The Menace of Street Begging among Children in Urban centers: Activities, Survival and Coping Strategies

Abstract

This paper attempts to explore the activities, survival and coping strategies of children street beggars in Ibadan metropolis. Using a qualitative data collection method, the study conducted in-depth and key informant interviews among the children street beggars in Mokola area of the metropolis, and responses were thematically analyzed. Mokola was selected because of the predominance of a large number of street beggars in the area. This lends credence to the findings that the home of these children street beggars was under the bridge located in Mokola area. While some of them resorted to street begging because both their parents are deceased, others do so because they feel isolated and are victims of maltreatment. Their survival strategies include picking and selling of metal scraps, carrying loads, washing plates, disposing refuse, commercial sex and begging. They also, engage in healthy activities like shopping and unhealthy ones such as stealing, drug abuse, homosexuality and premarital sex among many others. The paper concludes that although, the Child Rights Act was promulgated in 2003, there has not been any serious attempt to appropriately implement the Act by the Federal Government to the full benefit of the Nigerian child.. Therefore, there is a need for the provision of improved and attractive support for the children on the street to solve this social menace.

Full text

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The Menace of Street Begging among Children in Urban centers: Activities, Survival and
Coping Strategies
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By
ALUKO, Yetunde. A (PhD) and OLANIPEKUN, Temilorun
Social Policy Department
Nigerian Institute of Social & Economic Research (NISER)
Ojoo-Ibadan, NIGERIA
E-mail: yetkoo@yahoo.com
yetkoo.ya@gmail.com
olanipekunayodamola@gmail.com
Abstract
This paper attempts to explore the activities, survival and coping strategies of children street beggars
in Ibadan metropolis. Using a qualitative data collection method, the study conducted in-depth and
key informant interviews among the children street beggars in Mokola area of the metropolis, and
responses were thematically analyzed. Mokola was selected because of the predominance of a large
number of street beggars in the area. This lends credence to the findings that the home of these
children street beggars was under the bridge located in Mokola area. While some of them resorted to
street begging because both their parents are deceased, others do so because they feel isolated and
are victims of maltreatment. Their survival strategies include picking and selling of metal scraps,
carrying loads, washing plates, disposing refuse, commercial sex and begging. They also, engage in
healthy activities like shopping and unhealthy ones such as stealing, drug abuse, homosexuality and
pre-marital sex among many others. The paper concludes that although, the Child Rights Act was
promulgated in 2003, there has not been any serious attempt to appropriately implement the Act by
the Federal Government to the full benefit of the Nigerian child. . Therefore, there is a need for the
provision of improved and attractive support for the children on the street to solve this social
menace.
Keywords: Children, Street begging, bullying, drug abuse, homosexuality.
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Aluko Y.A and Olanipekun T. (2019). The Menace of Street Begging among Children in Urban
centers: Activities, Survival and Coping Strategies. In Imhonopi D.O, Onwumah A.C, George T.O &
Ozoya M.I (eds). The Social Sciences and Sustainable Development in the 21st Century Africa. A
festschrift for Prof. Patrick A. Edewor at 60. Ota-Nigeria: Covenant University. 301-321.

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Section 1: Background to the problem
A great number of Nigerians are unemployed and live in abject poverty. Many get married into
poverty: procreate and socialize or orientate their children into the same condition. The growing
incidence and influx of beggars in major cities in Nigeria, and various parts of Ibadan in Oyo State in
particular, has assumed a worrisome dimension and points to the breakdown of the family system.
Many devise different means of livelihood and survival, one of which is street begging. Literature
shows that begging is not peculiar to developing countries but it is a universal phenomenon (Ado,
1997) and a global urban problem. While a considerable number of cities were identified in the USA
and Mexico as having a significant level of begging activity (Smith, 2005; Fabrega, 1971), cities in
China, especially Shanghai, have been described as homes of different categories of beggars
(including the poor, the disabled, the homeless and professional beggars), which are described as
“liumin” (floating people) or “youmin” (wandering people) (Hanchao Lu, 1999). In India, begging is
seen as a pride as beggars are seen posing as someone famous. The situation is not so different in the
city of Johannesburg, South Africa, where beggars are seen at junctions all over the city. In cities of
Britain and similar industrialized countries in the recent years, begging has become highly visible
(Jordan, 1999). Those of Mexico, as reported by Fabrega (1971), cited in Adedibu (1989) are not left
out in this negative scenario. Moving down home, the situation in Nigerian cities as observed every
day is perhaps worse with different categories of beggars found at motor-parks, religious centres,
markets, road junctions, venues of ceremonies, among other public places begging for alms (Jelili,
2013; Ojo, 2005).
These so called beggars come in different shades, which includes the disabled, the poor, and the
destitute and to a considerable extent the able-bodied, healthy and physically strong individuals who
take the advantage of the sympathy of the society for them to remain jobless and at times perpetrate
evils (like crime) in the name of begging in the street. While some do this with shamefacedness,
others do so with pride and professionalism. Surprisingly also, children are not exempted from this
culture of street begging and the population of children engaged in it is growing increasingly and at
an alarming rate. . This is a social problem that therefore, t calls for a sustainable solution. Children
who are meant to be enrolled in schools are often found begging on the streets. Several encounters
with the children revealed that broken home was the major reason behind their plight. To this end,
begging has become a means of livelihood and a path to survival for these children. They have also,
become victims of different forms of assaults and harassment as a result of street begging (Lynch,
2005; Osofisan, 1996), which has denied them the right to live and to develop fully in a secure
environment.
This study, in an attempt to investigate the activities of street children beggars, raises a question on
what are their survival and coping strategies in Ibadan metropolis. This case is different from the

