The persistent influx of street beggars and destitute into the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and most states in the South West presents a worrisome trend, especially considering the perennial security challenges confronting the country. Besides destitute migration fuelling insecurity in the FCT, and the South-West, there are dire socio-political and economic consequences. BRIDGET CHIEDU ONOCHIE, SEYE OLUMIDE, and GOODNESS SUNDAY report that stakeholders are saying that to ensure sanity across the country, government, religious leaders, traditional institutions, and other public-spirited groups should devise measures to address factors responsible for such aimless internal movements.

It was past 4.00 p.m. and Adamu’s forlorn looks spoke volumes of the thoughts ravaging his young mind as he sat still on the median along Dutse Market Road, in the Bwari Area Council of Abuja. Armed with a green bowl that doubles as a meal serving platter, and a dish for the alms’ collection, written all over Adamu were hunger, frustration as well as, and an uncertain future.

Even though he looked 10 judging from his size and outward appearance, when approached, he displayed uncertainty by putting his age at about eight or nine, but promised to inquire from his Islamic teacher, whom he identified as Mallam.

The disheveled adolescent is among the thousands of young males who are under the tutelage of their Islamic teachers, who send them into the streets to solicit for alms.

While they are permitted to eat edibles gifted to them, any gift in kind, or cash must be handed over to the Mallam at the end of the day. Defaulters who fail to remit alms received in kind or cash are punished.

Not pleased with the condition that he has found himself, a dispirited Adamu told The Guardian in tears, “I just wish I could go home now.”Unlike Adamu, Ismail, an indigene of Kano State could not even guess his age having also been handed out to an Islamic teacher so early in life. Matter of fact, he can barely recall what his mother looks like. Yet, to survive, he spends his days on the streets soliciting alms.

“I get food and money when I beg in the market or beg people and drivers at bus stops. But I don’t know my age,” he told The Guardian in Hausa. Seven-year-old Dan’inna has the fortune of enjoying the warmth of his dear mother, even though both practice the ignoble trade of alms soliciting simultaneously on the streets of the Federal Capital Territory.

“Like my mother, I am also begging for money and food,” he said, adding, “I would have loved to go to school, but my father travelled, and that is why I am here.”

Adamu, Ismail, and Dan’inna are an infinitesimal amount of the army of young people of school age that are pouring into the FCT from neighbouring northern states to search for their daily bread.

Apart from those that are upping the ante of destitution in Abuja, a healthy percentage of them find their way to most states in the South-West where destitution is pulsating, especially in Lagos.

Not only are these lots without any source of livelihood, but they are mostly unskilled, vulnerable, and constitute available tools in the hands of criminals and political manipulators, hence, a present danger to society.

Indeed, the thriving nature of alms soliciting, which also involves young women, nursing mothers, and the like, makes a mess of the Lagos State law, which criminalises giving of alms to beggars with those who fall victim of the law liable for two years imprisonment without an option of fine.

According to experts, destitution, or extreme poverty has a significant negative impact on national development in more ways than one. For instance, destitution affects national development because, without a well-educated and healthy population, a country may struggle to achieve sustainable economic growth and development.

Destitution often leads to high levels of unemployment and underemployment, which can hinder overall productivity and economic growth as people living in poverty may not have access to the resources and opportunities needed to fully participate in the economy, leading to a loss of potential economic output.

Furthermore, high levels of destitution can lead to social unrest and instability, creating challenges for social cohesion and national unity. In extreme cases, destitution can contribute to conflict and violence, further undermining national development efforts, just as it exacerbates inequality and fuels insecurity within the society.

Many FCT residents believe that the last time Abuja witnessed a conscious effort towards creating a modern city devoid of miscreants and street urchins was between 2003 and 2007, when the immediate past governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, served as the Minister of FCT.

Not only did he restore the Abuja Master Plan, he also succeeded in sanitising the city. By the time he left office, FCT was clean, secure, and adjudged one of the most beautiful and secured capital cities on the continent.

