well lagos as its fair share of beggars, but in ibadan there seems to be a large amount of old women begging its really distrubing i mean there are so many of them to me its unusual anyways i just think since no one can really be sure if they are giving to a real begger or not might as well give in a place where its sure they actually give the needy am sure all our churches have this little box that says for the needy .for me i just give when i feel like fake or no fake dont really matter

@Maxidoe, that's really pathetic, and people still give them money, personally I dont like giving alms to hausa beggers cause I know they are just lazy and wicked.

jintujinta:


I think one should help the genuine needy, especially the seriously disabled and the old and frail/sick.

did I hear you say old and frail /sick,!!!! these ones go a long way to use your money to practice their witchcraft

we only need to be careful cause you can never know when you meet them, its just to give to those you spirit directs you to.

i give when am lead to and bone when am lead to do so too.its a matter of choice giving but i doubt if begging itself is a matter of choice

i as a matter of policy dont give to roadside beggars.they can cause u bodily harm or use u as juju.
my sympathies are now been directed to orphanages and some other institutions that wont turn around and wish u bad.

A very serious mistake if carried out. I disagree with Seun.

I don't agree in giving beggars any money, when you do this you are making them even more dependent & less willing to put forth any effort. Yes, there's an exception to giving, however it applies to very few. There'RE people I have seen with even the most challenging physical handicap and they manage to thrive in society successfully. I'm of the opinion that our culture actually encourages an attitude of dependency for whatever reason, why should anyone whom can function have their hands out When we stop giving to the quote on quote beggars, they will put themselves to work. GIVE A MAN A FISH AND YOU FEED FOR ONE DAY, TEACH HIM TO FISH AND YOU FEED HIM FOR EVER!!!!

For those living in Nigeria, and having a cavalier attitude towards beggars, I wonder what your attitude would be if you travelled to America and see beggars on various sides of the road, begging for money? You think it is bad in Nigeria, right? In America, regarded as the wealthiest nation in the world, beggars are a common sight, particularly in big cities.
While there is no dignity in begging, it is no different from a pesky friend who constantly begs you for money. If you dont have, just move your way, but please dont criticize them. You dont know their situation.

Thank you jare. They thought Nigeria is the only country in the world where beggrs are found. It is better we analyse issue that condemn everyone. I gives money to beggers if I am in the mood.

We have forgotttten that these people are everywhere. Campus hostels. Homes. Offices. Industries. Everywhere.

Just trying giving a beggar, begging you money for food ,the snack you were eating and see his/her reactions.

Most def, he/she will refuse and request for money. Not as if you poisoned it o! mind you, you were still eating it.

Like someone said, I think it is a racket and I have stopped giving them money, instead I give to people around me that once in a while get into difficulties. In as much as I believe in giving, I don't expect any one to start using my money for rituals. U know it hurts the mind even if the ritual will eventually have no effect on you. ops! what do you think?

Some beggars dey too harsh.

I remember some professional beggers along dt Ikeja area wey dey always sing correct song for person ear.Chai wetin person no go c sef

@ poster

you are lucky the young man only came to confirm what you d said. Twice around the Martin St and Marina areas of Lagos, I have being approached by "beggars with guns" in broad daylight.

At the Agege area you mentioned, a man left his car to come complain to me that some beggars just approached him carrying a pistol, me I sped off o.

Mind who you roll down your glass for.

begging is a good business.
its the only business you don't need a capital to start
just get ragged and thats is all.
you might also pick some few lyrics
rearrange your approach to you potential alms givers

We are all responsible for the "profitability" of begging business.

The day we stop taking our charity to the street and send our donation to recognized homes that carter for the needy is the day street begging would become unattractive.

How many of us send donations and gifts to less priviledged homes? How many people take their tilt to orphanages? When these unlucky people could not get any help in those designated homes, they have no choice than troop to the street.

What is more, we fail to recognize an ultra modern begging institutions branded in the name of God. Churches, mosques and religious organisations had taken begging to an eniable height. Nobody see how the activities of these organisations raking millions of naira contributes immensely to rise in crime waves and street begging.

In our homes, we have people who are able bodied and need loans to establish petty businesses or better their life. The big men in us would rather take our tilts and sadakat to churches and mosques to earn publicity than our neighbours.

Little wonder why poor men had resorted to street begging to make end meet. I don't blame them at all. In fact, I give them when I am in the mood. And each time I do that, I curse the people responsible for their plight if it is not natural affliction!