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almajirai system as practised in the Northern part of Nigeria. Although, both cases have attracted the
attention of the general public, social critics, mass media, and researchers alike. It is against this
backdrop that the paper focuses on the menace of begging among children in Ibadan metropolis,
which clearly calls for an urgent attention. The menace and increasing number of homeless children
and teenagers who hustle for daily bread and now sleeps under the Mokola overhead bridge is a
reflection of the state of the nation’s social security policy and scheme. The objectives of the study
are to (a) prepare a situation analysis of the children begging in the Mokola axis and, (b) put forward
recommendations for proper interventions (existing or new) to ensure access to services for these
children
Section 2: Conceptual Issues
2.1: Street children: distinguishing between children on the street, children at risk and children
of the street
According to UNICEF (1984), street children constitute a multifaceted phenomenon that can be
divided into at least three categories: children on the street, children at risk, and children of the
street. According to Lalor (1999), the category of children on the streets is made up of children
working on the streets in order to survive. These children generally belong to a family, return home
at night (Le Roux, 1996), and are under their parents’ protection. It is household poverty that pushes
these children onto the street. For instance, children on the street contribute up to 30% of household
income (Rizzini and Lusk, 1995; ILO, 1996). This is the largest category of street children. The
category of children at risk includes the urban poor who form a reservoir of street children. The last
category that of children of the street, is a multifaceted one, comprising several subcategories:
abandoned, orphaned, and runaway children. Densley and Joss (2000) state that children of the
streets regard the street as their home: it is the place where they live, where they work and develop
bonds with other children of the streets. They view their family ties in a negative light.
These three categories are closely linked. The category of children on the street feeds into that of
children at risk, which itself feeds into that of children of the street. This categorization has
sometimes been rejected in favour of others (Felsman, 1984; Cosgrove, 1990; Lusk, 1992), but these
alternative categorizations quite often prove to be ad hoc and non-analytical (Glauser, 1990; Panter-
Brick, 2000). Most analyses actually use distinctions that correspond to those proposed by UNICEF,
even if the names of categories are often markedly different (Ennew, 1994; Barker and Knaul, 1991;
Consortium for Street Children, 1998; Raffaelli, 1999).
According to Lalor (1999), these distinctions shed light on the reasons that drive children to migrate
onto the streets. Furthermore, Panter-Brick (2003) considers that classifying these children is useful
as long as the categories are not perceived as discrete and homogeneous. The use of the term “street

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children” certainly poses problems, but few alternatives are available – apart from local terms – to
refer to this particular group of children (Ennew, 2000; Panter-Brick, 2003).
2.2: Begging
Begging, as an indication of abject poverty, (Adewuyi, 2007; Adedibu, 1989), has always been a
major way out for the helpless poor. However, not all beggars are poor or motivated into begging by
poverty, and not all the poor are beggars. This, therefore, necessitates the need to re-examine the
concept of begging and related issues. This conceptualization would not only capture the image of
the begging and beggars in question, but also reflect their implications for the city’s physical and
socio-economic environment.
Kennedy and Fitzpatrick (2001) views begging as an act of asking passers-by for money in a public
place. However, begging goes beyond asking people for money alone in public spaces as beggars
may approach people not necessarily for money alone but also for food, clothes etc. and this activity
may not necessarily take place in public places, it may take place anywhere.
Sociologically, begging is a social deviance, a product of urban poverty, and a social problem that
includes gaining material benefit by asking for money from other persons with no intent to reimburse
money or to provide service in return (Healy and Rogoz, 2012).
It is therefore, important to state that while “street and house-to-house begging” and “panhandling”
are synonymous, and may represent the general idea of asking people for money, food etc.,
“mendicancy” and “vagrancy” connotes more than street begging. Mendicancy, as an art of begging
is usually associated with religious members. Vagrancy, on the other hand, refers to begging activity
of the jobless, homeless, and wanderers or vagabonds. It involves people who have been driven by
natural disasters to leave home in search of richer areas as well as refugees (Jelili, 2013; Hanchao
Lu, 1999) who become beggars in the new places they migrate to. The implication of this
conceptualization and differentiation shows that most of these beggars constitute social vices,
environmental nuisance and are potential criminals (vagabonds). They however possess latent or
physical potentials which, rather than being allowed to waste away under the guise of poverty,
disability, or homelessness, could be made use of to make them a significant proportion of work
force of the population.
2.2: Child begging and beggars
Child begging is a social phenomenon that sends the school going age children on the street and begs
for alms. Delhi Commission for protection of Child Right (2015), argues that, “Child begging has
sometimes been presented as a survival strategy, since children engaged in begging come from
impoverished families who do not have an alternative income-generating activity”.

