Abuja, Nigeria’s bustling capital city, is a landscape of contradictions. While luxury cars weave through broad avenues and glass buildings glimmer in the sunlight, at intersections and street corners, another world unfolds — a world populated by men, women and children eking out a living through begging.
For many, life in the streets of Abuja is their only option, the culmination of a series of unfortunate events, poverty and desperation.
Street begging in Abuja is visible at major intersections, malls, airports, parks, markets and places of worship.
Beggars range from elderly individuals to children, and some are seen with placards detailing their plight, while some carry infants, capitalising on the sympathy that comes from showing vulnerability.
The number of these beggars has continued to rise despite the intervention of the relevant agencies of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Administration.
While the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) is saddled with the responsibility of cleaning the city, including the removal of beggars from the streets, the FCT Social Development Secretariat is responsible for the rehabilitation of those removed from the streets.
But investigation by our correspondent showed that the two government agencies have been overwhelmed by the growing number of street beggars in the country’s capital.
Why Abuja is witnessing more beggars
To understand the lives behind the outstretched hands and pleading eyes and why they continue to choose Abuja as their destination, our correspondent spoke to a few beggars at various busy points across the city and their responses showed that they are mostly from the trouble parts of northern Nigeria as a result of insurgency.
They are mostly from Niger, Zamfara, Katsina, Nasarawa, Kano, Adamawa, Borno, among other places.
Specifically, some of the women that beg with their kids told our correspondent that they were widows displaced by the unrest in some northern states.
Sakinatu Bello from Nasarawa State said before now, she lived with her husband in Funtua town in Katsina State, but had to relocate after her husband was abducted.
Another woman who escaped from Zamfara, her state of origin, said her husband was killed along with their two children.
She said, “My father was a retired soldier who married my mother from the southeastern part of the country during the civil war. He passed on during my childhood and my mother separated from him after the war ended. She was rejected by my grandparents; hence, I was raised up without knowing my mother or any of her relatives.’’
The woman said she has spent more than five years on Abuja streets, day and night.
Also, Nura Alhassan, who hails from Kakumi community in Bakori Local Government Area of Katsina State and does not have any form of disability, said he resorted to begging in Abuja city centre after residents of his community were displaced by bandits about a year ago.
He said, “In my family house alone, 16 people were abducted, while about 70 cattle owned by my father were rustled. In all, about 130 members of the community were abducted.
“On each of the 130 people, N1 million ransom was paid before they were released. That’s the reason I relocated from there and now reside at the Ruga area, near the Abuja City Gate.”
He said he divorced his wife due to his condition before relocating to Abuja.
Some of the beggars said they were forced to engage in begging because there are no job opportunities in the country.
Nuru Imam said he was brought from Borno State to be engaged as a site worker, but on getting to Abuja, because of the situation in the country, he discovered that many construction sites had folded up, so he was left without option than to look for an alternative, adding, “I think this is better than stealing.’’
Asked why most of them choose to come to Abuja instead of other cities, the beggars said the FCT seemed to be one of the safest towns in the North.
Umar Isah from Zamfara also said, “If you are running from Boko Haram or bandits, where would you want to go, apart from Abuja? From Borno to Niger, Nasarawa, Benue, nowhere is safe like Abuja. Aside that, many believe there are opportunities in Abuja because there are rich men who can change your life if God is with you. This has happened to many of us several times.’’
How they live
Many of the beggars told our correspondent that life is not easy for them on the streets, but they are forced to be there because there are limited options.
Bashiru Ibrahim, 22, from Jigawa State, an amputee, said his life had been full of struggle. “My uncle brought me to Abuja six years ago, saying I could earn money as a labourer, but when I got here, this is what I found as nobody would give me a job,” he said.
Like Ibrahim, many street beggars in Abuja tell the same story, saying most of those promises often evaporate, and when there’s no support system, they are left to fend for themselves.
Memunat Isah, a widow, said she had been in the streets of Abuja for the past three years sourcing for a means of livelihood for her three children.
She said, “This is the only place I know as I can’t afford to pay house rent anywhere. When it is raining in the night, we would hang around some plazas or under bridges; and in the course of doing that, at times we would be arrested by officials of the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), who would get us locked for a while.’’
Also, Sekina, a 27-year-old woman from Niger State who spoke with our reporter while holding her toddler, said, “On a good day, I can make up to 4,000, but there are days I can make only N1,000.”
Confirming this, Ibrahim said, “It depends on the location. At intersections, markets and mosques on Fridays, you might get more.
