By

Akinlabi, Adeolu Philips

139054017

Supervised by
Dr. Abegunde, Albert

November, 2016
* Introduction
* Research Problems and Questions
* Aim and Objectives
* The Study Area
* Concept, Theory and Literature Review
* Methodology
* Findings
* Planning Implication, Conclusion and Recommendations
* Contribution to Knowledge
* Key References
* Panhandling which is synonymous to street begging in the context of this study is an act of
asking people for alms in public places, without exchange of service.

* It is a phenomenon that is common to every region of the world, though with different
perspectives (Adedibu, 1989).

* Studies revealed that they constitute nuisance and contribute to the poor environment in the
places where they are found, such as Motor Parks, Bus Stops, Road Junction, Places of Worship,
Markets amongst others (Jelili, 2006; Ogunkan and Fawole, 2009).

* Thus, this study aims at examining its prevalence, locational variation and environmental
effects, positing Lagos metropolis as a case study.
Aim
This study aimed at assessing the prevalence of and locational variation in street
panhandling in Lagos Metropolis, with a view to providing planning oriented information to
policy makers on street panhandling to attain aesthetically pleasing and healthy environment.

The objectives of this study are to;

EBUTE METTA
IKOTUN
IDI ARABA
LUTH

MUSHIN
MARKET

TOLL GATE
MUSHIN

AGEGE

OBALENDE
 The Concept of Socio-Spatial Dialectic
 The Concept of Poverty
 The Concept of Environment

 The Theory of Environmental Determinism

 The Land-Use Theory
 Vicious Circle of Poverty

The vicious cycle of poverty and mental ill-health

Source: The Mental Health and Poverty Project (The MHaPP, 2008)

* Religious perspective on panhandling or begging

* Factors influencing panhandling

Rationality and Consequences of Panhandling

Source: Author’s Device 2015
 Data Collection
Primary source : Direct Observation, Interview, Administration of Questionnaire Population of residents of the environments
where street panhandlers were found in Lagos
Secondary source : Base Map, Satellite Imagery, Journals, Articles etc.
Metropolis
Population Distributions of Street Panhandlers across the Identified Clusters in Lagos
Metropolis S/ Cluste Approximate 10 % of
N rs Number of the
Clusters Relative Incidence of Street Panhandler Averag o Buildings building
(RISP) e within 200m
radius per
Wednesda Friday Saturday Sunday cluster
y 1 Ebute 409 41
EBUTE 212 234 219 207 218 Metta
 
METTA 2 Ikotun 326 33
IKOTUN 121 163 156 148 147  
IDI ARABA 243 295 258 280 269 3 Idi- 384 38
Araba
LUTH LUTH
MUSHIN 201 238 184 189 203  
MARKET 4 Mushin 418 42
Market
TOLL GATE 117 201 141 197 164  
MUSHIN 5 Toll 333 33
AGEGE 219 296 223 254 248 gate
Mushin
OBALENDE 93 144 102 117 114  
Total 1206and computation,
Source: Author’s Field Survey 1571 2015 1283 1392 1363 6 Agege 397 40
 
METHOD 7 Obalen 319 32
Total number of 69 Panhandlers were sampled with the use of SNOWBALL SAMPLE MECHANISM de
while RANDOM SAMPLE TECHNIQUE was employed to pick total number of 259 Residents across  
the study area with consideration given to the Residents closer to the panhandlers’ clusters. 8 Total 2586 259
Source: Author’s Field Survey and computation, 2015
RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS
#Reconnaissance Survey #Head Count #Questionnaire #Key Informant Interview (KII)
* Incidence and Spatial Dimensions of Street Panhandling
• 46% of the sampled street panhandlers are distributed across the transportation land use, 26.09% around the public
land use such as places of worship and event centres, 24% around the commercial area and 2.90% around the
residential area
• The study further shows that; a poorly management of railway shoulders in Agege and Mushin as a result of dumping of
refuse, undefined setback, incidence of informal activities and aesthetically poor railway shoulder, poor management
of road junctions in Ikotun and Mushin market as a result of traffic congestions attracts certain numbers of street
panhandlers

* Socio-economic, physical and cultural attributes of street panhandlers

• The findings reveal that the phenomenon of panhandling is not limited to a particular ethnic in the study, though it has
a very high significant number amongst the Hausas than all other ethnics combined in the study area (Lagos metropolis)
• Low level of education of panhandlers can be attributed to their decision to have ventured into street panhandling
• The phenomenon of panhandling in Lagos metropolis is more of socio-cultural than religion. This study has given us
clear evidences that no relationship exist between Islam and begging
• The finding also shows that not all panhandlers are disabled physically; majority of the identified and enumerated
panhandlers in Lagos metropolis are able bodied men, women and children

* The Locational and Socio-Physical Characteristics of the Environment where Street

Panhandlers Are Found
• Majority of the area where they are found are characterized with unorganizedness such as presence of informal sectors
and unlawful bus stops and garages
• Their socio-physical dimension is poor compare to where people that are not panhandlers are found in the study area.
This can be inferred as a result of their indiscriminate dumping of used papers, nylons, urine, and wasted foods
amongst others
• When the data collected was subjected to the ANOVA, it revealed that this is not limited to a particular environment
but found in all the identified clusters in Lagos metropolis