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The child beggars are a distinct category of the street children who are most deprived even
with the basic necessities of life, and struggle to survive by the least strategies in every place. These
children are a particularly vulnerable group; where a vulnerable child is a child who, because
of circumstances of birth or immediate environment, is prone to abuse or deprivation of basic needs,
care, and protection, and is thus disadvantaged relative to his or her peers (Community-based
Support [CUBS], 2010).
Since antiquity, it is a common phenomenon to use children in begging activities. Parents or
guardians use children for begging purposes to easily influence alms-givers and boost their income.
Givers may feel guilt-ridden when they see the begging face of these children who are usually
encouraged by their guardians (Kennedy, 2001). Besides, to satiate their greed for more money, it is
widely rumored that parents and guardians deliberately inflict harm on children and then bring them
out to the streets before they recover from their injuries, just to win the sympathy of unsuspecting
patrons. In almost every nook and cranny of the city, on the streets and at the gates of religious
institutions, there are growing numbers of parents who are using their children for begging.
For the purpose of this study, children who engage in street begging are those who are completely
homeless, abandoned, orphaned, and runaway children who live perpetually under the bridge (the
site under study) with no safe place to call home. They are the children without adequate parental
care and subject to higher risk of physical punishment and sexual abuse.
Section 3: Socio-economic realities of begging
Regardless of one’s religious, cultural and other background and orientation, what to eat or wear and
where to live, among other necessities must be sought so long as one is alive. It follows therefore that
as long as poverty exists in our society, without adequate policy measures to address it, begging
would continue to thrive as an urban activity. This is because without prejudice to the influencing
roles of the composite variables of culture, urbanization and socio-polity, most (if not all) beggars
(including part-time and full time as well as conspicuous and “veiled” ones) are lured into begging
first by the factor of poverty (Jelili, 2013; Osagbemi, 2001; Adedibu, 1989). What is certain is that,
though when many beggars taste begging especially as evidenced in Nigerian cities, they do not want
to stop irrespective of whether or not they have overcome the poverty hardship, none of the certified
full time or part time beggars actually take to begging without first tasting poverty.
The existing literature on poverty has it that a universally acceptable definition of
poverty remains elusive, because it is more easily recognized than defined (Mafimisebi,
2002). This is why a wide variety of definitions have been put forward to reflect different
dimensions or contexts within which it is defined. In general, however, two approaches of

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defining the concept are observed in the literature. First, poverty is observed in either absolute
sense or relative sense. In absolute sense, poverty is seen, according to Akinbola (2002), as a state
of not having or not being able to get the necessities of life; it is the situation of lack of
access to resources needed to obtain the minimum necessities required to maintain physical
efficiency (Okunmadewa, 2001). Second, from its multidimensional perspectives, poverty is
seen as a physiological deprivation, a social deprivation, or a human deprivation. The
physiological deprivation refers to poverty of income and basic human needs. Social deprivation, on
the other hand, refers to the lack of basic capabilities to live a long and healthy life with
freedom or lack of resources required for participation in social activities. Human deprivation
also, is denial of right and freedom or lack of dignity, self-respect, security and justice
(Mafimisebi, 2002). Due to the interrelationships among these various dimensions and approaches
to defining poverty and for comparison purpose, the global community has adopted income as
a measure; and by this measure, an income of one US dollar per day per person (Hauser and
Pilgrim, 1999) is observed to indicate poverty. The psychological effect of poverty on individual
strips him of his self-respect and human dignity. One important manifestation of this, especially in
Nigeria, is the involvement of considerable number of its population in begging.
Nevertheless, the socio-cultural and socio-political background and other orientations
notwithstanding, the socio-economic realities and circumstances that may promote begging in the
society should be well focused and attended to in the state economic and urban development policies.
It is only when this is taken care of that we can appreciably discern and address the socio-cultural
and socio-political connections to begging.
Section 4: Theoretical Underpinning
Sociologists analyze social issues using different approaches. This paper attempts to reflect the
multidimensional nature of begging by examining the subject matter from the functionalist, conflict
and symbolic interaction perspectives.
The functionalist theorists (Parsons, Spencer, Durkheim, Merton, etc.), argues that every piece of
society is interdependent and contributes to the functioning of society as a whole unit. If the
functionalist theorists are correct and everyone understands how each segment functions within the
unit of society, then it breeds stability, prosperity, order and productivity. If a society is a
functionalist society and the theory fails, then the society is either doomed to fall into chaos or the
members of the society must quickly adapt to regain the order, stability and productivity of the
society. Ogunkan (2009), in articulating the functionalist perspective on begging as a product of
poverty argues that begging performs some identifiable functions which seems to be needed by the

