Beggar rebellion alert! Why there could be chaos on the streets of Kaduna on Tuesday, or next Saturday
By Usman Abubakar
Either of two things will happen in Kaduna on Tuesday, or next Saturday.
The state government will have to reverse its embargo on street hawking and begging, or risk the possibility of “beggar anarchy.”
Although the ban, which was enforced after a deadly Zaria blast, is temporary; beggars say the government must lift it next Saturday or be dragged to court.
Some reports say the beggars, most of them physically challenged, actually gave the government a three-day ultimatum – that expires on Tuesday.
The beggars, Saturday, said they would defy the ban to resume their normal “business.”
“After three days, if nothing happens from the side of government, we will have no choice than to come to the street for our normal business,” one of them was quoted as saying during a protest in Kaduna on Saturday.
The beggars, their wives and children, took to the streets of Kaduna to protest what they describe as violation of their human rights.
The government is urging patience and insisting that the measure was taken to safeguard the lives of the state’s residents. State lawmakers are yet to pass the ban into law.
The government said beggars and street hawkers were the most vulnerable whenever Boko Haram attacked markets.
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