During a plenary at Senate yesterday, the lawmakers urged the federal government to formulate a policy that will integrate the Almajiri system into formal education to curb the menace of street begging.
The motion was introduced by Senator Sankara Abdullahi and 26 others, bothered by the menace of street begging that is gradually becoming a norm, the Senator posited that it is the function of the government to determine the direction for its people.
Abdullahi revealed that begging has unveiled a different dimension of itself with the introduction of corporate begging these days.
According to him, street begging portrays our country in bad light to any responsible visitor which suggests the government to be irresponsible to its citizen. It has also become a social problem that requires urgent attention if the country want to create a good name for itself.
He added, street begging, had become a worrisome socio- economic challenge in addition to been a serious menace and liability on the Nigeria populace, it does not paint the country in good light especially to visitors.
The phenomenon takes a heavy toll on the lives of teenagers, who engage in the act and are therefore out of school.
Other senators described the system as one of the major challenge the leaders have to put on check.
The Senators opined that setting up of vocational training schools will go a long way in providing them with alternative means of livelihood thereby making them productive members of the society.