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society. He however, does not judge begging to be a desirable or legitimate form of social action but
support the view of functionalists which seek to explain how an aspect of society frequently looked
down upon can nevertheless manage to be passed from generation to generation.
Beggars are instrumental in the meeting of social, religious and economic obligations. Most
Nigerians perform religious obligations by giving alms to beggars. Begging also provides
employment opportunity for members of the society that service the poor. Take for instance, to curb
the menace of begging, jobs are created for welfare care workers, public health experts, law
enforcement agents in rehabilitation of beggars and in enforcement of anti-begging regulations. Esan
(2009), also observed that the “babiyala” beggars are entertainers who wander streets, sings and beg.
According to him, they seem to receive more favor than others because they entertain people. Gans
(1995) also draws on Functionalist perspective to analyse the existence of poverty and maintains that
the existence of the poor actually benefited various segments of the society In Gans’ view, poverty
and the poor actually satisfy positive functions for many non-poor groups of the society. The
presence of the poor means that society’s dirty works, physically dirty or dangerous, deadened and
underpaid, undignified and menial jobs, will be performed at low cost.
On the other hand, the conflict perspective (Marx, Dahrendorf, etc.) views society as composed of
different groups and interest competing for power and resources. The conflict perspective explains
various aspects of our social world by looking at which groups have power and benefit from a
particular social arrangement. Karl Marx’s works provide a foundation upon which conflict theory
rests. According to him, wealth is concentrated in the hands of a minority capitalist class in every
society, while the laboring classes are forced to sell their power in return for wages. The existence of
social problems, like begging, is a product of unequal access to life chances, that is, people’s
opportunities to provide themselves with material goods, positive living. By implication, the
existence of beggars in Nigeria reflects inequality that proceeds from capitalism.
Symbolic interactionism is a theoretical approach (Mead, Blumer, Cooley, Sutherland, etc.) that can
also be used to explain how societies and/or social groups come to view behaviors as deviant or
conventional. It focus attention on the socially constructed nature of the labels related to deviance. It
is the process of interaction in the formation of meanings for individuals. Crime and deviance are
learned from the environment and enforced or discouraged by those around us. According to
Sutherland, deviance is less a personal choice and more a result of differential socialization
processes. His conclusions established differential association theory, which suggested that
individuals learn deviant behaviour from those close to them, like the case of the children street
beggars, who provide models of and opportunities for deviance. A homeless child whose friends are

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begging on the streets is more likely to view street begging activity as acceptable. This theory also
explains why crime is multigenerational.
Section 5: Methodology
This study was carried out in Mokola, an area that is located within Ibadan North Local Government
Area of Oyo State Nigeria. It is a residential area mostly inhabited by the middle-class families.
Mokola lies close to the University of Ibadan, Dugbe and Bodija. Ibadan (Yoruba: Ìbàdàn) is the
capital and most populous city of Oyo State, Nigeria. It is the third most populous city in Nigeria
after Lagos and Kano; it is the country's largest city by geographical area. Ibadan is located in south-
western Nigeria, 128 km inland northeast of Lagos and 530 km southwest of Abuja, the federal
capital, and is a prominent transit point between the coastal region and the areas in the hinterland of
the country (Lyold, et.al., 1967). This study area- Mokola- was purposively selected because of the
menace and increasing number of homeless children and teenagers who hustle for daily bread and
now sleeps under the Mokola overhead bridge in Ibadan. In fact, the same location was where some
of the children beggars approached one of the authors of this paper to doggedly beg for alms—an
experience which later inspired this study.
The research was focused on two areas of inquiry: collection and analysis of data gathered from
children who live and beg on the street, and those who were once street beggars. Qualitative
approach was applied in the process of information collection and analysis. Direct interviews with
children who beg and those who have graduated was employed. Due to limited time and resources,
first, the study conducted several and thorough In-depth Interviews for twenty- four (24) street
children, with ages ranging between thirteen (13) and sixteen (16). Second, another category of
people numbering six (6) as key informants were interviewed, all above twenty years old but not
more than twenty-four years who used to be street beggars. Interviews, conducted in Yoruba
language with children, followed previously prepared list of questions and defined guidelines by the
researcher, taking into account, in the first place, the best interest of a child in each individual case.
The similar pattern was followed in conducting interviews for the ex-street beggars. The children
currently involved in street begging and ex-street beggars determined the primary source of
information. The researchers visited the places at different times of the day. The recorded interviews
were transcribed from Yoruba language to English language, and thereafter subjected to thematic
analysis.

