Of beggars and charlatans.....

If you live in Lagos, then you must have seen those people with grotesque deformities begging for alms on major roads and bridges. They are hard to miss because they typically have handlers who walk ahead of them with music (usually some jarring Christmas melody), megaphones and a huge, poster-sized photo of the stricken person. The entire spectacle is designed to get your attention, almost practically forcing you to look, no gawk, at this poor unfortunate soul with a tumour the size of a football sticking out of his neck, or his eye, or his arm or whatever. Evidently, their calculation is that once you are confronted - literally speaking - with the victim's plight, you will have no choice but to dig deep into your pockets and give to him or her, lest the gods of retribution decide to visit such an awful calamity upon you or yours. It is emotional mainpulation of the very worst kind and I HATE it!!!!!

This is not to suggest that I am unmoved by the sight of such blatant suffering; it grieves my heart everytime I see someone in pain. But my spirit recoils at such obvious attempts to manipulate me into parting with my money. I dont even know where these "handlers" get the sufferers from. Do they just lure them from local hospitals with the promise of food and some spare change at the end of the day? Because clearly, the money they are extorting is not going to go towards any kind of treatment or rehabilitation for the victim, who is far more profitable in sickness than in health. I find the whole charade highly offensive and I simply refuse to look at, let alone contribute my money, to such a twisted side-show. Thankfully, their irritating Christmas carols and mega-phones serve as an advance warning of the spectacle that is to come, so I usually have ample time to avert my eyes. If I am stuck in traffic, then I simply shut my eyes until I am sure that the circus has gone past. Why should anybody think that they have the right to offend my sensibilities so??? Sometimes, I feel like getting out of my car and flogging all those handlers, for taking advantage of someone else's misfortune and for attempting to turn me into an unwitting sponsor of such gore.

I guess this is all an indication of how low our country has sunk. Abject poverty is turning beggars into charlatans and charlatans into business men. I wonder how much lower we can go before the whole country implodes on itself. Heaven help us all...