There is a wise saying in Igboland that “the dressing of mechanics makes it extremely difficult for the rest of us to know the number of mad men in our society”.

This Igbo wise saying is equally applicable to beggars in Imo State. There are the physically challenged people, who for lack of assistance, are forced to beg for alms. Some of these physically challenged persons are either blind, deaf, dumb, amputees or have one deformity or the other. There are also the poor and retched of the land, who depend on goods spirited individuals for their sustenance.

Beyond these obvious cases, there are also the corporate beggars. They are usually well dressed and can go for any company executive, but sadly beg for alms.

Last week, a corporately dressed “gentleman” approached our correspondent for assistance. He had a very pathetic story to tell. Please hear him.

“Brother, my wife is at the point of death. She is expecting a baby. The doctors have prescribed caesarean operation as the only way the baby and her mother can be saved from imminent death. They have asked for N120,000 before they can commence the surgery. I have deposited N115,000 but the doctors are still insisting that the money must be completed before they start any work on her. I am told that you are a Rotarian and Rotarians are known for their philanthropy. You are my last resort. I see you as the only bridge between my wife’s life and death. Please assist me”, the man pleaded. The truth is that our correspondent parted with N5,000 and this man ran off with the money, as if he was heading straight to the supposed hospital. Our correspondent expected that the man would one day return to announced the safe delivery of his wife. This never happened.

Two days after this incident, another corporately dressed man came to Vanguard office, Owerri, and repeated the same story told by the former person. It was at this point that it dawned on our correspondent that he had been swindled by corporate beggars. He was not as lucky as the first one.

It has equally become a common practice to see well dressed people along the streets of Owerri, accosting unsuspecting citizens and almost immediately asking for alms. One of such persons accosted a plant mechanic, Paul, in his workshop along Douglas Road, Owerri, and asked for some money to feed.

Paul was shocked at the way the man made the demand as if it was his right. Paul never parted with a dime and the man went away smiling.

Augustine Nkaru narrated how somebody came up to him and talked of how he was stranded. He claimed that he was in Owerri to visit his relation but quickly added that he was not lucky to see him. He then asked for some money for transport to go back to his village.

This same person met Augustine a few days later and told the same story without knowing that he had told the same story to the same person a few days earlier.

These are just a few of the escapades of these corporate beggars in Owerri. The number of these special beggars are increasing by the day. They are almost taking the shine away from the real handicapped persons. How this menace can be checked remains a mirage.