They’re two jolly friends—united by the same fate—both carry about dry legs, courtesy of polio. A scooter-like machine aids their mobility and movement around town to ply their trade—alms begging.
At Gbiaye Street, host to NUJ Warri Correspondent Chapel, the duo, balanced on their scooter, headed from PTI. This is a distance of some kilometres.
Beaming with infectious smiles, Abduraman Hassan (the rider) and Aliu Shehu, squatting on the machine beside the former, called: “Hey oga, good morning. Your boys dey hungry.”! “Your boys loyal.”!!! They’ve simply learned the slangs from Warri boys who hail their political oppressors to the high heavens to draw some pecuniary gains.
The dregs of the society can be said to have been in the furnace of excruciating hunger and privation. The economic policies, though described as advantageous in the long run, have crippled the fortunes of many. The duo of Abduraman and Shehu are not exempted.
Faced with existential threats, they both left Kano and headed to Warri, the oil-rich and nerve centre of commerce in Delta State.
Translating their very poor pidgin to English, Abduraman, who’s 19 years old, quipped: “We were dying…my wife and I couldn’t feed well again. But thank God we’re yet to have a kid, perhaps we’d have suffered more.”
According to him, he had to hop on the nearest truck transporting goods from Kano to Warri to eke a living, saying he had earlier been inundated with the good news of generosity and hospitality about residents of the oil city.
On his part, Shehu, who’s 23 years old, with a wife and two kids left behind in Kano, did not differ in his experience. For greener pastures in order to cater to the needs of his wife and kid, Warri was his next port of call.
“I am Aliu Shehu, Hausa Fulani. I came from Sokoto. I’m 23 years old.
“We’re travelling soon to see our wives. We have one wife each. I have two kids.
“We send money home regularly. We live in Hausa Quarters. We don’t have girlfriends, here, because things are hard and we’re focused,” he explained.
Asked where they were headed to when our reporter engaged them, the duo said they were on their way to Hausa Quarters—where they’re lodged and reside after daily peregrinating the nooks and crannies of the twin city of Warri and Effurun.
“We’re going to Hausa Quarters. We are coming from PTI. We came from the north some four months ago.
“We like Warri very much. The business of almsbegging for survival is not bad here. We love it here because we know when you’re through with us, you’ll give us something, too.
“But help us tell your brother, Tinubu, because we can sense that you’re Yoruba, to allow the poor to breathe.
“We lost our left legs to polio. Rather than protecting and ensuring that we love a good life at least in our little way, Tinubu’s government is suffocating us with his economic policies.
“We’re pained that the suffering under former President Muhammadu Buhari regime, appears to have exponentially been aggravated under this Tinubu regime.
“And the aftereffect is that our currency is not only devalued, the cost and standard of living keep soaring to the further deepening poverty among the underprivileged.
“While we’re not asking for a replacement of our withered limbs, at least they should allow us to have decent food to eat. They should let us breathe. Tell Tinubu and our brother, Shettima so,” vocal Shehu asserted.
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