By Izunna Okafor, Awka
A concerned citizen has raised the alarm over the pitiable condition of a homeless woman who has turned the roadside at Nnewi into her home, sparking calls for urgent intervention from the government and humanitarian agencies.
The woman, whose identity still remains unknown as at the time of filing this report, has reportedly been living for weeks along Old Onitsha Road in Nnewi, directly opposite the Premium Kidney Hospital. Videos and pictures of her condition, now trending on social media, show her sitting and looking helplessly after having taken her meal by the busy roadside, fully exposed to the scorching sun and heavy downpours.
“She has been here for weeks under rain and sunshine, yet no help. Nobody has identified with her, and where she’s staying is by the roadside, which is very dangerous,” the concerned citizen lamented in the viral post.
The alarm further noted that the woman’s safety is under serious threat, as her location places her at the risk of being run over by vehicles or falling victim to other dangers that come with living on the street or from the nearby bushes.
“She needs help urgently. She needs to be taken out of here, either to a rehabilitation centre or anywhere else where she will be safe, as the call for her relatives to come and take her continues. Please, government and humanitarian foundations should come to her aid,” the post appealed.
The videos and photos have sparked off a chain of reactions and counter-reactions on social media platforms, with netizens expressing their views and sympathy, with many online users expressing shock over the sight of a human being abandoned to such dehumanizing condition in the heart of an industrial town like Nnewi.
While some netizens chided passersby and residents of the area for what they described as indifference, others joined in calling on the Anambra State Government, social welfare agencies, churches, and charity organizations to immediately intervene and rehabilitate the woman.
Although no one has yet come forward to identify her or her relations, and while the videos/photos continue to trend, many social media users, in their reactions, have also continued to extend their views to the general issue of homelessness and what they described as lack of social safety nets in Nigeria, especially for vulnerable individuals who suffer abandonment or mental health challenges.
