Lagos State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, has defended the state government’s decision to arrest street beggars.
The drama began on Wednesday, January 7, when Wahab shared a video showing the moment a child beggar was arrested by men of the state’s environmental taskforce.
He posted the video with the caption: ‘’The raid on street beggars and urchins has continued along the Lekki–Ajah Expressway and in other parts of Lagos, as part of ongoing enforcement efforts to restore order, ensure public safety, and keep our roads and public spaces clear.”
The video moved some Nigerians as it showed the child weeping after he was apprehended.
Reality TV star, Tacha while reacting to the video, questioned the reasoning behind arresting child beggars. According to her, the question should be why are the kids in the streets in the first place. She argued that arresting beggars doesn’t fix anything but only adds fear to poverty. She stated that if the government is serious, it would be setting up proper vocational centres with boarding homes, teach them real skills, shoe making, designing, photography, videography etc
‘’The first question shouldn’t be why arrest these kids? It should be why are they on the streets in the first place?
These children are on the streets because the government failed them.. Along the Lekki–Epe Expressway alone, you’ll see hundreds of kids begging every single day.
Some get hit by cars. Some get injured. Some don’t make it home..
shouldn’t they be in school? Instead, they’re dodging traffic to survive government failure.
Arresting them doesn’t fix anything. It only adds FEAR to poverty. If we were serious, the Lagos State Government would be setting up proper vocational centres with boarding homes, teach them real skills, shoe making, designing, photography, videography.. i mean, give them options.
You don’t solve poverty with force. You don’t punish people for surviving.
If anyone deserves arrest, it’s the officials who looted public funds and left children with no choice but the streets!” she wrote
Responding to her comment, Wahab emphasised that it is not the duty of government to parent recalcitrant children.
He wrote: ‘’Dear Tacha, Thank you fo your concern.
Advocacy and enforcement cannot be approached with emotion or knee-jerk reactions. They must be guided by law, data, and long-term social responsibility.
No one disputes the reality of poverty or the dangers children face on our highways. The presence of minors on major expressways like Lekki–Epe is precisely why intervention is necessary, not why enforcement should be abandoned. Leaving children to dodge speeding vehicles in the name of compassion is not empathy; it is neglect.
To start with, Lagos State public schools are tuition free with free payment for their WAEC examination. Also, Lagos has existing free technical colleges, vocational centres, and skills-acquisition programmes across the state, many of which teach trades such as shoemaking, fashion, photography, ICT, and creative arts. Beyond government facilities, community leaders, NGOs, religious bodies, and even elected officials across the State routinely organise free training and empowerment programmes. These interventions may not be perfect, but it is inaccurate to suggest that nothing exists.
It may interest you to know that each time these kids are apprehended, they are profiled, some are returned to their parents who mostly are not living in Lagos, while others who are interested in learning skills are giving free admission through the Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development. However, the role of the government is not to parent recalcitrant children.
Dear Tacha, beyond social media and like every other person who have partnered with the state, we would be willing to work with you and others alike to contribute to taken kids like this off the street. Kindly reach out to me or the Commissioner for Youth and Social Development @Mo_ogunlende
Thank you! ‘’