However, 17 years after his tenure, the same cannot be said of Abuja, which has become a major hub for child beggars, street urchins, and all kinds of criminal elements.

Concerns spike as South-West consolidates position as destitute haven
THE destitute challenge and its attendant security implications in the South-West are generating concerns among critical stakeholders.That explains why the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, who led about 200 traditional rulers during a recent security summit held in Osun State, stressed the need to curb insecurity across the region.

A recent research undertaken by the South-West Security Stakeholders Group (SSSG), revealed that the influx of non-Nigerians into the six states in the South-West must be critically addressed if the escalating insecurity must stop, especially since in most cases, these destitute arrive daily and have no particular destination or any idea of what to do to earn a living in an unknown environment.

The SSSG noted with concern the fact that many strangers move into the region in trucks and articulated vehicles loaded with foodstuffs, livestock, and other items, and travel through the Ogbomosho axis into Oyo and to Ibadan. Some of them disembark in Ogbomosho and Ibadan in Oyo State, while others move to Ogun State, and the rest to Lagos State.

From Ogbomoso and Ibadan, some disperse into other parts of the state, including Sabo, a large concentration of Hausa/Fulani community, as well as another such community in Ojoo, Iwo Road, and another large concentration at Akinyele, which houses what appears to be the largest pepper market in Nigeria.

The administration of late Governor Abiola Ajimobi built a camp for the destitute at Akinyele, but the camp failed to meet its purpose because the destitute still found their way back to the streets. Governor Seyi Makinde has also made moves to evacuate them from the streets without much success.

Expressing deep concerns about the development, the Publicity Secretary of SSSG, Adewole Ireti said during a meeting at the residence of the convener of the security summit and Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, that the group was alarmed by the raging influx of non-Nigerians from Mali, Chad, Niger Republic, and other neighbouring African countries into the South West.

Ireti said: “After the meeting with leaders of SSSG, we agreed to raise alarm over the influx of non-Nigerians invading the South-West and wreaking untold havoc on various communities in the region.

“Information at our disposal showed the plans and desperation of non-Nigerians with no identity but masquerading as motorcycle riders to perpetrate evil across the South-West. You can hardly trace them, and we have it on good authority that they hold weekly meetings every Friday after their Jumat service at various locations to strategise on the best approach to perfect their sinister motives against residents of the South-West.

“A large percentage of them are from Niger Republic, Mali and Chad. They are motorcycle riders and have dangerous weapons stocked under the seat of their motorcycles,” he said.

It was the increasing army of destitute in Lagos State that caused the Brig-Gen. Buba Marwa-led administration to establish rehabilitation centres to take the destitute off the streets, cater to their health needs and train some in crafts.

Among other things, the rehabilitation centres were to provide shelter and succour to the inmates, the majority of whom are living with health and physical challenges.

At their establishment, these centres offered a range of services, including counselling, vocational training, and medical care, aimed at empowering individuals to rebuild their lives.

However, long years of neglect have left many of these facilities in dire conditions forcing the inmates who can no longer cope with the conditions back to the streets to join the new destitute.

Also, these homes are now filthy, devoid of the proper environment to accommodate the influx of new destitute, and expose its residents, especially children to infectious diseases. Inmates of these homes now survive on handouts from non-governmental organisations, and other bodies.

Notwithstanding all these, the state has continued to send inmates to the centres due to the proliferation of destitute.While the Rehabilitation Centre in Majidun at Ikorodu, fares better and guarantees a safe and supportive environment conducive to inmates’ recovery and reintegration into society, the same could not be said of others, including the Okobaba Destitute Home, which houses over 2,000 vulnerable people, including the visually impaired, physically challenged, and lepers.

Located in the Ebute Metta area of the state, the Okobaba Destitute Home is littered with debris, including pet bottles, metal scraps, and disused food packs.

The place is also congested thereby heightening the prospect of the rapid spread of respiratory infections, cholera, and diarrhoea among others. The deteriorating condition of the home and others, stakeholders say, epitomises the failure of successive administrations to prioritise the welfare of the destitute population in the state.

