I was listening to the car Radio today while going to the office and the presenters were deliberating about street trading and begging. One of the presenters talked about how a woman that begs around Woji area in Port Harcourt got angry and started hitting on a car windscreen because the occupants refused to give her money!


The above story is one of the many few beggar-nightmare stories that i have heard in recent times. I don't know about other states but in Port Harcourt, the rate of street begging and hawking is alarming.


You see all sort of things on the high way, like children trying to hit you if you refuse to allow them clean your front windscreen. Another set is the beggars association group of G.R.A junction, where you see the same people begging you for money every day at the same spot for the past five years. Then we also see some group of Chadians and Niger women and children begging and cussing at you if you refuse to give them money( their men usually sit down and get these girls pregnant in a circle of incest just to continue the trade), and children hawking on the high way during school hours.



Primary and secondary education is free in Rivers State (so I taught), I wonder why a child will be hawking water and all sort on the high way during school hours!

The worse hit areas for child hawkers are Bori camp and Airforce bus stop, Infact, you can actually cook all your food at Airforce to Bori camp bus stop because they sell everything!


Then the aggressive beggars stay at Rumuola and Waterlines area linking to Aba road. There is also the permanent beggars that has offices at G.R.A bus stop: the list is endless.


Can the authorities kindly do something about this already, can these beggars be rehabilitated? can they be counseled to do something to help themselves even if it means selling fruits or anything around the market areas?


I recently read about a physically challenged cobbler in Lagos who despite been crippled, was still able to go about his work passionately and was in turn blessed with a wheel chair from an NGO.


Most of us heard about the beggar in Lagos that claims that he makes about N300,000 monthly from begging.




Our children should be in school, especially during school hours, I understand that some of them are trying to help themselves and their families but it should be done in the right way and manner. they can sell in the markets safely and that should be after school hours. Children hawking on the high way is dangerous it is especially risky for the girl child to be hawking.


The kids cleaning windscreen are the worse of them all, my cousins gold neckless was snatched from her neck by these kids and you need to see the way this child ran away before we could even shout!


I really hope the state government, environmental sanitation people and relevant authorities will look into these and act fast because the state capital is gradually turning to a hub for all sorts of miscreants....visit www.collettenatureblog.com

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You self get too much time to monitor poor beggars but fail to see the government as the root cause of begging.
The moment they enter office,they forget the masses and loot the treasure...what do you think the masses wil do then?

So you prefer them begging abi?? that is why i said something should be done to rehabilitate them..do you also encourage the kids stealing on the highway in the name of begging??
No one is supporting what the government is doing by neglecting the masses but let us do the right thing. the street begging is tooooooooomuch especially in PH! I do not enjoy when those 'foreign kids' drag my cloths and cuss me if i don't give them money, it is embarrassing.