The attitude of street begging is a very common

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Yakubu Salisu
The attitude of street begging is a very common thing that has existed in Kano for very long time.

  Begging has become a source of livelyhood to many. When moving on the street, one could see physically challenged persons made up of children and adult, male and female begging for alms.
One baffling fact is that you will find people who have no any form of physical disability or what so ever also begging. 
However the State government said it will no longer tolerate the attitude of street begging in the state and the administration is doing all it could to stop this habit. In light of this, the state government passed into law a bill prohibiting begging of any form within the state capital. This led to protest by the physically challenged persons who gathered at the state house of assembly to show their anger.
The commander of Kano State Hisbah Board Mal. Aminu Ibrahim Daurawa has this to say about Islamic teachings on the subject.
?The prophet peace be upon him warned Muslims to desist from the habit of begging for those who do such will wake up on the last day with no flesh on their faces.
Barrister Abbas Haladu stated that Islam is a religion full of human compassion. Zakkat is only what is permitted to be given to people who are in need. Although,  a traveler who is on the journey and runs out of cash in some scholars opinion might seek for help.
Poverty and illiteracy are some of the factors responsible for the attitude of begging Said the Barrister.
Miss. Ummulkhair Habib of Sagagi quarters in her opinion said that laziness and idleness of the mind are the main cause of begging. She sees no reason why a man or woman in good health should be begging. Even those who have health issues should be taken care of by their relations.
Mal. Abdulrahaman Dako of Kofar Kwaru said begging is just an abuse of the chance Islam gave for compassion.  For him, people should be properly informed on the teachings of Islam on begging. 
Mal. Abdulrahaman said these beggars see it compulsory for someone to give them alms when they beg.
Some of them actually asks for specific amount of money. A beggar with choice.
Mal. Sulaiman Aliyu Sharada said the only way to stop begging is for the government to provide youths with jobs as most of these beggars are people capable to work.
A senior Lecturer at the Department of Islamic studies F.C.E Kano Mal. Ibrahim Khalil Haruna said Islam frowns at begging. ?Islam encourages everyone to be hard working in order to be self dependent?. He narrated a Hadith when someone went to the prophet for help and the holy prophet peace be upon him asked him to bring the only thing he has so he did and the prophet sold it and bought him an ax and asked him to go and cut down trees and sell to them fire woods. He said just as Islam forbids eating a dead animal but permits it under certain circumstances so also is begging permitted under some circumstances.
For instance when one does not have something to eat to the point he or she is in danger, the person might seek for assistance at that very moment. 
Further more, he narrated another teaching of the prophet that says should a horse rider’s whip falls while he rides his horse that person should come down from the horse and pick it up himself. To him begging is just a societal thing among the Hausa Fulani people and not religion as other Muslims from other parts of the country do not run around on the street begging any beggar you see in the south is from the North.
He said, ?Our people shy away from their responsibilities and give birth to children they cannot cater for?. He said the government and the Ulamas need to do more in order to eradicate this bad attitude.
A social scientist Mal. Muhammad Tahiru Suleiman enumerated some factors responsible for this attitude 
* Rural Urban migration: in a situation where you have mass movement of people from the rural areas into the cities without anything to do will end up begging.
* The economy structure of the country does really provide equal opportunity for the citizens a lot of people are leaving in poverty.
* He further stated that the attitude of people who see it as a religious obligation to assist the poor actually encourages some lazy people to beg.
* People who give birth to many children without the means to take care of them is also a factor so government must control urban movement and provide opportunities for all its citizens so that everybody can afford his needs from where ever he or she is. The religious must also enlighten the people who want to help to do it the right way and those who do it as a means of leaving should stop. 
The state government in its efforts to better the lives of physically challenged persons in the state recently distributed some tricycles to some people selected from the 44 local governments of the state.

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