Check begging, another identity for IDPS

There’s no doubt that since the beginning of the insurgency, many people have fled from their various towns and villages and many lives have been lost, many houses burnt, property and businesses have been lost. This has caused a large number of out-of-school children and beggars to continue roaming the streets.

That is why the family is considered as a very important element to the life of each and every child. One’s behaviour and attitude towards the world is largely determined by how one is nurtured. It is therefore not surprising when people with a similar economic status respond differently towards certain ideologies.

Regrettably, as a result of the menace, thousands of people settled in various villages and cities other than theirs while others were sent to refugee camps as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). And that is why many such people no longer have any means of income except to wait for assistance from aid groups.

Unfortunately, many people hide under the guise of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in recognized camps and continue wandering in towns, telling people they have no food to eat, their families are sick and were referred to hospitals, and many more complaints depending on their experiences. They roam in towns throughout the day in either ATM points, mosques, churches, motor parks or schools, looking for money or other forms of assistance.

So many people such as children, teenagers and adults engage in the act as a means of livelihood and this has been their identity as IDPs. Surprisingly, when a person lays his/her complaints on this street, you would later see him/her on the next street the next day.

So also, youths in some major areas hits by Boko Haram are out of school because of the insurgency, instead they ventured into hawking, cobbling and okada riding. It’s very sad that some children will tell you, “I left school due to the hardship I faced in life, following the death of my father at the peak of insurgency and no one is taking care of my responsibilities”.

Statistics has shown that about 10 million children are out-of-school and most of them are from North Eastern part of the country. This was disclosed by Mr. Chester Shaba of the UNICEF during the launch of a campaign to return children to school in Maiduguri. He expressed regret that more than 10 million children are out of school in Northeast Nigeria and other parts of the country, saying girls are the worst hit. They are deprived of their right to education. The barriers standing in their way include poverty and gender-based discrimination and violence.

In addition, poor quality of education reduces the possible benefits of education for both girls and boys, said Mr. Shaba, while the Executive Director of the Borno State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Mr. Shettima Kullima, said the number might even be more than what the UNICEF presented.

In Yobe, the United Nations Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF) has said that 126,484 children were thrown out of school by insurgency. UNICEF representative, Mrs. Mary Bimba, disclosed this in Damaturu at the Back to School Enrolment Drive campaign. And it was also observed that up till now in some major areas hit by Boko Haram, many youths are out of school despite all the efforts being made by government and NGOs.

Even though the Yobe State government recently declared a State of Emergency on education as a result of poor service delivery in the sector, the state government has also found out that only 30% of the state’s teachers in public schools are qualified and 40% of the children in the state are out-of-school.

It’s like a tradition, western education is compulsory by all means in which one has to be fulfilled because the governments have made it that primary and secondary education is free in some areas and the governments provided the opportunity for refugee education.

But due to their condition, such people cannot afford to properly take care of their children and in turn these children also become beggars. Though, it was found out that some children were intentionally sent by their parents to go and beg for livelihood, others decided to do so as a result of the situation they found themselves. And sadly, findings have shown that some of the females among them resort to prostitution as a result of starvation and other problems. It’s obvious that some young girls suffer sexual abuse in exchange for security, some income or affection, while others were afflicted with diseases. To me, if care is not taken, the rise in child pregnancies is another reason for concern contributing to an already rapidly increasing population in the society and producing more future beggars.

However, the Borno State Police Command has recently banned street begging in Maiduguri, the state capital, stressing that the command has also established mobile courts to prosecute violators of the order. But the question here is; does the government provide a platform for them? Though, it was also found that the police command further explained that the decision was taken following the state government’s empowerment scheme of N30,000 as a means of empowerment to beggars and other unemployed youths in the state so that they can abstain from the act.

It’s hoped that the federal government will put more efforts in order to restore peace in the entire Northeast so that the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPS) will return to their various ancestral domains. Government at all levels should provide avenues for the IDPs and beggars in general in order to curb the menace and also ban all means of begging by providing platforms for them.

Gulani writes from Maiduguri