Research Overview

Begging is a human phenomenon which cuts across all races and cultures. The representation of beggars has long been a preoccupation of African writers and this research examines literary appraisal as a mirror for, and interrogation of such social conditions as exemplified in contemporary Nigerian writers in their exploration of the Almajiri child beggar. Hitherto, the Almajiri is seen as a potential authority in the field of Islamic knowledge but today, he is often seen as a displaced figure symbolised by hunger and poverty and whose survival strategy is to beg for alms in a society where the majority stigmatise him.