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Section 6: Findings and Discussion
• 6.1: Reasons for going into the streets to beg.
Max Weber argues that humans are actors and their actions are products of motives which has
meanings and are by nature subjective. It is e therefore inappropriate to assume that all street beggars
have the same stories or were inspired to engage in street begging by the same reason. To this end,
the researcher investigated the subjective reasons that led the actors (children street beggars) into
street begging. It was discovered from the study that street children beggars have heterogenous
stories that led them to the street in the first place. But they have homogenous motives for engaging
and remaining in this appalling activity. The aforementioned was corroborated by a key informant
who claims to live with street beggars, but does not engage in street begging, only beg from specific
people he knows in gas stations. He narrated:
Ah bros. to be sincere, it varies o. their stories are not similar but they are not the
same. But let me allow you know this; their stories are distressing. Some have some
form of disability among these children so resorted to begging. Some have family
issues like they are orphans or their parents are separated. Ehn ehn let me say this one,
some of them are also lazy o. they do not want to do anything. And some of them do
not have the strength to work so they go into the streets to beg. There are some street
beggars who feign blindness and then ask some of these kids to go about with them as
support to beg for alms (KII, Male).
We can infer from the above quotation that while some children beg on the street because they
believe they have no other choice, others do so willingly. Some jobless adult street beggars have
made street begging a profession. Unbridled freedom on the street, opportunities to make fast money
and ambitions to assume adults’ roles could also be part of the pulling factors.Some even went all the
way to feign disability and employ some of these children as ‘begging staff’ who go about with them
in other to make their conditions appear real. This action on the part of the adult beggars can inspire
the children to do the same, thus, seeing street begging as a means to an end. This is well
corroborated by one of the respondents: “They just hold them. The older ones that are blind are the
ones that come to pick some of us to assist them in begging and those ones too will now use that
opportunity to beg personally”.
Greed and laziness also led some children to beg on the streets. They believe that street begging is
the fastest way to get the things they want. To them, they can live a sustainable life of plenty through
street begging. In the words of a young former street beggar:
We make a lot o! Some make two thousand naira or more. It depends sha. But
you know street life now. We spend everything lavishly on frivolities. We eat
suya and other junks. In short, we squander the money in a day. To this end,
we do not have any savings that we can boast of. And this is because we know
that even if we spend the money completely in a day, we will make more some
other days. That is it (KII, Male).

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Children are also forced to beg on the street when they are maltreated by those that should provide
for their welfare and ensure their security. This is evident in the response of the interview below who
said:
My dad and mum got separated. My dad couldn’t take care of me, so he took
me to some of his relatives’ place to live. He died after some months. I was
thereafter taken to an Arabic school which I later left because I was been
maltreated there. But I was later found by the police who took care of me for a
while before I was taken to Lagos by my mum. But mum also took me to
Arabic school and just like before, I ran away due to similar story like the
former. That is how I found myself on the street (IDI, Male).
Isolation can also force children to beg on the street. Children are generally dependent—financially,
emotionally, psychologically etc. They usually depend on family members for love, finance,
guidance and every of their daily. Children are attention seeker. They love to have people around
them. They want to be loved and cared for. In cases where children have no access to these
expressions of love, they by themselves seek it out in the way they know. This study reveals that
children resort to street begging and living as a result of isolation as evident in the words of an
interviewee who said: “When I didn't see anyone around. I have nobody so I decided to start going
about and sleep under the bridge. So, I saw the people living under the bridge and decided to join
them”.
Surprisingly also, there can be a spiritual narrative to what led some of these children into street
begging as a particular interviewee believes that his engagement in street begging and other street
activities is as a result some spiritual manipulations or metaphysical power. In his words:
Uhmmmm…. my family members, my daddy’s younger brother is quite rich,
so he married a lady with no virtue that goes about to visit herbalist houses
and involves herself in fetish things. So, I was told that she is spiritually
involved in making me sleep outside of my home (IDI, Male).
While acknowledging and still regarding the various reasons that led these children to street begging,
it is important to note that the latent motivation for begging on the street by all these children is
poverty. These children took to the street solely because they needed to survive. The responses given
by these children connotes that street begging would not have been a means to an end should their
basic needs be met. This observation is an evidence of the impact that this factor have in the lives of
not only beggars, but also the entire populace. In corroborating this, Adaramaja and Adegbite (2005)
argues that the level of poverty is used in judging the worth, potentials and the support and
maintenance provided by a country’s social system.
• 6.2: Activities of children street beggars
As can be seen, children street beggars engage in different activities, both healthy and unhealthy
activities. Amazingly, this study reveals that these children have moments when they go to fancy
supermarkets to buy things. This shows that these children do not only beg to stay alive, but also, to

