The Special Adviser on Youth, Sports and Social Development to the governor, Dr. Dolapo Badru, said this at a news conference in Alausa, Ikeja on the performance of the ministry in social care. He said the government was determined to take beggars and the destitute off the street and provide them vocations and shelters. - Punch
Two years in prison for giving alms? Common mehn, that's too harsh. They make it sound like people become beggars by choice...most of the people who beg are disabled...where in the world is this done? Even the bible says help those in need...so why imprison someone for that? How many beggars can the state government provide shelter for? There are hundreds of thousands of graduates who are sitting at home 'cos they can't find jobs, then what chance does a disabled person have? I tire for this kain thing!
Thoughts?
28 comments:
i can't exactly say its a good thing.......neither can I say its bad. Yep, two years is pretty strong for something like giving alms but this may force the abled "disabled" to actually find something to do, while the actual disabled could find a government or ngo shelter to take them in.
I agree with Godson Hernandez, there are 2 sides to the decision.
why shld the govt micro-manage who you give ur hard earned money to..this is ludicrous..why cant they assist them and help them get back on their feet...here in the US and all over Europe..they assist the poor and needy...these ppl are very destitute, and for helping them u go to jail????..how ego-maniacal, ridiculous, and stupid!!!..it is frivolous laws like this that make ppl call us the dark continent!!!!
its an unnecessary and stupid law in ma opinion
two years is long but i think the government is taking a step in the right direction of getting beggars off the streets...i mean there are churches,and other institutions which can help too plus the government is also going to provide shelters..way better than living on the streets
I can understand what they are trying to do, as in getting the beggars off the street and into proper shelters, but they are just going about it the wrong way. 2 years in jail without possibility of fine? Thats ridiculous. Why not make the beggars seek proper refuge (easier said than done, i know) rather than punishing a good samaritan? At least let the punishment be a fine or something. chai!
It makes no sense. It's like the government jailing people for reading blogs. Instead of jailing the readers, it should be bloggers such as Linda that should be jailed for 10 years. Did I say 10 years? Sorry that was typo. That would be harsh to jail Linda for ten years for blogging. 2 yrs would be okay. Joking aside. This law should be the other way round. You can make laws that encourages people to be heartless towards one another. What is the govt doing to tackle the issues that leads to people, sometimes a while family begging on the street? Making nonsenstical laws is not the solutions. They need to create jobs, eradicate corruption, tackle armed robbery, constant power failure, and stop making attention diverty laws while they are busy looting and robbing Nigeria.
most of these beggars are actually part of syndicates (think slum dog millionaire) e.g. human traffickers who traffic them from different parts of the country and sometimes outside the country. this is the governments way of helping this people and critically reducing the numbers of beggars on our streets as well as organised crime. this is not different from pick pocket syndicates and people who traffic women for sex. yes the jail sentence of 2 years seems very questionable, but lets all for once reason with our government for the steps they are taking and not automatically believe they are discriminating.
ive actually tried to rehabilitate one of these beggars and send them to school. he said he was interested but he had to ask his oga first. i was confused, oga ke? it turns out someone brought him to Lagos from Mali to beg for a living! I asked to meet this oga and this so called oga really existed, he claimed the young man couldn't go to school as he brought him to Lagos for the sole purpose of making money through the means of begging! after much pleading and begging and saying i would pay whatever price he paid for the boy from Mali, the oga did not agree. so how is this young man meant to get out of this?
Fashola has done some really good deeds but this is ridiculous..some of those destitutes one can't help but give 'cos I know they ain't getting none.
At least give them shelter-living- benefits then u can have punitive measures in place..
What the heck!! nothing for them destitutes yet you castigate us for giving..na wa oh!!
You cannot make Lagos strictly Middle Class and Upper Class by force even LA..New York and London have their fair share of destitutes albeit with benefits..
The 9ja Elitist mindset always bugs me..forever looking down on others!!..we even export that crap with dire consequences!!
