Author(s) :

SULAIMAN Saidu Abubakar.

Volume/Issue :

Abstract :

Street begging has become a visible and persistent feature of urban life in Northern Nigeria, reflecting deeper structural challenges related to poverty, displacement, and uneven development. While existing studies largely approach begging as a social welfare or moral issue, its implications for security governance and everyday insecurity remain underexplored. This gap is particularly significant in the context of rising urban crime, insurgency-related displacement, and declining state capacity across the region. This study examines street begging as both a symptom and a driver of broader security and governance challenges in Northern Nigeria. It aims to analyse how the proliferation of street begging intersects with urban insecurity, social exclusion, and informal survival economies, while assessing the implications for human security and state legitimacy. Specifically, the study seeks to: (1) examine how patterns of street begging shape perceptions and experiences of everyday insecurity in urban centres, and (2) identify the governance failures and institutional arrangements that sustain the vulnerability of street populations. Methodologically, the study employs a qualitative research design, utilising secondary data sources, including scholarly literature, policy documents, security reports, and government publications. The analysis demonstrates that street begging is embedded in weak social protection systems and fragmented security responses, which exacerbate mistrust between citizens and the state. By reframing street begging through a human security and governance lens, the study offers policy-relevant insights into urban vulnerability, state–society relations, and inclusive security strategies, with implications for social protection and urban management in Northern Nigeria. Keywords: street begging; human security; urban governance; social exclusion; Northern Nigeria

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