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live a good life. This is well expressed in the words of an interviewee who said: “We street beggars
have times when we also go out to enjoy ourselves, we go to places like Shoprite to buy things. While
another was of the opinion that:
Well we stay here (Shoprite- a shopping mall) till they start sharing food. We
eat whatever they share right here. Afterwards, we start begging for money.
And later on, we come here to play with other children like us (IDI, Male).
The aforementioned scenarios may tempt one to think that all there is to the everyday life of these
children is innocence. But this study further reveals that, although many of these children are still
young, there exist certain vices among them. Some of these children engage in sexual relationship
with the opposite sex among themselves. The females add prostitution to their means of livelihood.
Given the proximity of their abode (under the bridge) to motorcycle transport parks. Some females
among them are paid to engage in sexual activities with some commercial motorcyclists as evident in
the quotation below:
We used to have sex with every one of them. In fact, most of them are
prostitutes. All those ones under the bridge in Mokola are usually picked up by
the aboki motorcycle riders in the night to have sex with them and give them a
token in return. It is not possible to be on the street and not smoke or drink.
You see that friend of mine spent about three years on the street with us
without smoking but after a while he started smoking. It is not easy because
even the cold does not help matter. So, it’s hard to be on the street without
smoking. Although we take alcohol a lot, we smoke more (KII, Male).
The response above shows that these children come to the street innocent but get influenced by their
peers, situation and environment. Some of these children smoke because they see their friends doing
so while some do it to keep warm as many of these children live under the bridge and are by default
exposed to cold.
It was also gathered that children street beggars engage in boy-girl relationship. This relationship
draws from the fact that the activity of street begging is carried out by both genders who get intimate
by reason of living together in the same abode, which is under the bridge. A participant corroborated
this: “There are ladies here. They also beg. But we sleep and wake up together here under the
bridge. And they Do boy-girl relationship among themselves”. He went further to say that:
I have a girlfriend. We play together. We go to the stream to swim. At times
we kiss and smooch each other. We also have sex once in a while. But we do
everything in the secret and that's by the stream where no one can see us (IDI,
Male).
That these kids carry out their intimate activities in the secret suggests that they to an extent know
that the activities are immoral and against the societal norms. This means that street lifestyle has not
eroded the knowledge of societal values completely in their minds. This also suggests that these kids
try not to be limited by their situation but try to enjoy life in the ways they know how. We can also

12
infer from the above quotation, considering the age of these children that these skills are socialized
and exposed to adulthood too early. This draws from the fact that they engage in adult activities
despite their youthfulness. This study went further to reveal that these children engage in non-
begging activities for the same reason why they engage in begging: to make money for daily
survival:
For instance, there are girls here. Some have gone out to work (beg) and will come
back in the evening, they sometimes engage in sexual relationships. Like the abokis
here pay them to sleep with them and I know some of them very well sometimes
engage in homosexuality. I know them very well. I see them and they tell me
personally. I am only telling you this because you are friendly and seem to be
secretive (KII, Male).
Dissociating himself from such activities, a participant gave an account of how other street children
engage in stealing and other gang activities like fighting. It was revealed that cliques exist among
these children even though they are all street beggars. This is like a classroom culture where student
of the same class belongs to different cliques and fight to protect members of their unique cliques.
Some of us steal from people. Like hijack people’s bags/purses but I do not do
it. I will rather go into Mokola Street and look for metal scrap that I can sell.
We also fight o! For example when another group beat a member of our
group, we go to meet them and we fight each other. So, if they bring a fight to
us, we give them the fight back (IDI, Male).
Despite the prevalence of moral decadence that exists among these children, it is important to state
that some of these children uphold moral values as revealed by one of them: “I am still young now.
What if she gets pregnant? God said when we are still young we should not sleep with women. But
when we get married we can sleep with our wives: This was further corroborated by another
interviewee who said:
Ah those are the ones that smoke and drink over there. God forbid we join
them. They always tell us that we may not smoke or drink now that we surely
will in future and we tell them God forbid. We can only take soft drinks not
alcohol. We cannot smoke weed (IDI, Male).
Yet another said:
Some smoke. Like our oga (older beggars) smoke and give to some of us to
smoke as well. But I do not join them sha because it is not good to smoke.
(IDI, Male).
These shows that many of the vices that these children engage in like culture, are learned, shared and
transmitted from existing beggars to newly joined beggars. This was further corroborated by a
participant who said:
There is nothing they can do other than smoking and drinking. They smoke
when they are cold. Even me, I smoke when am cold. When we bring

