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By Lukman Olabiyi
Lagos government has set up a special team to stop street begging and hawking in the state.
Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, Olusegun Dawodu, his Information and Strategy counterpart, Gbenga Omotoso and Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, made this known yesterday at a press conference in Ikeja saying the move was necessary to curb activities of miscreants, beggars and hawks on Lagos roads for ease of traffic.
Dawodu said curbing street begging was necessary to sanitise the society and restore dignity for those sent on the streets for alms begging and hawking. He said these groups of people have turned alms begging and hawking into a huge business by collecting returns from beggars and hawkers, who incidentally sleep under bridges, motor parks and uncompleted buildings. He said intelligence reports also revealed that some of the beggars went about with dangerous weapons, assaulting and robbing innocent residents.
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“The special team will tackle the menace frontally and would commence operation in the next few days,” he said.
The commissioner said the task of the team was not only to sanitise the society, but also restore the dignity of hawkers and beggars.
Dawodu said beggars on streets and roads constituted considerable nuisance to law abiding citizens, who were entitled to go about their businesses without any fear or hindrance.
He said street begging was a social vice that government cannot afford to watch attain uncontrollable level in order not to affect the good plans and programmes to transform the state.