Lamenting their plights during a visit to the Oko-Baba Home, female inmate, Rekiya Garba, described living in the home as a mother and wife as very unpleasant and tasking, especially with the deplorable condition of the home.

Another resident, Halima Salima, a widow, lamented the lack of amenities, and detergents to keep the place spick and span.   “I clean the general toilet and bathroom. We have four bathrooms and four toilets here. What is difficult for me is how to get soap and something that can stop the offensive odour in the bathroom and toilet. The odour from the toilet and bathroom is disturbing. I don’t even use a facemask because I can’t afford it, but I am always taking drugs because of the odour,” she added.

Also, section maintenance personnel at the home, Abdullahi Garba, lamented that residents of the neighbourhood dump their garbage inside the home. Garba explained that inmates have always been prone to malaria, and typhoid.

Despite the better condition of Majidun Rehabilitation Centre, Ikorodu, The Guardian gathered that the centre is currently overwhelmed with the influx of destitute in the state as it keeps admitting more inmates daily.

A source close to the Okobaba home said: “The challenge that the centre is facing is the constant influx of destitute into Lagos State. The majority of them are northerners who come into the state with their families. Some of them are widows, and they come with their children. They continue pouring into the state in search of greener pastures.

But a worker, who pleaded anonymity said: “The government is responsible for the inmates, and is the major funder, even though some NGOs or CSOs come around to make some donation and support them.”

The pathetic condition of the home is further underscored by a lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Science, University of Lagos, Dr Augustine Okechukwu Agugua, who noted that the Okobaba home is different from Majidun for several reasons.

According to him, Majidun might be receiving special attention from the government because of its perception as a privileged neighbourhood and the volume of human traffic that passes through there.

Speaking on the condition of the destitute, Agugua deplored how northern state governments have handled destitution in the North, saying it is forcing young people there to migrate to the South in droves.    He urged the government to partner with private organisations to provide good living conditions for the destitute.

“The Lagos State government is taking care of the destitute in the home where they are quartered to the best of its ability, but if you ask some of them, they will prefer to stay on the streets than in such a state of existence.

“Ideals should be defined as it has to do with minimum standards of human existence as they are obtained in most homes. Let the state government work towards those minimum standards and make it available to those people in such destitute homes. Let the Lagos State government see the issue of provisions for the destitute as an issue of rights, as what is good for the goose is also good for the gander. What goes to Majidun should also be sent to Okobaba. If you are taking care of the destitute, there should be nothing like highbrow destitute and lowbrow destitute.

“Let it not be seen that they are doing them any favour; let the Lagos State government see it as the right of those individuals, so long as they are part and parcel of the citizenry, hence the federal youth policy should be revisited alongside other policies. It is not just about the youths, because if homes are properly equipped to take care of them, they will take care of their children.”

Lagos partnering security agencies to sift criminals from true destitute
WHILE human resource development helps to equip individuals with the necessary skills, knowledge, and capabilities to contribute effectively to the economy, destitution fuels reduced productivity; stifles innovation, retards economic growth, and lowers the standard of living. It also engenders social instability and exacerbates unemployment and insecurity.

That perhaps explains why the Lagos State government, through the Ministry for Youth and Social Development (MYSD), is collaborating with security agencies to sift criminals from the true destitute in the state.

According to the commissioner in the ministry, Mobolaji Ogunlende: “It is a burning issue that is no longer on the table for discussion, but for action, as well as several measures to be taken. We realise how sensitive this issue is, we also realise the need to protect our citizens. The conversation is ongoing with the Commissioner of Police, the Chairman Taskforce, and the Head of Operations, Rapid Response Squad on this matter.”

The commissioner also informed that the government is collaborating with the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA); Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment (WCE), and the Lagos State Ministry of Housing, to empower the destitute through skills acquisition.

“The ones that we can integrate, we integrate them into the programmes, the ones that we cannot, we identify them and undertake psychological tests on them and refer them to doctors. Some want to go back to their states and we would aid those back to their states in collaboration with their liaison offices in Lagos. If we can do that, it will reduce the number of destitute on the roads and our homes.”

The Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, explained that the government is working with private sectors in providing homes for the destitute, adding that the Okobaba home like others, ensures that people who cannot take care of themselves do not constitute any nuisance on the streets.

He reiterated the state government’s desire to have a law-abiding citizenry, noting that there are about 18 vocational centres in Lagos, where the destitute could learn various skills without being charged.

Destitution constitutes a major security challenge
A former Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Mike Ejiofor, warned that leaving young children of school age loitering on the streets simply constitutes a menace.

“It also constitutes a major security challenge as some of them don’t have fixed home addresses. So, they end up sleeping under bridges and uncompleted buildings. Some end up getting involved in crimes.”

Ejiofor, therefore, urged the Federal Capital Territory authority to, as a matter of urgency, look into the influx of beggars into the city. While every Nigerian has the right to live in any part of the country unmolested, Ejiofor insisted that those who pose security risks should be identified and rehabilitated.

“The solution to that is to sanitise the city by taking them to Internally Displaced Peoples’ centres and get them rehabilitated. After profiling and documenting them, they should be engaged in genuine activities that can sustain them. They can also be asked to go back to their states.”

He noted that it is not the responsibility of the FCT government to send miscreants back to their respective states, as according to him, anyone who constitutes a social nuisance or security problem should be arrested, profiled, and asked to return to his state.

Ejiofor also blamed the development on leadership deficit saying: “Nobody has looked at destitution or alms soliciting from the aspect of security, but since it has become a problem, the government should devise ways of tackling it, and take them off the streets. Like street hawkers, many of them are criminals, and constitute security risks in the FCT and other states that they are,” Ejiofor said.

A human rights activist and National President of the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), Emmanuel Onwubiko, frowned at a system that allows parents to abandon their children under the guise of granting them access to Islamic education.

“Most of them migrate from as far as Sokoto, Kano, Kaduna to Abuja and even to the South East and South West states, but Abuja is usually their first point of call because they feel it is where to find people who give alms as a religious obligation.

“Most of the children are handed to Islamic teachers by their parents without any attempt to monitor their activities and sometimes, their teachers abuse them, sending them out to beg for food and money.”Onwubiko agreed that the kids could easily be recruited by terrorists or kidnappers to get information, used to execute criminal jobs, or served as spies.

He wondered what had become of the FCT Department of Social Welfare, which was responsible for arresting, profiling, and deporting Almajiri and other street beggars.

Also, a public affairs analyst, Dr. Kachi Ononuju, flayed northern leaders for jettisoning Almajiri schools built by President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration, alleging that it was an attempt to perpetually keep the people gullible.

“Sadly, the largest number of uneducated Nigerians are from the North, but if they had allowed the education program designed for them to succeed, many of them would have been off the streets.

“However, most of the street beggars we have today are different from the usual Almajiri we used to see. If you go to the Mechanic Village in the Apo area of Abuja, or elsewhere in the city, you will see a lot of young people from Plateau, Benue, and other parts of the North. They simply ran away from the industrial-scale ethnic cleansing in their states.

The Executive Director of Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and Head, of Transparency International, Nigeria, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, also admitted that since El-Rufai completed his tenure as FCT minister, there have not been efforts to mitigate the influx of Almajiri and destitute into the city. This he said, has increased cases of criminalities in the city.

“There has not been any conscious effort from El-Rufai’s successors to secure Abuja and make it one of the exemplary cities. “He introduced “London Taxis” and people were more secure and comfortable, and Abuja was competing with most of the cities across the world. For eight years under former Minister Bello, infrastructure collapsed. The current Minister has also not shown priority in terms of sanitising Abuja.

“People have witnessed a decline in FCT as a supposed modern city, especially in terms of security, attraction, and other features of a modern city. The last 10 years have seen a total reversal of earlier efforts to make the city lovely.

“If Minister Nyesom Wike wants to take any step in stopping them from roaming the streets of Abuja, he should do so because it is an abuse of children to see them homeless and uncared for,” he said.