13
alcoholic drinks, they drink too. It is what they see us do. And we also met it
and emulated it from those we met. There are some people here who are
elders, more experienced here but they have gone out (KII, Male).
• 6.3: Challenges they face on the street
While engaging in street begging, children face various difficulties. Many of them get seriously sick
and receive little or no medical attention. Some lamented about how they hit their feet against stones
and get stepped on by moving vehicles while trying to beg. The quotations below accounts for some
of the challenges that these children face. In the words of a victim: “got injured several times I hit my
leg on something very often. There are times when I hit my leg on stones. Cars at times used to step
my feet”. . Yet, another: “I sometimes have headache. Sometimes when I sleep, sand enters my ears,
there is excess sand where we sleep”.
These responses shows that these children live in an inhabitable place—under the bridge, which
expose them to health hazards as identified by the respondent above. This shows that these do not
only have feeding challenges, they also have health challenges.
Many children beggars are victims of child abuse as some participants in the In-depth interview
narrated stories of been bullied by those older than them. Some older people on the street take
advantage of the weakness and vulnerability of these children. They exploit them of their earnings
and beat them when they are hesitant. A participant said:
Yes o. They are. They beat us. If we refuse to give them out of the money we
make they will beat us. If they ask us to go and buy something and we say we
cannot go, they will beat us. If they tell us to hold something for them and we
say we cannot, they will beat us. They beat us if we refuse to do what they ask
us to do (IDI, Male).
Also, another said:
For instance, when those kids go about begging there are some people who
collect money from them and they sometimes beat these kids because
sometimes after going about begging they would hide their money. Therefore,
when they are asked for money and they say they have none, they will end up
been beaten up (KII, Male).
Finally and unexpectedly, children street beggars are big dreamers despite the challenges and
unhealthy activities they engage. They have dreams of owning their own cars and becoming rich
someday. In a remark by one of them: “Yes, I have a dream of having a car. When I see people
driving cars I also wish to own my car. I wish to be rich and travel abroad. And I don't want to
steal”.

14
They want to go to school but do not have the financial motivation to do so. Consequently, a great
number of the street children who desire to go back to school are inhibited to do so. Some regarded
this limitation which is instigated by their relatives as a form of maltreatment. As one of them
remarked:
No o. Not just feeding o, maltreatment nko? When I tell them, I want to go to
school, they will say they do not have money and even abuse my late mother.
They will ask me to go and meet my mother in her grave so she can send me
to school. They will ask me to go and meet my dad wherever he is to send me
to school (IDI, Male).
• 6.4: Survival strategies of children street beggars
Given that these children live independent of their parents or relatives, this study explored the ways
through which they survive generally in their everyday life. In response to this curiosity, this study
revealed that children street beggars do not only beg for alms to survive but work several menial jobs
to survive. Popular among f these jobs are picking up metal scraps for sale, washing plates and
helping people to dispose their refuse. This is evident in the following quotation:
I pick metallic objects like milk cans, malt cans, and so on. I sell them
to those that are like bosses to us they are like our big brothers on the
street. They are over there. They sell them to big companies who use
modern machines to transform them into new products. (IDI, Male).
Yet another added:
Sometimes I wash plates. At times I go into Mokola Streets to look for
metal scraps and sell. Also, I help people dispose their refuse and they
will pay me for that (IDI, Male).
The above quotation reveals that while these children see the menial jobs they do as a means to an
end, some members of the society see these children also as a means to an end. These children are
assets to some members of the society and without them, surviving may be difficult for these adults.
The above quotation also reveals that these children are part of the ‘chain of production’ as they
provide some raw material that aid the production of some goods. We can also infer from above that
street begging gives birth to other social problems like child labour. Since these children are
desperate to earn a living, unemployed individuals exploit them because of their vulnerability by
paying them to pick metal scraps which they sell to industries that pay them finely. These kids are
hired as cheap labor to do menial jobs like washing plates and disposing refuse.
The street makes these children vulnerable. The females can be exposed to sexual harassment while
the males can be initiated to gangs. Surprisingly, these children claim not to be exposed to any of
threats or social hazards as they are protected by their ‘street big brothers’ who ensure that nothing
happens to them. This was revealed in the quotation below:

