The Role of Transnational Beggars in Shaping Future Migration

Migration in West Africa has been shaped by a long-standing tradition of mobility driven by economic aspirations, social obligations, conflict, climate stress, and regional integration policies. While scholarly and policy attention has concentrated on labour migrants, refugees, and irregular migrants, emerging forms of movement, such as transnational begging, remain under explored. This paper argues that migrant beggars’ transnational activities contribute to the influx of beggars on the streets of Accra and promote migration within the sub-region. Drawing on mixed-method data from Nigerien migrant beggars in Accra, Ghana, this paper explores the phenomenon of transnational beggars in West Africa and examines their role in shaping future migration patterns from Niger to Ghana. The findings reveal that West African migration is not solely driven by economics, climate change, political instability, and the free movement protocol in the West African sub-region, but is often motivated by transnational practices or activities such as sending remittances, investments, home visits, and contacting the left behind. Additionally, the study highlights the role of transnational lifestyles and newly acquired foreign tastes by transnational beggars in sustaining cross-border beggar migration. By focusing on the lived experiences of these beggars, the paper aims to contribute to a more nuanced understanding of West Africa migration and to inform more effective and humane policy responses.

Until recently, Owusuaa Eshia was an Executive Manager (Guidance Counselling Unit) and a faculty member of Accra Institute of Technology (AIT). She holds a PhD in Migration Studies, a Master of Philosophy in Childhood Studies from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, Norway and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Ghana where she majored in Psychology and minored in Sociology and a Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing UK. Owusuaa Eshia is currently a post-doctoral fellow on IDRC project, Strengthening Knowledge, Evidence Use and Leadership in the Global South on Forced Displacement: Focus on Anglophone West Africa at the Centre for Migration Studies at the University of Ghana. She is a research team member supporting the IDRC chair (Prof. Mary Setrana) in both administrative and research activities.
Owusuaa Eshia has interest is in migration and development, forced displacement, climate migration and displacement, migrants’ livelihoods, and migration governance research. She is a member of the African Mobility Scholars Association (AMSA).