Despite repeated declarations by the Kano State Government to remove street beggars, underage children and their parents—many of them Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Borno State—continue to occupy major roads and traffic junctions, facing dangerous conditions and health risks.
Kano Times reporters, during visits to Kabuga Junction, France Road, Race Course Road, and Magajin Rumfa, observed children weaving between vehicles, knocking on windows, and stretching out their hands for alms. Many were visibly malnourished and barefoot, turning these areas into both shelters and sites for begging.
Most of these families are from Borno State, displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency. In Kano, they live without shelter or welfare support, exposed to the harsh realities of street life.
“We came from Bama after Boko Haram destroyed everything. My husband died. I have no one. These children—they are all I have,” said Zainab Musa, a mother of four who begs daily at Race Course Road. “We sleep here by the roadside. When it rains or gets too hot, we just endure. What can we do?”
With temperatures in Kano rising above 40°C, the children are vulnerable to dehydration, heat exhaustion, and mosquito-borne illnesses.
Ten-year-old Amina said she often wakes up with body pains and fever. “Sometimes I feel too hot, even at night. My body shakes. My mother says it’s malaria,” she said.
Medical professionals have raised concerns over the risks children face in such conditions.
Dr. Auwalu Sani of Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital said, “Children exposed to open environments, especially without mosquito nets or access to clean water, are at high risk of contracting malaria and other infections. Prolonged exposure to extreme heat may also cause long-term health issues.”
Many of the beggars have been arrested and released multiple times by Hisbah operatives, yet their numbers continue to grow. Some traffic junctions now resemble informal settlements, with tarpaulins and mats serving as makeshift shelters.
“The government says they have banned street begging. But where is the alternative?” asked Malam Aliyu, a local social worker. “These are IDPs. They have no homes, no food, no support. You chase them from the streets today, and they’ll return tomorrow—because hunger is stronger than fear.”
While the government remains silent, a generation grows up on the streets—unschooled, unprotected, and unseen.
