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Residents of Arepo laments over harassment from children beggars

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Child beggars have taken charge of the whole Arepo Bridge, Ogun state thereby causing a threat to the safety of the residents of that community.

Beggars parents and their children usually begged for alms from motorists and residents navigating the area to various destinations.

The beggars were said to have mostly migrated to the community from Jigawa, Katsina, Nasarawa, Kwara and Kano states due to insurgency, poverty and a search for better means of livelihood.

A member of the Oodua People’s Congress in the community, Ogunsola Olayiwola, said the beggars also sometimes got married under the Arepo Bridge.

He said, “The beggars have been here for a long time; we try to warn them to appear clean to look pleasant for almsgiving, but they are deviant. I drove them away from a point beneath the bridge because they made it dirty.

“Officials of the Ministry of Environment came last year to observe the place and gave them a notice to clean the place where they live or it will be demolished, but they are not obeying. If the government can drive them away, the place will look better.

“We installed halogen lights for security so that anyone in danger can be rescued as we have observed that some of the beggars commit atrocities, including robbery.

“I want the government to take the beggars to a virgin land in Kara where they can get shelter.”

A businesswoman, Sherifah Tobiloye, noted that the child beggars harassed residents as she appealed to the government to relocate them to a home built for beggars in the Ebute Metta area of Lagos State.

She said, “The beggars harass people to give them money and when you do, they are not satisfied. Just recently, I gave some of them corn instead of money, but they abused me.”

Traders in the area also noted that the child beggars ran after vehicles and passersby in desperate bids to get money.

One of the beggars, Hassan Abdullahi, said his family migrated to Arepo from a community in Kano State in 2014 to seek a better life.

Another beggar, Hassan Shaibu, said he had been living around the bridge since he came from Jigawa State seven months ago.

“I came to Ogun State because I did not have any source of livelihood in Jigawa. I have been begging for alms so I can gather cash and deliver it to my family. I live under Arepo Bridge,” he said.

The Leader of the Hausa community in Mowe-Ibafo, Shehu Usman, sought the understanding of residents, adding that most of the beggars relied on charity to survive.

“Can’t we provide shelter and social amenities for them to survive? Live and let live. You cannot condemn these people without reporting the crimes they commit.

“There is no section of the constitution where begging is a crime; if there are bad eggs among them, fish them out, prosecute them and leave the innocent ones alone,” he added.

The Ogun State Commissioner for Information, Waheed Odusile, said there was no law in the state permitting the destitute to live under a bridge.

He said, “I am not aware that there are beggars living at Arepo and if it is so, the government will look into it and take appropriate measures.”

However, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the beggars had the right to live wherever they chose.

He said, “The beggars are citizens of Nigeria and they have the right to live anywhere they want. If they are committing atrocities, people should report the cases to the nearest police station.”

 

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