“The money we earn is spent mostly on food, and in some cases, rent for makeshift accommodation.”
Furthermore, Salihu, a 19-year-old man from Zamfara said, “I sleep under the bridge at Berger. And there are many of us there – men, women, even children. We sleep wherever we can. Sometimes we spread mats or just sleep on the bare ground.”
But Sekina and few others stay in makeshift shelters. She said, “I rent a small room in a slum near Nyanya, where I stay with four other women. We pay N500 each night.”
Residents, motorists express frustration
Many residents and motorists who spoke with our correspondent lamented the growing number of beggars in Abuja, describing their activities as worrisome. Many of them shared their frustration and encounters with the beggars.
One of the residents, Sanni Bolaji, who has been driving in Abuja for seven years said, “To be honest, my experience with beggars on the streets of Abuja is really frustrating. When traffic stops you, they swarm around, begging for money. Even when you tell them that you don’t have anything, they persist.”
Bolaji thinks beggars should be removed from the streets of the FCT, especially because there are government-owned facilities meant for their welfare.
He recounted a near-tragic incident when he almost hit a crippled beggar at Gwarimpa, saying, “I did not see him in front of my car. After I explained that I didn’t have anything for him, he still wouldn’t move away.” He added that there’s a need for strict regulation against street begging, especially at the city centre.
Salim Muhammad, another resident, said the presence of beggars in certain areas was overwhelming.
“No matter how much you give them, you will still see them the next day asking for more. It is a different feeling when you are giving to beggars who at least try to sell something like fruits or bread. At least, they are putting in some efforts,” Muhammad said.
He noted that some of the worst areas were front of major plazas and eateries in the city centre.
Sharing a frightening incident she witnessed, one of the residents, Tabitha Onah said, “I never had a problem giving money to beggars until I saw one arrested for trying to snatch a phone from a driver in traffic around Wuse. That experience made me rethink how I give alms”.
Onah added that beggars’ persistence could sometimes make residents uncomfortable, especially when they pose a security threat.
For some residents, the experience goes beyond harassment. Rashida Muhammad, who has been commuting from Dei-Dei to her workplace for four years, described an encounter where a young beggar insulted her after receiving N20.
“He looked at me disrespectfully and said to his friends in Hausa, ‘Wannan bata bani isheshen kudi ba’ (she didn’t give me enough money),” Rashida recalled. She added that such disrespect had discouraged her from giving money to beggars in the future.
The situation has escalated beyond mere inconvenience for some. Nurudeen Sa’adu, a resident of Maitama, recounted how his phone was stolen by beggars near the National Mosque after Friday prayers.
“I wanted to give them money, but before I could turn, my phone was gone. They were all around the car, and one of them took it through the passenger window,” he said.
Sa’adu also shared a separate incident in which his shoes were stolen while he was praying at the mosque, adding that some beggars were involved in theft and other criminal activities.
For others, encounters with beggars can be perplexing. Ahveer, who has been driving in Abuja for seven years, narrated an incident outside a supermarket in Gwarimpa thus: “A well dressed woman approached me and asked for N1,000 to add to her transport fare. I gave her N1,500, only to see her ask the man next to me for money as well. I was furious and promised never to give money to beggars again”.
The issue of street begging in Abuja is multi-faceted; while some of them are genuinely in need, others exploit the goodwill of residents.
Haliru, another resident, described an incident at Benue Links Motor Park, where a man posing as a beggar was caught and beaten for allegedly attempting to collect money for ritual purposes.
“The man confessed on the spot and it made me realise that not all beggars are who they claim to be,” he said.
What government is doing to address the menace
There are two agencies responsible for removing the destitute from the streets of Abuja —the Abuja Environmental Protection Board and the FCT Social Services Development Secretariat, which is responsible for rehabilitating those removed.
A member of one of the taskforces set up by the AEPB on beggars, Mohammed Nura, told our correspondent that it had been a great challenge.
He said, “These people keep increasing despite our daily raid on them. The situation is gradually becoming like that of hawkers. However, we will keep arresting them.’’
A director in the AEPB told our correspondent that many of the arrested beggars were taken to a rehabilitation centre at Kuchiko in Bwari Area Council, but wondered why their number keeps increasing.
He said the organisation was reviewing its approach to ensure that those earlier arrested do not get back to the streets.
Similarly, a director in the Social Development Service Secretariat who spoke to our reporter on condition of anonymity, said efforts were made to reposition the rehabilitation centre at Kuchiko to be able to accommodate more beggars and other destitute being removed from the streets.
*Photo illustration courtesy of Daily Trust
