Beggar-god

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Men and women, boys and girls - hale and hearty - do flood the streets of Lagos begging for money to feed. They are usually attired in white garbs - including headgears - and are very sharp-tongued, articulate in rendering mesmeric, irresistible prayers for their desired benefactors. A wide, big calabash clothed or painted white in which numberless cowries lie is the walking bank with which cheerful givers drop their widow's might.

Why aren't these hale but lazy fellows working as done the gullible givers? They say the act is a spiritual calling from their god, and that whoever is called is a special one. What sort of a beggar-god is that?

With proceeds from the filthy merchandise, they live admirably big. They are beggars on the road, but big men and women at home. The boom of the business has afforded many personally-owned shelters, whereas their benefactors might never have amassed money worth the purchase of a land parcel, let alone being sheltered from personal riches. That god of theirs must be very smart - so clever at making deceits descent.

A couple of days ago, we were held up in traffic along Sango area of Ogun state. The festive season, as usual, did compound the horrible situation, as the driver could not but turn off the car. When boredom set in, we thought of re-energising the body gastronomically. A girl of about 12 (a guess) passed by with a heavy load of oranges on her head. In pity, we called her to buy some pieces. We paid her, and someone suggested that she be asked to keep the balance. "These are people to be helped with our money, not hale and hearty beggars", he said.

If we all turned beggars on account of some preposterous spiritual calling, how would the economy of the nation be grown? Government had better nipped this anathema in the bud before it goes out of stem.



Author: Kay Yusuf

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