Baraka Abdulaziz moved from Kano State to beg in Ibadan, Oyo State seven years ago because she gets higher denominations of the naira in Ibadan unlike in Kano. She told Saturday Tribune that, that was why she preferred to come to the South West.
The blind beggar, who was aided by her daughter, Fatima, said she always come to beg in Ibadan for a while and return to Kano so that her daughter could continue going to school.
“I have been coming to Ibadan for about seven years. I come and go back often. Begging in Kano and in Ibadan is a lot different. Here, the Yoruba people help us and they also give us money. Sometimes, one person would give us N1,000 and that is a big difference with our place.
“That is why we came here to beg. We also have clothing, they give us clothes and sometimes, expensive ones that we cannot afford to buy. These are some of the reasons we came to beg here,” she said.
Baraka, who was seen moving around said sometimes they are stationed on a particular road but she chose to move around because there were some things one had to move about to get.
“Sometimes we are stationed in one place but there are differences between a person who is stationed in one place and someone who moves about. You know, there are things that they would come to give to you and there are some that you get when you move around and that is why we are moving about,” she said.
When asked about her daughter’s education, she revealed that her daughter, 18, attends both the Arabic and western schools in Kano.
She said after returning from the days begging in Ibadan, Fatima attends an evening Arabic school and when they travel back home, she continues with her western education.
“She goes to school in Kano, both the conventional school and Arabic school. Here in Ibadan, once we return for the days begging in the evening, she goes for her Arabic classes; then whenever we travel to the north, she goes back to the western school to continue her education.
“I usually stay for some months in Kano for her to be able to learn a thing or two then we travel back to continue begging again. Now I will be here for two months before we go back so that she can resume school,” she told Saturday Tribune.
Baraka said though they spend so much on travelling to and fro, it is a sacrifice she was willing to bear.
“Though we spend so much on transportation, but if we focus on that and say we will not come here or go back home then she would not get any education. We do not want our children to waste away without education, so we just bear the brunt of it.
“We go home so they can learn then we come back to beg so that we can have something to feed them and also plan for their marriage and all that. Last year, I married her elder sister off, so I am now planning to marry her off,” she said.
She said “marriage is important and schooling cannot stop the girl from getting married” while adding that she could now speak and write in English which would be helpful to them.
“Marriage is important after school and besides schooling doesn’t stop one from getting married. Right now, she can speak English a bit and can also write a little so, now, if for instance government is looking for blind people for anything, we have children both boys and girls that are educated that can speak for us because we do not understand the language.
“If they speak in Hausa we would understand and if they speak English our children would interpret for us even if they don’t know it fully, they would understand a little,” she added.
She further stated that she wanted Fatima to get married to take away the burden on them as parents because even after getting an education, jobs are difficult to come by.
“I want Fatima to get married because the burden is on us as parents. All her elder siblings went to school but they do not have jobs so is it not better to marry them off so that we should rest?” she inquired.
The mother of eight said education in Nigeria is now for the wealthy as they could no longer afford to send their wards to school.
“I have a 33-year-old son that is a graduate and had acquired all the certificates. He even did his National Youth Service (NYSC) and the certificates are in the house but he doesn’t have a job. He even wanted to join the police force but it all did not work. You know poor people like us, it’s hard to get government jobs.
“Now, schooling in Nigeria is for the rich people and not for the poor like us. We do not have that kind of capacity. We are just leaving our children in the hands of God.
“I have eight children, four boys and four girls, and all of them got western education but none of them has a job. I married off the three other girls because they could not get jobs. Fatima is the youngest. It’s better for me to just marry her off. So, we will go back to the north and let her get married,” she said.
She said she has been minding her business since she started coming to Ibadan and is thankful to God because she has never had any ugly experience.
“I thank God because I have never had any ugly experience since I started coming here. You see when we come here, we would rent a house and stay by ourselves, when we return from begging we go straight to our rooms and when we are going out we lock it and go.
Also whenever we travel, our rooms are under lock and key. So, basically, we mind our business and God has been good. I come and go safely and I have never experienced anything ugly throughout. I am also praying and looking forward to when I’ll stop coming and just stay at home in Kano,” she said.
Her daughter, Fatima was not allowed to speak to with Saturday Tribune but she managed to say: “I am 18 years old in primary five and I want to get married.”
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