It was a sunny afternoon in the popular Hausa Quarters in Warri South Local Government Area, Delta State. There, hordes of beggars from a region of the country gathered, chattering, eating and killing time amid intermittent calls for alms from passersby.
Spotted in the middle of their chat was Muhammed Umar on a wheelchair. The 44-year-old stretched out his hand asking for alms.
“Good afternoon my brother. How’s the family? I beg anything you can give to support your boys, we will appreciate it,” he said in a weary tone.
“My name is Muhammed Umar. I’m from Zamfara State. I am 44 years old.
“I have been in Warri for almost 10 years now. I am married and I have eight children.
“I was born crippled. I have been begging for alms all my life because of my condition,” he narrated.
Stating how he found himself in the heart of the Niger Delta, and how he’s surviving, he said: “I came to Warri to get more assistance here.
“It is this alms begging that I am using to feed and take care of my children.
“I live in Hausa Quarters here in Warri. The rent is N77,000 but somebody – a good Samaritan is helping me with the rent every year.
“God just sent the man to me on a good day and God has been using him for me all these years.
“I go to my state to see my family once a year and I spend some quality time with them before coming back here.”
Umar isn’t happy with the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government, tagging it a ruinous regime that has pushed the very poor to the dunghill for survival.
“This regime has been hard on everyone, beggars inclusive. We’re unarguably the wretched of Nigeria.
“How does one explain the reduced purchasing power in the land? How do we describe the inflation with the perennial scarcity of fuel in spite of the purported removal of fuel subsidy?
“Now, the highest I am able to make a day is N5,000 unlike before, when I make up to N10,000.
“People who used to give up to N1000 to beggars before now give just N100 because they are also trying to survive in these hard times.
“The government should be considerate to those of us finding it difficult to survive so that we don’t die of hunger.
“Some of us fled from Zamfara because of bandits not allowing us to farm. They’ve killed several of my relatives.
“But my wife and children are still there at the mercy of bandits and hunger.
“Things were a bit better down here until the fuel subsidy removal issue came up last year. It has destroyed many things.
“It’s what is responsible for the high cost of prices of foodstuffs all over the country. And we beggars are really affected.
“The government should do something before we all die of hunger and the high cost of drugs for treatment.
“Help us beg them, please. Tell them it’s their duty to save us from dying of hunger as a result of their policies,” Umar lamented.
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