By Kelechi Esogwa-Amadi
It appears that beggars are the worst hit among those affected by the 24-hour curfew imposed on Rumuokoro Roundabout three weeks ago by the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike.
The governor had cited cult activities as his reason for declaring the curfew, although many believe that he used that as a guise to free the area of the usual human traffic and World News in the country and challenged challenged the to be slowing down ongoing construction work at there.
Construction giant, Julius Berger, is currently building a flyover at Rumuokoro Roundabout courtesy of the Governor Wike administration. Following the imposition of the 24-hour curfew, the traders that used to converge on the roundabout to do brisk sales disappeared, shops around there closed, the transit motor parks and their louts vacated and human traffic at the roundabout became a thing of the past.
All these groups of hustlers are now crying foul, as the development has adversely affected their means of livelihood. But the beggars, who hitherto sought for their daily bread at the roundabout, seem to be crying most as they are now finding life very difficult.
It was gathered that the beggars have been forced to shift base to either Rumuodumanya Road axis or Rumuigbo Road axis. It was also learnt that some of the beggars have relocated towards the Eliozu road axis while some now try their luck along Rumuagholu Road, which also close to the Rumuokoro Roundabout.
On Monday, TPCN saw a female beggar sitting dejectedly with her four children, along the Rumuodumanya road, close to the Rumuokoro Flyover under construction. The young woman, whose three children, dressed in uniform surprisingly, was carrying a suckling baby, desperately hoping to receive Alma from passersby.
But TPCN observed that none of the passersby seemed to notice her and her children let alone give them money. Close observation revealed that almost all the passersby were angry over the long distance they were made to trek asked commercial vehicles no longer operate around Rumuokoro Roundabout because of the curfew.
Effort to get the beggar to talk about how the curfew was affecting her was fruitless as she declined comments due to press shyness.
