Not everyone was born with a silver spoon. Even among the poor, there are those who can hardly have a square meal. I was born and brought up in the North Central part of the country where some people believe in a culture of suffering by going through a religious course. They're called ALMAJIRI. They're expected to beg for survival or work to be offered food during this course. Also, we have the physically disabled people who mostly sit on the roadside begging for alms, most often they maintain a position for a very long time while a few of them have someone who assist them walk around as they seek assistance. Before now, all those who begged were people who truly needed assistance, people who were deformed and unable to work, but things started to change as men disguise themselves into beggars, some made it their business, and evil men used it as means to harm their victims, thus, I started to become skeptical about giving.
Northern part of Nigeria is considered the poorest geopolitical zone in the country because of the high number of beggars that are found in the states, which are both children 8- 10 years and adults, which include the aged men. They sit on the road side with a plate beside them, anyone who's touched to give drops their money in the plate. They depend solely on begging to survive, some have used the alms they got from the people to train their children in school, others started businesses with it even though not a huge amount is given to them at a time.
Personally I stopped giving after stories of how people lost either their goodluck or were used for rituals through giving. Most often when it's necessary that I give, I say a prayer of protection. Giving is good and is encouraged, but it has become something we dread, judging from how our act of goodness is paid with evil. I prefer to support an organization going for charity, rather than giving to a stranger on the roadside. Sometimes one has to harden his heart from their persistent pleading to be assisted. In the North, in bus stops, those children begging for food or money are always seen singing a song in Hausa language asking for alms from passengers. I mostly use the excuse of not understanding the meaning of the word spoken not to assist but when I'm touched to give, I try to give them something tangible and not the #10, #20 that can hardly buy anything in the country. Most times I say a prayer for God to help me be a better giver, I know it's important to give no matter what the world says about beggars. But then, I'll keep the principle of saying a prayer first.
