If you have ever forgotten your pulse/wallet at home in a haste to catch a cab or to meet up a very crucial appointment or to seal a deal you understand where am going with this.
Well, this was my experience last weekend as i headed from a restaurant, Kilimanjaro along Ikot Ekpene road, Uyo of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria were i was to meet with a client to seal a deal that i have been working on for a while.
I had received an impromptu call to come to the restaurant in a giffy as my client had a conference which he was to feature in as a speaker in one of the sections. According to him, that he had like 65 minutes to meet with me so he can catch up with his flight plan for Lagos that morning and likely may not come back soonest.
From my workplace, I hastily entered a friends car who was heading my direction and at the first bus stop, this friend alighted me and drove off in a different direction.
I was to take a taxi to my destination from that point but it appeared i had two problems: i had forgotten my wallet and cellphone at the workplace and i had no cash at all one me to journey any further.
At that point i had to figured out how i was gonna transport myself first to the restaurant , i mean if i could just get there in time i know i could sort myself out.
I just need #150 and i would be good to go but the question was who was i going to talk to for immediate rescue, as the place assumed the atmosphere of a marketplace where everyone minded their business.
It appeared i was gonna do some first time professional begging as i was well dressed to start with. Well starched, ironed shirt and my trousers with a protruding contour and a well polished shoe.
Mentally, i had to do some first hand rehearsal and calculation on the style i was gonna use to approach any by-passer and get help.
Imagine me trying out sometime like:
My gosh! The first two attempts were a big blow on my person. The response so demeaning and i felt like passing out.
Rivals at the corner
I had to take some time to myself to figure out what i may have said or done wrong and then i realised it really wasn't about me. Probably there were others around who had mastered the art of what i was trying the first time...
I had other 'illegitimate' rivals at the corner and in the eyes of those that should have helped, i seemed to be just another beggar who was properly dressed, a professional beggar.
"Pls don't me wrong am not a beggar, i only forgot my wallet"
I felt they literally thought i was trying to play a smart game on them or something.
This experience actually shifted my paradigm on the life of the actual street beggars.
You see some at the taxi parks pretending to be travelling and would shamelessly walk up to you to ask for cash to complete their fair. And the funny thing is after you have given to them you finally find that the guy you gave your cash to was actually going no where.
At the traffic points also you see beggars, once the traffic light turns red they begin parading between rows of cars, constantly on the prowl for a good samaritan who would be kind hearted enough to give them some help.
This terrain you know makes it difficult for one to know who actually is the legitimate beggar.
If someone is destitute and asks you for a meal or something you should help,
Lets be our neighbours keeper.
However the dilemma comes from the uncertainty of not knowing who actually really needs help (like my case) and not just someone who begs for Africa ( for a living).
Other post:
Mum pls do not give me out too soon... I still love you
