The population of beggars in our streets is growing
rapidly. That street begging is a potential threat to our society is obvious. There is moral justification for the British in making begging a criminal offence –the state provides for the well being of its citizens, especially the very vulnerable ones. The relatively few beggars in the British Society could be alcoholics or drug addicts, perpetually begging or stealing in order to be able to satisfy their anti-social habits.
On the contrary, our government, both at the state and federal levels lack the moral justification to legislate against begging in the streets. This is because there are genuinely very many vulnerable Nigerians who are suffering from acute disabilities or extreme poverty and have been left to fend for themselves.
Begging in Nigeria was once associated with poor parents who give birth to twins. They begged to be able to sustain their twins and their families at large.
Street begging in our society today is like cancer in the body. It is either we sacrifice the attacked part and save the body or we allow it to invade and destroy the entire body. Street begging thrives because we, the government and the people, have allowed it. It is either we summon enough courage or will to deal with it once and for all or we let it remain a nuisance and a danger to our collective existence till the end of time.
Port Harcourt, for instance, is said to be playing host to over five thousand beggars who loiter the streets and other parts of the state. From Lagos Bus Stop to Mile 1 Market; from Craft Centre to Garrison, Rumuola junction; from Artillery to Oil Mill Market and to Eleme junction, just to mention but a few, are littered with beggars. The most recent group of beggars are the Arabs believed to have come from Chad and Niger Republic as the case may be. This notorious group of beggars that comprises mainly illegal immigrants have adopted aggression as their style of achieving their goals.
The parents of these child-beggars often sit strategically watching their children beg and harass their victims by holding on to their attires embarrassingly.
Besides the fact that the children ought not to be beggars at their tender age, they are supposed to be at school. And this ought not to be tolerated.
The dangerous aspect of the entire episode is the dangerous manner begging by these children of illegal aliens and their parents have assumed. I have heard instances where beggars used charm on their victims and hypnotise them just to get large sums of money from them.
Recently, I head about the case of a man who lost his manhood to a beggar in Port Harcourt. There are others who begin by begging, but change their style to use of force when they fail to get money from their victims. It is sad that this style of begging has continued unabated.
The question I have always asked is, why are there no ministries or government agencies saddled with the responsibility of managing beggars in the state? Not only beggars that need to be given attention, we also have mad people all over our streets when they should be at asylum. Why has no government ever thought about the welfare of this category of persons?
The high number of beggars and mad persons in our streets is an indication that the social welfare ministry, both at the state and federal levels is not functional. The ministry simply exists but does not rehabilitate anyone. Does it mean that the ministry doesn’t want to work or it is poorly funded?
Also to blame is the immigration service that has allowed all manner of aliens into the country to beg and harass Nigerians. Why will the immigration see these people in our streets but fail to deport them?
Given the danger these social miscreants pose to the society,particularly in Port Harcourt, I ask the Rivers State Government to urgently remove them from the city. We already know the danger they pose in other states of the country where large number of deaths is recorded on daily basis as a result of their activities.
In these days of insecurity, occasioned by the Boko Haram insurgency, it is expected that our Interior Affairs Ministry would have taken extra precautions to ensure that only genuine immigrants are allowed into the country. Recent security reports have shown that 80% of Boko Haram bombers arrested by security agents are not Nigerians. In a country where the safety of its citizens is paramount, that report is enough to compel any responsible government to tighten its borders. Sadly in Nigeria, the reverse is the case.
Much as I advocate the ban on street begging, our government must know that it is only a dysfunctional society that can produce this kind of persons. Therefore, beggars who are without families have to br accommodated by the Social Welfare Ministry for proper  rehabilitation.
While begging should be prohibited, a new approach should be adopted for alms giving. Those who genuinely seek to support vulnerable Nigerians should constitute themselves into charitable organisations which will give towards the welfare of the beggars. However, whoever gives to street beggars encourages street begging. Whenever street begging is made an offence, such persons must be punished as well.
Finally, our political leaders must channel the resources of the state towards providing for everyone. If Nigerians fight corruption and reduce waste, there will be enough to go round everybody. This will either reduce or eliminate begging in our society.
Atagawa is a student of National Open University of Nigeria.

Josephine Atagawa