INSTITUTE OF AFRICAN STUDIES

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Saving culture and ‘microfinance’ practices among beggars in Ibadan, South-West Nigeria
(2013-12) Omololu, F. O.; Adebayo, K. O.
Begging is a cross-cultural phenomenon that is old, pervasive and complex. The practice is considered a social problem in many societies and had received great attention from scholars, particularly those who believe that understanding its full ramification was central to eradicating it. This study examined an aspect of begging that had mostly been left to speculation: the savings and money-lending practices of beggars. A descriptive qualitative research design was adopted for the study and primary data were generated through 21 In-depth and 5 Key Informant Interviews and Non-participant Observation. The study population was drawn from two purposively seized areas in Ibadan North Local Government Area, Bodija and Sabo, where large concentrations of beggars exist. Participants included beggars, money-handlers, shop y owners and traders. Data were interpreted through content analysis, and sometimes reported through direct quotation. Findings showed that most beggars engage in one form of savings or another, including rotational and fixed-term savings - though some employed the services of retail shop owners to act as bankers. Proceeds of begging constitute an important source of credit acquisition for some traders who took advantage of ease of access and flexible conditionalities to benefit from loans that beggars offerred. Conflicts sometimes arise at the point of reclamation of savings and loan repayment but normative bonds, feelings of mutual-dependency, and general internal control mechanism enabled amicable resolutions. The study concluded that the savings and the “micro-finance” practices of beggars provide new grounds for affirming the utility of this group and recommended that integrative policies should be formulated to sustain the saving culture of beggars.
Socio-economic context of begging among elderly in Nigeria
(2014) Adebayo, K.; Fayehun, O.; Falase, O. S.; Adedeji, I. A.
This study utilised a context-based analysis of field observations and fifteen in-depth interviews to examine how begging is practiced by the elderly in a city in Southwestern Nigeria. As both sub-categories of beggars in the population and the larger elderly persons in the society, elderly beggars are a distinct demographic group whose needs differ from the rest of the population. Adopting a livelihood perspective as the exploratory frame, the study explains how beggary constitutes a rational response to economic, social, physiological, institutional and structural imperatives, adopted b) old people as a strategy for improving their wellbeing. The study concluded that in trying to eradicate begging among elderly, the context of their emergence must be duly examined and given considerable attention in the policy process. Efforts should also be directed at supporting households headed by the elderly as means of removing the most fundamental social and economic situations that promote begging among oh people.