Nigeria senate in a move to banish street begging

The Nigeria senate has embarked on a move to end street begging.This is a great move,but what is the alternative in place for these beggars?What they should be doing is finding a way or putting a system in place to manage or eradicate poverty,or supplement the jobless and unemployed or unemployable,then they can banish street begging.Nigerians are always putting the cart before the horse.

The Senate described street begging as a menace that is embarrassing the country.
It therefore began a move to enact a law that would make street begging illegal.
The lawmaker representing Bauchi-Central Senatorial District, Isah Misau, while moving a

motion titled, ‘Menace of Street Begging and the Need to Rehabilitate Beggars,’ expressed concern over the spate of street begging and nuisance it constituted on the streets of city centres across the country.
“Though street begging is a global urban problem, the situation in Nigeria appears intractable and overwhelming, as beggars are now found everywhere, especially at motor parks, religious centres, road junctions, venue of ceremonies and other public places,” he said.
Misau added, “In recent times, there appear to be a new vogue of beggars in town, derisively known as corporate beggars, who take advantage of the sympathy of the society for the less privileged to remain jobless and at times perpetrate crimes in the name of street begging.

“The Senate observes that while street begging may represent the general idea of asking for alms, mendicancy or the religious/cultural perspective of street begging appears to have a strong implication for the phenomenon, especially in the northern part of the country.
“The Senate regrets that while for example the system that produced the almajiris in the North is still very much in existence, its economic support tools have largely been discarded with the neglect of Zakat collection and other forms of tax for its sustenance.
“The Senate is further aware that unconfirmed reports have it that an average of 65 per cent of beggars from the northern part of the country flock into Lagos to beg every year, with the Federal Capital Territory battling similar statistics.
“The Senate acknowledges that street begging affects not only the geographical and social structure of urban areas, it also portrays the country in a bad light to tourists and foreign visitors.
“The Senate expresses concern that street begging is a worrisome socio-economic challenge, in addition to being a serious menace and liability on the Nigerian populace, as it takes a heavy toll on the lives of teenagers who either act as guide to beggars or even engage in the act themselves and therefore were out of school.
“The Senate further expresses concern that some of the women who engage in street begging also reportedly practice prostitution on the side, thereby leading to unwanted pregnancies and the bearing of even more child street beggars, while some hoodlums even hide under the guise of begging to carry out evil/criminal deeds.”

Senators Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa-West) and  Danjuma Goje (Gombe-Central), in their remarks, called for the enactment of a law to end street begging.
They advised that the motion be stepped down while a bill be sponsored on street begging.
In his remarks, the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over the plenary, said the motion should be sustained in addition to the bill.
He stated that the culture that encouraged street begging must be reversed.
Ekweremadu said, “The issue of street begging has to do with a function of culture that has to be reversed. We need to do more to improve the welfare of the masses to discourage begging.”
Copyright PUNCH.