By Ibrahim Shuaibu
Elders in Kano State under the auspices of Kano Concerned Citizen Initiative (KCCI) have described the decision to ban street begging in the state by Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje as a good one for the state.
However, the elders faulted Ganduje for pronouncing the policy without firstly consulting stakeholders in a bid to make the decision sustainable.
Speaking at a summit on Almajirai and street begging, which was organised by the KCCI in Kano at the weekend, Chairman of the group, Bashir Othman Tofa, noted that “with millions of Almajirai roaming the streets and many resorting to begging for food, capturing them and forcefully enrolling them into schools have called for deep strategic thinking.”
According to him, the outright banning of street begging in the state without providing level ground for the sustainability of the policy, would not be successful, noting that the state government should have made proper consultation before it came up with the pronouncement.
“Indeed, we support the decision of the government to ban street begging because it is good for Kano State. However, in our opinion, we see that there is a need for proper consultations with stakeholders before making the decision.
“The government cannot achieve any decision without consulting the people. Likewise, people can’t achieve anything without the government’s support. So there is a need for the government to provide level ground for the policy to be sustained,” he stated.
Tofa also noted that banning street begging as a way of reforming Tsangaya educational system is a good move, calling on the state government to be up and doing to achieve the feat.
The chairman also noted that the menace of street begging was aggravated by the soaring poverty in the country, especially the northern region, therefore calling on leaders to device means of cushion the effects of poverty on the masses.
Another member of the KCCI, Yahuza Getso, suggested that the state government should contact all Quran teachers to provide the exact figure of their pupils in order to undergo the census of the Almajirai in the state.
According to Getso, getting the data of the Almajirai would enable the state government to know their numbers and do the needful in a bid to ban street begging in the state.