15
We have someone here that supports and defends us here. They cannot
beat, molest or harass me here. We have a boss here (IDI, Female).
This claim was verified by a key informant who also sleeps under the bridge but claims to be a
former street beggar. He said:
There has been no case of rape whatsoever here. To be sincere, they
smoke and drink but that has not been any rape incidence ever since I
got here. Even those that are at home living normal life drink and
smoke so it is normal here too, they sleep afterwards and nothing else
(IDI, Male).
Section 7: Policy Recommendations
Every stakeholder in the society has a key role to play and the need to practically begin to play those
roles is more urgent now than ever before to halt the multiplication effect of criminal tendencies and
social vices generated by street children in our social environment. This subject is such a broad based
negative phenomenon that requires continuous appraisal, analysis and discussion.
The following recommendations emerged from the study findings:
1. Nigeria government should consider as important better redistribution of economic resources
and income and an improvement in the living standards of the citizenry. This would go a long
way to prevent war, terrorism, outbreak of diseases, communal crises among others, which
could lead to devastating catastrophe, poverty, hunger, suffering, disabilities of all kinds. In
as much as begging activities are not good at all, governments and other stakeholders should
create opportunities for street beggars to make a living by other means.
2. Street begging deserve a collaboration of the efforts of the government, Nigerian populace,
counsellors, philanthropists and NGOs in order to fight poverty and provide mass and free
education devoid of any form of discomfort. More importantly, poverty alleviation
programmes that would have direct bearing on beggars and different categories of the
needy should be implemented. The SDGs targets for addressing extreme poverty and its
many dimensions with basic human rights of people to health, education, shelter and
education must be strongly embraced by the governments at all levels.
3. A policy to sanction street begging should be enacted by the government and efforts should
be put in place to ensure that such policy is implemented to the letter. Policy planners must
adopt multi-faceted, multi-targeted, and multi-tiered approaches if they are to have any
impact on the lives of street beggars in all four categories. Specific policies and other
legislative frameworks are needed in terms of age, sex, disability, and family-related issues to
effectively address the begging problem. In this regard, both preventative and responsive
interventions are needed instead of rehabilitative solutions for each category of street
beggars.

16
4. Sustainable and effective rehabilitation centers should be established in every local
government area of states within the Federation where counsellors can render educational,
moral, vocational, emotional and personal-social services to the rehabilitated street beggars.
5. There is the need for proper implementation of the Nigeria Child Rights Act promulgated in
the year 2003, which could improve the standard of practice presently obtainable in Social
Welfare Department and in other government agencies such as the Police Department. If
implemented, the Act will make government support to the children “off” the street attractive.
6. There is also the need to provide more financial supports to the NGOs already supporting
street children. This will allow them to function more effectively than they are at present. The
government should encourage other NGOs to include the provision of support to street
children in their programmes, while new NGOs can be encouraged. This is important because
the number of NGOs providing support are few at present and the inclusion of more NGOs
on the list of those providing supports will help in reaching out to more children “of” the
street.
Section 8: Conclusions
The study concludes that the menace of street begging among children is a complex social problem
that is caused by unique problems that the beggars face and gives birth to more social problems—
child abuse and child labor. Latently, children resort to street begging because of poverty.
Manifestly, they engage in street begging for the following reasons: death of both parents,
maltreatment by relatives and isolation. The study further reveals that children street beggars engage
in healthy activities like shopping and in unhealthy ones like, smoking, alcoholism, stealing and pre-
marital sex. They survive by engaging in other income earning works like prostitution, picking and
selling of metal scraps, carrying luggage, disposing refuse and washing plates in canteens. Children
street beggars are bullied and exploited by those they call big brothers. They are forced to surrender
their monies and compelled to run errands. These exploiters are violent towards these children if they
are hesitant. Also revealed in this study is the fact that some of these children have big dreams and
wish to go back to school if empowered.
Finally the paper concludes that although, the Child Rights Act was promulgated in 2003, there has
not been any serious attempt to appropriately implement the Act by the Federal Government to the
full benefit of the Nigerian child. Therefore, the programmes of the Social Welfare Department and
other Government Agencies are still more of punitive rather than rehabilitative, as stipulated by the
Child Rights Act. Also, there are still too few NGOs specifically focusing on the provision of support
for street children, while those existing are incapacitated by insufficient funding. Hence, not much
impact is made as majority of the street children beggars claimed not to be aware of NGOs working

17
within their sector. It is significant to note that some NGOs were established by the wives of State
Governors and from past experiences in Nigeria, such projects usually suffer continuity whenever the
founders cease to be in office. Therefore, there is a need for the provision of improved and attractive
support for the children on the street to solve this social menace.
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