Beggars have resumed the streets of Jos in full force, devicing new means, pretending to be stranded travelers in need of financial assistance to enable them continue their journey.
It was observed that in the past, the activities of street begging in Jos was for persons with disabilities or people in pathetic state who may look wretched.
SUNDAY STANDARD reports that 7recently,able bodied and energetic men and women are engaging in the act of begging as a means of livelihood. They use various strategies to beg for alms from members of the public.
The influx of beggars recently,from neighbouring states into Jos, the capital city of Plateau State is gradually becoming a threat and nuisance to the lives of citizens in the state. Investigations revealed that some of these beggars claiming to be stranded travelers. They dress smart and neat, and carry along their luggage, under pretense, ask for financial assistance from passers-by, have turned out to be criminals that were out to rob unsuspecting people blind.
It is usually one’s undoing to give them audience. By doing so, you might end up giving all your belongings to them unknowingly.
Many citizens have fallen victims as a result of being kind hearted to assist humanity. Cases abound that one would help, then sometime later realise that they were completely in a different environment without their valuables or even transport fare to get home.
Again, it was revealed that these criminals are scattered within Jos metropolis and environs, mostly in areas where economic activities are taking place, including motor parks within the city centre and environs.
A tailor narrated how he gave a listening ear to one pathetic looking fellow who claimed to have arrived Jos from Kaduna only to discover his sister had traveled out of town. He only came to his senses hours later, after he had been wondering about Plateau Specialist Hospital premises.
Unfortunately, all the money he had on him was stolen. It was a lot of money, because he was sewing clothes for a bridal train and had come to town to get some materials and accessories.
While they keenly monitor citizens’ movements to choose who would be their prey, people easily walk blindly into their trap. Even the best of us, have become victims to these criminals knowingly or unknowingly.
SUNDAY STANDARD, in an effort to engage one of the stranded travellers that claimed to have traveled from Sokoto State, was unlucky when she became suspicious and declined. She mistook the reporter for a security personnel.
Earlier in the discussion, she pretended to have been waiting for her brother to transfer the sum of three thousand naira to her First Bank account which later turned out to be false. Because in the first place, she had no bank account reading First Bank.
In addition, these beggars normally targets people that are well dressed and good looking. They believe that such category of persons would help them because of their appearance.
However, begging has become a social business, money making venture to some lazy, criminal minded and shameless healthy citizens in the society that took it as profession.
In a chat with a citizen who is a resident of Jos North, who refuses his name to be in print, he said that he fears that with the increasing number of beggars within the city centre,which is alarming, people may have embraced it as the lazy man’s way out.
It is glaring that some citizens choose to be lazy deliberately. They prefer to beg for alms because they were in need and the economy is hard,forcing them into begging.But many criminals have disguised themselves to be beggars in other to rob citizens of their belongings.
“Some citizens who turn into beggars over night, have joined the profession with a criminal mind set to dupe innocent citizens, pretending that life is unbearable,while using such avenue to cheat.
Mallam Abukabar Umaru, a trader and a resident of Jos North, said that he was not happy with the increase in people begging for alms from the public. And it seems the government is less concerned about seeing to the need to rehabilitate such citizens to become better people in the society.
He stressed that begging is an age old social evil bedeviling most third world countries. Umaru is calling on the government to eliminate such practices and those found culpable should be punished according to law, especially criminals.
“Plateau State is known for its peaceful and accommodative nature. It should not be allowed to be turned to a den of criminals that would want to disrupt the peace and tranquility of the state”
SUNDAY STANDARD gathered that the new style of begging that has resurrected within the last quarter of the year, has its origin in the fact that a lot of traveling takes place at this time because of the festive season.
It was advised that citizens should be very careful with people that might come begging for financial assistance from them,because they might have a different motive.