Godson has actually said it all.
dis is rubbish jo. first sanusi came with imposing how much of my money i can withdraw now i cant give it to whom i please....dey shuld all go and sit down nonsense. wen armed robbery is still high in the country dey want to be arresting ppl givin money to beggar...arrant rubbish. everyday we are hearing of hu got robbed in traffic. i heard in one traffic robbery case on jibowu na cars dem dey thief in broad evening light. i dnt even know how possible it is to be stealing car in traffic sef but d whole safety problem is becoming too much nd dis is wat dey want to focus on. d last one was indecent dressing for women dat police were eager to catch women. now dis one...and 2 yrs jail term....u must be kidding me. it all this non-violent "criminals" police like. ok this comment wasnt meant to be dis heated :) and egbon fashola has done plenty. im sure the program has its merits but dis is not where energy and funds shuld be deployed to pls. we cant be focused on beautifying lagos wen we cant live in lagos with peace of mind for fear of armed robbers.
nigerian government and their OTT laws. get the beggars off the streets first and it's people choice who they give their money to. the most you can do is discourage them from giving to beggars. jail ko
I can't type much cos I'm using a tiny keypad.
Like most said,it's a syndicate,it's business.
A colleague once offered to help a beggar with an eye tumour but he's Oga refused! Said an absolute No! 'Bad for business',he said.
The govt put up this ridiculous ridunculus jail term to deter roadside alm-givers.
I support M̶̲̥̅γ̲̣̣̥ govt here. Churches av 'Help the Poor welfare boxes' and I give M̶̲̥̅γ̲̣̣̥ contributions via them.
If Ʊ'v eva seen some lepers along bayelsa-rivers axis, those guys are owned also by business men who drop d̶̲̥̅̊ε̲̣̣̣ in d morning and pick d̶̲̥̅̊ε̲̣̣̣ in d evening.
That is absolutely ridiculous! I believe it is part of our human rights to help those we want to... the leaders of our country are quick jobless.. passing laws that will not bring any net benefits to Nigerians....
Most of the people begging do not really have a choice and those who are led to give alms to them should not be punished!
Yes.. Godson" it will force them to look for sth to do as if those who are not handicapped or in full capacity to find meaningful work have found something profitable to do...
It would make sense if our dear country makes provision for the handicapped citizens we have!
If anyone should be put in jail it should be those who bring peoples children to the city to beg when they can afford their daily meals... Or those who are begging out of unnecessary greed to exploit others..
This is just ridiculous!
I totally agree with the government, most of the beggars in Nigeria are from neighbouring countries, this is some sort of business for them. If the government can provide for them, then why not... 2yrs might sound harsh, but I believe it's not because the want to punish people, it's because they want to scare people away from it. I wish them luck in eradicating this nonsense, the can give them jobs such as cleaning roads, clearing dumps etc... They will come in really handy.
social welfare in Lagos is a huge issue that must be tackled..good start
http://mycamerooniancuisine.blogspot.com
Anon 8:24pm said it all...they are all over the streets of Lagos serving as slave-beggars. Besides the govt aint trying to jail y'all, its just to caution you in the right direction. When these beggars see that nobody gives them money again, firstly the abled ones will get off the streets,leaving behind the actual beggars in need of care. Or better still,they go back to wherever they came from. Believe it or not, it may sound wrong,but there's no jail intended here, just the fear of getting into trouble. That way the beggars and the sponsors wey dey behind their matter go pack their load find another job when dem see say business don spoil. Sometimes for the better good, you have to do something that seems bad...but this is just a case of "thank me later"
Guys, I believe this is a good start. Though the jail term seems harsh but I'm sure the govt wont possibly jail anybody for such...Even though there might be sincere ones out there; 90% of then are SYNDICATES. Lets use our heart for giving right and try not to be exploited in the process.
Overlook the jail term and see a cleaner Lagos IF the govt keeps to their word on shelter providence.
Quoting from the rest of the story Linda didnt post:
It further stated that instead of risking jail term, the citizens of the state could give such alms to churches, mosques, registered orphanages, motherless babies homes or social welfare institutions in the state.
The Special Adviser on Youth, Sports and Social Development to the governor, Dr. Dolapo Badru, said this at a news conference in Alausa, Ikeja on the performance of the ministry in social care.
He said the government was determined to take beggars and the destitute off the street and provide them vocations and shelters.
He said, "Lagos State frowns on giving alms to beggars. It is punishable under the law and you can get up to two years imprisonment for giving money to beggars.
"We have places where such money could be put to good use. The government is committed to best practices in social care."
He said that the government had formulated policies and established institutional care services in order to ensure proper rescue and integration of beggars and the destitute.
He said that 72 complaints on begging and destitution were received and attended to in 2010, adding that government's efforts were aimed at reducing crimes in the state.
"We are concerned about it and other issues of abandoned babies and child abuse and lack of care for people living with disabilities. Hence, we have telephone lines people can call in case they notice some of these things including 08097226696 for beggars and 08096777389 for abandoned babies," Badru said.
