Beggars’ strange prayers: May Jonathan not fix Onitsha-Enugu Road
•Rake in N45,000 monthly, parade blackberry phones From ALOYSIUS ATTAH, Onitsha

They are regular faces along Onitsha- Enugu expressway. Easily noticeable, they have many things in common – varying degree of deformities mainly due to poliomyelitis attack. All of them are of Northern extraction while their permanent places of daily “business” are the various failed portions of the Onitsha- Enugu highway.

They surface as early as 6am daily while their benefactors are commuters who ply the road and throw naira notes of several denominations at them. They often wave in anticipation anytime a vehicle gets closer to the strategic positions they occupy while their finance controller strains to collect the money sometimes at the risk of being crushed by another vehicle.

A chat with Sunday Sun reporter who had observed them for quite some time, became quite revealing.

At the failed portion of the road, near Amawbia junction, Sunday Sun reporter encountered a special group. Eleven in number, interaction with the group revealed that 9 out of the group hail from Gombe state while the other three are from Borno State.

Posing as a concerned citizen sent by the government to provide better life for them, the most outspoken in the group who identified himself as Idris Adamu gave an insight into their lives and background.

“We are normal human beings though condition has placed us in this situation. I am from Gombe state and most of us have been in Anambra for more than one year now. We live inside Army barracks in Onitsha and we come here early enough to make money so as to help ourselves.

“Though I’m physically challenged as a result of polio, I have a wife just like many of us here and we send money to our families from the proceeds of this begging for alms.

“I enrolled to train under the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) in my state. Unfortunately, when the thing matured and they were to give us money to set up business, they bungled everything. I was also part of David Osunde Foundation (brings out his purse and presents both identity cards to the reporter) and they were to fix us into something meaningful but it has been promises upon promises. That is why we are here and we are hoping for a better tomorrow”, he said.

[b]The beggars’ spokesman was later to drop a bombshell when he told Sunday Sun that he and his colleagues wished that the government would abandon the on-going rehabilitation of the ever-busy road.

While commuters who ply the highway lament the deplorable condition of the road and pray that government expedites action on the pace of work, the beggars are praying another set of prayers that the work stalls forever.

When the reporter asked Idris his position on the road’s condition and its implications on their business, he did not mince words in saying that what is good news to others is actually bad news for them.

“Allah, I must tell you, if government repairs this road fully, hunger may kill us. We don’t have any other business apart from this. We attach ourselves at the failed portions because drivers will always slow down when they approach such bad spots and it is from there that people now throw some money to us. Let Allah put confusion in the minds of contractors and the government so that they will abandon the project or else, hunger may deal with us.”[/b]

Communal living

Some of the beggars at a spot near Amawbia roundabout included Ibrahim Isa, Haruna Babangida, Usman Adamu, Bello Mohammed, Abdullahi Shehu, Usman Mohammed. The reporter noticed that the group maintains a common purse and asked how they share their money at the end of the day.

The purse keeper, Abdallah Abdullahi said there was no discrimination in terms of sharing as they divide the money on equal ratio. He said: “If we begin to do survival of the fittest here, the aim of brotherly love among us will not only be defeated but some of us that are highly deformed more than others may not have the strength to struggle when people throw money to us. That is why we decided to maintain a collective purse so that everybody will be accommodated squarely. It is from the common purse that we get our individual shares daily when we finish”, he said.

Good proceeds

As the chat progressed, the reporter noticed some flashy phones brandished by the beggars. One of them flaunted a London-used blackberry and received a call from his new wife that he later identified as Amaria after the call.

Idris disclosed that each beggar takes home a minimum of N800 daily but sometimes between N1200 and N1500 daily on days of better ‘harvests’.

Dreaming of Olympic gold

The reporter later spoke with another set of beggars from the north at Amansea, a boundary between Anambra and Enugu states. Sitting on their roller skaters while some use constructed woods for mobility, this group exuded optimism and excitement. Though their mode of operation is was similar to the other groups, this set comprised of some beggars with several talents waiting to be utilized.

Their spokesperson, Sadiq from Bauchi said that he is a trained sports man who dreams of representing Nigeria in the Paralympics games someday. He said he has been looking for opportunities to showcase his talent to the global world.

Maltreatment by government agents

Before the reporter left the group at Amansea, they barred their minds on their predicament and urged that they should be left alone to mind their business.

“We don’t give anybody trouble while we are not criminals. Unfortunately, those of us that shuttle daily from Enugu to this place have been having it rough in the hands of government agents. The task force constituted by the government arrests those on indecent dressing and mad people in the streets.