* Residents’ Perceptions
• Residents’ perceptions revealed that, markets, motor parks, bus stops, road junctions, mosques, informal sectors and
alms givers amongst others attracts panhandlers to locations where they are found in Lagos metropolis
• Hausa communities embrace street panhandling while others see it as an unacceptable incidence in the study area.
• The residents also believe that street panhandlers are nuisance to the environment and need to control them in case of
infiltrations by the insurgence and people with bad motive in the society
* PLANNING IMPLICATION: The environmental implications of this study is derived from that street
panhandlers are elements of slum formation and since many of them live the life of destitution; they sleep
in nearby mosques, public places, roads side and turn the city into shanty environment. This arguably
affects the life of city’s dwellers and the environment generally. And has serious implication for urban and
regional planning in the area of environmental wellbeing of the urban residents. From the aesthetic point
of view, panhandlers constitute environmental eyesore and they present ugly scene of urban environment
and this does not conform to planning essence of securing maximum practicable degree of safety,
convenience, functional, efficient, healthy and aesthetically pleasing environment as indicated by Keeble
(1969).

* CONCLUSION: The study shows that the characteristics of street panhandlers are similar across the clusters
in the city; it confirms the relationship between such issues as, poor physical planning, inadequate or
dearth of police power efficacy of the development control department, illiteracy, poverty,
misunderstanding of religious view on needy people and the phenomenon of street panhandlers. It also
confirmed the availability of informal sectors, traffic, poor aesthetic roads and rail shoulders and alms
givers attract panhandlers to the locations where they are found in Lagos metropolis

RECOMMENDATIONS
 Efficient Planning and Management
 Police Power Efficacy of the Physical Planning Department
 Affordable Facilities to discourage Informal Sectors
 Development of a Sustainable Vocational Driven Rehabilitation center
 Alms Donations through Religious Organizations and Non-Governmental Organizations
 Campaign against Street Panhandling
 More Focus on Hausa Communities for Proper Planning
* In any case, one evident reality that remaining parts unaltered is the increment in
the issue of street panhandlers in our general society. There is undoubtedly various
studies seem to have touched practically every part of the issue, however they
couldn't give the tremendously required answers for the locational issue since they
didn't consider the spatial plan of action of the issue. This is a gap this study tries to
fill. This study is along these lines a pioneer examination which perceives that the
issue of street panhandling has socio-economic, socio-cultural and spatial
implications and all things considered tended to the issue in plan of action to such
several dimensions.

* Many studies have also emphasized the fact that street panhandlers are usually
found in market, filling stations, and venues of ceremonies, bus stops, car parks,
road junctions, neighborhood playground, shopping centres, churches and
mosques (Osofisan, 1996; Lynch, 2005; Forell, McCarron, and Schetzer, 2005;
Ogunkan and Fawole, 2010; Gloria and Samuel, 2012). However the studies have
not possessed the capacity to learn the attributes of the environments where
street panhandlers are found and the better abodes for them, neither did they
advocate reasons why they are found in these environments. This hole of
information has been endeavored in this study. The land use comparison of
street panhandlers established the variation in distributional pattern of the
problem and provides the insight of factors responsible for such variation so as to
direct adequate attention to the issue on land use planning.
* Adedibu, A.A. and Jelili, M.O. (2011). Package for Controlling Street Begging and Rehabilitating Beggars and
the Physically Challenged in Nigeria: Paper for Policy Consideration. Global Journal of Human Social Science
Volume 11 Issue 1, Global Journals Inc. (USA)
* Agbola SB, Olatubara CO (2004). “Land use Planning” in Tunde Agbola (ed) Readings in Urban and Regional
Planning. Nigeria: Macmillan Nigeria Publishers Ltd.
* Demewozu, W. (2005) “Begging as a Means of Livelihood: Conferring with the Poor at the Orthodox Religious
Ceremonial Days in Addis Ababa”. African study monographs. Supplementary issue (2005), 29: 185-191
* Jelili, M.O. (2013) “Street Begging in Cities: Cultural, Political and Socio-Economic Questions”. Global
Journal of Human Social Science (Sociology and Culture) Volume 13 Issue 5 Versions 1.0 Year 2013. ISSN:
2249-460x & Print ISSN: 0975-587X.
* “Lagos Gross Domestic Product" (PDF) Lagos State Government. 2010. Retrieved 16 March 2015.

* Namwata, B.M.L., M.R. Mgabo and P. Dimoso (2012). Categories of Street Beggars and Factors Influencing
Street Begging in Central Tanzania. African Study Monographs, 33 (2): 133-143, June 2012 133
* Ogunkan D.V and Fawole O.A (2009). ”Incidence and socio economic Dimensions of begging in Nigerian
cities: the case of Ogbomoso” international NGO journal, December.

* Onoyase, A. (2010). “Effective methods of combating street begging in Nigeria as perceived by

panhandlers.” Studies on Home and Community Science, 4, 109–114.
* Philip Lynch (2005). “Understanding and responding to begging (Australia),” Melbourne University Law
Review, Australia, Immigration program for Businessmen Senior Managers and Professionals.
* Soja, E (1980) “The Socio-spatial Dialectic”. Annals of the Association of American Georgraphers 70:207-225
* Tambawal, M. U (2009) “Guidance and Counseling and the challenges of Education for sustainable
development.” A paper presented at Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto (2009) annual conference.
(Accepted for publication).
THANK YOU