Its a very good decision and bold step taken by the government. The 2 years jail term without option of fine is to disuade Nigerians from giving alms, we all know Nigerians are very soft minded people who go out of their way to give a begger something out of the little they earn.
Truth be told these beggers are now riding on the good nature of Nigerians and have refused to do any form of work. The Hausas especially, have turned begging into a profession. I see a lot of beggers being pushed around on wheelchair by an able bodied young man and the begger (woman) on the wheelchair has a new born baby. She can get pregnant and bear children but can't sit to sell little things. The man can push around a disabled person but cant push a truck of water to supply to people and make money.
Abeg lets take the bull by the horn, its now or never, we need discipline for Nigeria to get better.
Quote:
SOCIAL WELFARE SERVICE
Through the Social Welfare Department of the Ministry, we provided social welfare services to different categories of the less privileged and the needy ranging from juvenile, miscreants, destitute and the aged. This is done through casework and institutional care for the vulnerable members of the society.
A INSTITUTIONAL CARE/REHABILITATION SERVICES
The Ministry maintains 11 Social Welfare Institutions, which feed, cloth and provide medical care, shelter and the necessary training for well over 4,000 inmates.
(i) REMAND HOMES
(ii) APPROVED SCHOOLS
These Schools offer corrective training to juveniles and wards in an effort to make them better citizens. The Ministry maintains 3 approved school
THE CHILDREN TRANSIT HOME, IDI-ARABA
This homes caters for abandoned children from 3 Years and above who are picked up from the street or referred to the home from the motherless babies home and other registered orphanages in the State. Presently, there are 37 Children in the home.
(iv) OLD PEOPLES HOME
(v) REHABILITATION AND TRAINING CENTRE, MAJIDUN
(vi) VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTRE FOR DISABLED, OWUTU
(vii) REHABILITATION CENTRE, ISHERI
(viii) BEGGARS CAMP, OKO-BABA
(i) 621 delinquent Children were given corrective training
(ii) 680 delinquent Children were kept in remand homes while awaiting Court determination of their cases
(iii) 4030 matrimonial dispute paternity denial cases were handled out of which 531 families reconciled
(iv) 1907 Children were supervised
(v) A total of N6,046,710.00 was collected as maintenance allowance for Children from broken homes during the period
(vi) 98 Children were fostered out of parents; and
(vii) 2798 Children were adopted out to adoptive parents.
ASSISTANCE TO OTHER WELFARE ORGANIZATIONS
Some of the organization assisted last year with financial grant totaling N645,000 were the Organization of Deaf Businesswomen, Pacelli School for the Blind, Little Saint Orphanage, Wesley School for the Blind and Friends of the Disables among others.
Also, the Spinal Cord Injuries Association of Nigeria (SCIAN)
...Efforts have been made, and always been in place so please give Lagos State government a break. With all these in place,anybody wey still wan dey beg na just slave-business he dey do and if they refuse to be cleaned up den like dirt they need to be SWEPT-OFF. Its time for Lagos to be quarantined.
The law sounds pretty retarded to me and ain't no way I'm giving my alms to the church abeg.
it is obvious to any one who cares to pay attention that the 'begging' in Lagos is syndicate crime in operation. They prey on your vulnerability and sense of charity to foster their lucrative business. So the best way to send a chilling effect to the giver is to make it against the law. Once begging is no longer lucrative, the criminals will get of the streets (put themselves to good use or opt for a different scheme/crime) while the real beggers or those who find themselves on the streets will turn to the options the government has for them. Haven't you noticed able bodied people and 'well dressed' children on the streets. You wonder how they cleaned up if they are so destitute. Then you try to chat up street kids and you'll see an adult (hausa or fulani) come up to you and start asking you what's the problem....for some unsuspecting you can then be accused of trying to kidnap the kids for ritual. So i support this LAW
Sounds reasonable but what about the genuinely needy ones? is there enough awareness to these facilities to these people?
You expect a place like Abuja that's in the North to have beggars everywhere but they've managed to tackle that. Let's co-operate with the government for the good of Lagos state.
I think Linda just jumped to conclusions. As most ppl here said, they are a syndicate. My grandma tried helping 1 as well but the boy ran away. it's easier to collect money than to actually work for it. besides some ppl intentionally mutilated themselves so as to beg. a lot of them are not from nigeria as well.
i'm a lawyer. even thogh the sentence says 2 years, please note that it means a MAXIMUM of 2 years. no judge wld actually give 2 years. but d fear of punishment is d beginning of wisdom.
Post a Comment