mr.Collins John likened the groups’ activities to a trade, “because no matter how much people give to them, they will not be satisfied. It has become a habit, a way of making money.”
Blessing Okocha spoke in similar vein, saying no matter how hard people try to help, members of the groups would not stop begging, adding, “ if people stop giving in one location, they will change to another location.”
Charles Kingsley was also not convinced that the groups are interested in the treatment of their sick members. “I think those people are out there to make money for themselves. They are not doing it because of the sick ones. They do not want to work hard, but are only out to make quick money”, he said.