Ain’t we all beggars?
Whenever the subject of beggars and begging comes up, it did come up in Lagos just last month, images of the poorly dressed, hunger stricken young boys and girls who run after passersby in the hope of getting handouts readily comes to mind.
And there are those of the old men and women in tattered clothes who softly thread the streets hoping someone would be kind enough to bless them with some gifts. One cannot forget the physically challenged who substantially add up to the lot.
And of course, the occasional immaculately dressed young man (or woman) who turns out to be just another person looking for handouts on the streets. Rarely would we ever think we might be in the number ourselves.
How? That might need an explanation of the word begging itself. To beg is to ask someone earnestly or humbly for something. It shouldn’t be hard to relate to that definition.
Do you remember the look on that boy’s face the last time one of them caught the hem of your dress as you walked by the street? Or the way the young man looked when he interrupted you and your friends at lunch in that eatery? That’s exactly what it means to be earnest and humble when asking for something. And that’s what begging is.
A responsible government will plan for all its citizens and not just keep threatening to kick some off the streets because they can’t make ends’ meets.
Now, it shouldn’t be difficult to recollect how often you might have taken the posture yourself as you “begged” for something from someone, and the many others not in the recognized directory of beggars outlined above have “begged” you for something too.
The “beggar” and the expected hand may differ, but the concept remains the same.
Remember the way your child looks up to you when he/she wants to get something you are not wont to give? Or the way you look expectantly to your boss when asking for that pay rise? And, most especially, the way many of us look to God when we’re asking Him for something? That’s exactly what I’m talking about.
In essence we will stand a better chance of controlling the menace of street begging in our society if we would acknowledge that we have something in common with them and treat them as such. And that also applies to our governments.
A responsible government will plan for all its citizens and not just keep threatening to kick some off the streets because they can’t make ends’ meets.
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