“Surprisingly, they have classified us in the same category and we have been banished from the city metropolis. We plead with the government to allow us carry on with our legitimate business because we are not trouble makers.”

The power of money

After the interview with the beggars, it was a different ball game when the reporter wanted to take their picture shots. They vehemently refused their images to be captured for fear that the government may sack them from their means of livelihood, and threatened to stone the reporter if he dared it.

Surprisingly, when some crisp naira notes were given to them and a promise of passing the message for their rehabilitation to the governor was offered, they willingly accepted and raised their hands gleefully as the reporter clicked away.

http://sunnewsonline.com/new/cover/beggars-strange-prayers-may-jonathan-not-fix-onitsha-enugu-road/

See how they live unmolested in the East and even wish us no development for selfish reasons (TO BE ABLE TO BEG IN FAILED ROAD PORTIONS), but they massacre us in their own domain.

In other to keep begging money on the road they wish we don't have development. Yet when we go to their side of our dear country to help them develop it they will start killing us.
Very funny set of people.

They are praying for the SE to depreciate to their own level.

""no comment""
but dis is jst funny!

a crap-shit post full of goat vomit.
so the east have degenerated to competing with beggars for development. so a handful of beggars have become the whole north.

I hate the tittle of the headline, nonsense.

if it was in another country, the person that posted this topic would be arrested and charged with libel and slander. how does the oppinion of a group of low self-esteemed beggers has to do with the entire north? or how does onitsha-enugu express road affects the development of the entire east? your article needs a different heading my friend.

I think the title of this thread is just seeking controversy and to incite an e-fight ; since when have the wishes of a few lazy individuals been an aggregation of the thoughts and desires of an entire region or people?

Nigeria is a strange country.

Beggars and Choice: talking of wishful thinking.

Nigeria is a country of comedy, in and out of stage. I love 9ja abeg.

Hmmm,but up-north you don't wanna see them at all,na wa 4 aboki sense o

i saw this group of people 3wks ago en route to Awka from Onitsha, i wanted to go and submit my pre science form @Unizik. They usually line the xpressway and sometimes busy themselves by removing chunks of rocks from the road or scoop away stagnant water. And i must say they make alot of money from that venture.

This signifies an irredeemably deplorable state of the mind.
When poverty and underdevelopment have slapped you so bad and for so long, you begin to resist progress itself when it comes to your environment.

I never expected ibos to give alms to these beggars, I guess that's the folly of stereotyping.

Eyaaaaa not una fault

Begging levels don change. I thought corporate begging was worse,I don see the one wey pass am! Too bad

berem: Begging levels don change. I thought corporate begging was worse,I don see the one wey pass am! Too bad

You sure you are not one of the corporate ones, jealous of these other new ones?

Igbos IBOS

gbadexy: I never expected ibos to give alms to these beggars, I guess that's the folly of stereotyping.

how many times do we have to tell apes like you that it's 'IGBO' and Not 'IBO'?

INNO18: how many times do we have to tell apes like you that it's 'IBO' and Not 'IGBO'?

Eko Atlantic: Igbos IBOS

Oya go die

Eko Atlantic:


Oya go die

mumu

Eko Atlantic: Igbos IBOS

Yoruba
omo obo Yoruba
stinky

Now its time to blame marginalisation on beggars . Hausa beggers don rogo Lol,seriously
This is comedy!!

advocate666:

Yoruba
omo obo Yoruba
stinky

Lie say the thing no pain you

bashr8: mumu

How far ode?
Long time no see

Eko Atlantic:
How far ode?
Long time no see

am just waiting for you and your crew to turn it into you know what so i can give it to all of you full dose, ewu

Eko Atlantic: Igbos IBOS

here's another monkey. Ode oshi.

D downfall of a MAN is d rise of another MAN

mallam_musa: if it was in another country, the person that posted this topic would be arrested and charged with libel and slander. how does the oppinion of a group of low self-esteemed beggers has to do with the entire north? or how does onitsha-enugu express road affects the development of the entire east? your article needs a different heading my friend.

Oga lawyer? Na you know pass. Which country if I may ask? In that same country, people are entitled to freedom of expression. What they have written does not hurt you nor I, how you choose to interpret it (deductive reasoning) is up to you. Btw, channel your anger to the right place; the opinions of few may indeed express the general scheme of things up north, and the development of the one part affects another. So YES, when you have an altra modern Onitsha/Enugu expressway, duh, doesn't that spur economic development for the east? Perhaps, you did not know infrastructures play a SUPER important role in economic development, right?