A 15-year-old beggar, Mohammed Ismaila, is a regular face
around Mile 12 area of Lagos State. Those who move between Mile 12 and Ikeja on
daily basis, will, at one point or another, see him crawling on his stomach begging
for alms.
He told PUNCH Metro that despite that begging had
been outlawed in the state; he took the risk of crawling on the streets
pleading for alms because he wanted to send his younger ones to school. Ismaila, who said he was the first of five children,
added that he had been on the road for almost two years.
It’s gathered that his
family relocated from Arewa, Kaduna, to Lagos, in search of greener
pasture. His mother, however, did not relocate with the rest of the family, for
undisclosed reasons. It was also learnt that his father is a petty trader at
Mile12 Market.
Ismaila said, “I am used to crawling from Mile12, where I
live to Ikeja under-the-bridge every day. I want to train three of my
siblings, who are in school. I want them to have the advantage of education
that I did not have.
