Abandoned by Children: pathetic stories of senior citizens living as beggars

On Monday, May 23, 2016, a heavy rainfall in Lagos lasted about six hours. But while every man and woman, child and even animal ran for cover, 66-year-old Abiodun Adekunbi sat quietly on the median demarcating the road around the popular Ijaye Bus Stop in the Ijaye-Ojokoro area of the state.

Sitting alone and motionless without making any effort to dash for cover drew the curiosity of many residents who saw her from afar as few people ran to her to urge her to seek shelter.

But the elderly woman simply looked glumly on as she hugged herself. All entreaties by traders and passersby to encourage her to leave the rain fell on deaf ears.

By the time the rain stopped, residents of the area had called officials of the Kick Against Indiscipline, who came to the scene to help the woman.

Suggestions were made to give her food to restore her strength as she looked famished and tired. An official of Kick Against Indiscipline, Mr. Olusanya Temitope, bought a plate of rice and a bottle of soft drink for her, which Adekunbi accepted and promptly ate.

After the food, it became clear that she was an educated woman and one of our correspondents, who was at the scene decided to dig into her life and where she came from.

The elderly woman, who could clearly speak good English, told our correspondent in the earshot of shocked sympathisers who had gathered around her, that she had been sleeping on the street for months with the hope of locating her only surviving daughter whose whereabouts she did not know.