On the crowded streets of Kano, a silent crisis unfolds daily. Young children—some barely five years old—move from car to car, holding small bowls and pleading for money or food. Their worn-out clothes, bare feet, and tired faces tell stories many choose not to hear.
Some of these children come from extremely poor homes, while others are Almajirai in Qur’anic schools. But many child beggars are not Almajiri—they are out-of-school children, migrants, or victims of family breakdown. For all of them, begging is a last resort for survival.
But street begging is not, and can never be, a solution to poverty. For the children involved, it only deepens their suffering, keeping them trapped in a cycle of hardship they cannot escape.
Children on the streets face constant dangers: speeding vehicles, harsh weather, hunger, disease, and exploitation by older youths or adults. Every hour spent begging is an hour stolen from school, safety, and the chance to simply be a child.
During rush hours, groups of children can be seen weaving carefully between cars. They share whatever they collect and sleep wherever they find space—mosques, abandoned structures, or makeshift shelters.
Their daily reality shows how begging traps children in a cycle of vulnerability rather than lifting them out of hardship.
The Kano State government has taken steps to tackle the issue, including enforcing a ban on street begging, prosecuting adults who send children to beg, integrating Almajiri schools into formal education, and creating an agency to rescue and rehabilitate street children.
While these measures help, but the problem extends beyond the Almajiri system and needs stronger community action.
Children begging on the streets is a sign of a wider social struggle. With protection, education, and community support, they can find a future beyond the streets—a future where survival does not depend on begging at traffic lights.
Ms Aisha is a 200-Level student of Mass Communication at Maryam Abacha American University of Nigeria. (aishafada2000@gmail.com)