As for me i only give out when i feel like giving out,even here in london you see people begging in subways and to even make it worse there are british citizens and they are been given money at the end of the month by their government and they still beg.

You don't have to worry about beggars becoming armed robbers.
They are just as likely to become marketers or politicians.

The likelihood of beggars turning out as marketers or politicians as against armed robbers is 0.00000005%. . . . . .at least going by the Nigerian database.

We should take personal stand on this issue.
Let me give this story that happened to a friend at Mile 2 in Lagos.
There is this particular old lady always soliciting for alms every morning at a particular spot. My friend felt touched and ask for the old womans story. The woman says she lives in a makeshift house somewhere and had lost her husband and kids and as such alone in the world. My friend felt touched and asked the woman if she can manage a small scale business in the motorpark. She replied in the affirmative and asked for sometime to think of the business she can do.

My friend wanted to fund this business as a way of assisting this old lady. The woman disappeared for sometime only to resurface and tell my friend not to bother about her as she is comfortable with her present business as she called it but if my friend doesnt mind he can still drop the cash. Can you imagine?

We all contribute to this menace.
They can clean , baby sit ,wash for a fee etc. I can assure you that there is a lot of money that can be made without debasing oneself in this manner.

please Nairalanders, what is monthly package of executive trainee of first bank

, begging is becoming something else in this country
all the effort by some state governors to rehablilate some of them is just a waste
that is to show that some are really lazy

MY THOUGHT, if you see a beggar and feels the empathy in your heart, do not hesitate to give, if not go your way
do it if not for anything, do it for God who will reward you

but its even far better to help the MOTHERLESS BABIES HOMES AND PRISONERS

If stealing by goverment is a profession in nigeria,why shouldn't begging be and don't you have beggers as a result of empty coffers and empty policies.

;Ddon't be suprised if this dude earns more than you{lol} , te pa mo ise owo re,

na wa o but man must to survive.

The crippled boy i guess is lost and needs some smacking, aint surprised sha, go to the north and leave for a while then, you would know where they boy is coming from. Beggers de get house for north oh! on a serious note.so its his thinking that needs readjusting. some loose screws are dangling ,

Akara,  the beggers you met where actually lazy, unfortunate and weak.dont wish to come across such sha .

For Seun,  i dont agree with you, na na na!!!!!!!!! I for one believe thet if i want to give and would feel good about it? so why dont i? what you dont do or know would not harm you , you know.you never know what this giving does for you and you never know who you are helping could be an angel

Begging i have noticed especially here in lagos is not only for those we know as beggers, i have being stopped on the highway by women especially,  looking well dressed standing at a spot and telling me stories of how they got stuck and cant get home. Ask them where and how much. no probs, you help by giving them the amount and to your surprise they dont move an inch. i dont have a problem but i guess is begging in disguise.

so, begging get levels

Tell govt to deal with robbery first. I believe that begging is better than robbery. Given alms to beggers is optional while robbers collects properties by gun.

As far as i'm concern, beggers=thiefs=arm robbers. This is because these set of people are too lazy and think they do not have what it takes to become something yet they know all the tricks and disguise they need to beg or steal.

I said this because if you consider the stress involve in these unwholesome profession (as the boy said), you will agree that if 50% of the effort they put into these "work" is diverted to something +ve, their lives will turn around but they are just lazy to do that.

I know of a woman who pretends to have breast cancer and will rap blood-stained-bandages around her breasts and expose same in order to attract empathy or whatever she think she wants to gain. Now if you consider the smell, flies, and other issues, you will agree with me that if this same woman diverts her ability to something tangible, her life would turn around.

now a profession, whats the minimum qualiification? high school diploma ?

My coleague had a rather funny encounter with one of those beggers recently in Ikeja.

A young man of about 18yrs was asking him for alms but he chose to ignore him politely, the young man then came closer and told him 'That's how we ask for alms now and you won't give, by the time we carry guns now, they will say we are armed robbers'

What do you u call that type?

lol


Beggers in Action

Some of you say the beggars is not real? If about 75% of people in Nigeria is living belove the limit of poverty I think begging is a natural thing people will do to survive?
How can a man survive without begging if he has an education, but not gets a job? So many applying for each job, right? What do you suggest to get a job if you are not son of a rich family?
Most people are poor and I don`t think they choose to be?
Would appreciates some suggestion about how a poor man / woman can get an income in Nigeria? what can they start to make an income?

@Poster

Don't call them beggers, call them fund raisers !