By Amos Tauna
People living with disabilities in Kaduna State northwest Nigeria, have vowed to continue with street begging in spite of the constant harassment and threat of arrest by the security operatives.
They noted that they would not stop street begging in the state unless Governor Nasir El-Rufai fulfills his campaign promise of empowering them.
They also appealed to the governor to always make provision for people with disability whenever there was an opening for employment to enable them contribute their own quota in the development of the state and Nigeria at large.
They disclosed this Thursday at the Ramadan Iftar (Muslims breaking of fast), organized by wife of the State Governor, Hadiza Isma El-Rufai for 200 disabled women in the state.
Speaking at the occasion, one of the women leader of the Association of Crippled People, Kaduna State, Isha Musa, said the governor during his 2015 campaign, promised to take the physically challenged people, especially those who are involved in street begging, off the streets by providing shelter, as well as empowerment if they support and voted him to become governor.
She noted that since he became governor, instead of fulfilling his promise, he rather made security men arrest them and locked them in one place with nothing doing, hence, the need for them to go back to the street begging in order to survive.
According to her, street begging was the only work that puts food on their table as well as pay their children’s school fees, saying that they would continue to beg no matter how the security men intimidate them unless jobs are provided to them.
She however appealed to the wife of the governor to intervene by pleading with her husband to keep to his campaign promises, noting that it is never their wish to beg.
In their separate remarks, women leaders of other disability associations, Ramatu Ahmed of the cripples, Ruth Maigida of the Blind; Isha Salisu, Happy of the mentally challenged but able; among others who spoke during the occasion, expressed gratitude to Mrs. El-Rufai for inviting them to feast with her in the month of Ramadan.
The women Leaders while describing the gestures as rare, going by the way people always look at them as beggars, lamented over their inability to gain employment, access to health facilities, government programmes; education among other social amenities because they don’t have people to help them.
According to them, they were not allowed to access loans, even at the Micro Finance Banks because of their disability at a time they were ready to venture into businesses.
While appealing to the state governor through his wife to come to their aid, the women leaders assured of their full support to governor El-Rufai and prayed for president Muhammadu Buhari’s quick recovery.
Responding, Mrs. El-Rufai, advised them to liaise with the Ministry of Women Affairs to direct them on how they could access loans and other government programmes which she said are open to everybody in the state.
The wife of the Governor, while stressing the need for people with disability to be self employed, noted that government cannot employ everybody, but provide the enabling environment for private sectors to strive.
On the street begging, Isma urged them to be law abiding citizens, assuring them that everything the government was doing was to return Kaduna State to be great again.
