Homelessness in Nigeria: An Extensive Analysis and Global Contextualization
Abstract
This study comprehensively examines the multifaceted issue of homelessness in Nigeria, exploring its causes, characteristics, and the effectiveness of current policies. It contextualizes the Nigerian situation within a global framework, drawing comparisons with both developed and developing countries. Structural factors such as rapid urbanization, economic inequality, political instability, and inadequate housing policies are identified as primary drivers. The study also highlights individual causes like family breakdown and mental health issues. By integrating theoretical perspectives like structuralism, post-structuralism, recognition theory, and social field theory, the research underscores the need for holistic and sustained interventions. Effective solutions must encompass robust social protection systems, increased affordable housing, and enhanced collaboration between government entities, NGOs, and international organizations to alleviate homelessness in Nigeria.
References
Andrew, B., et al. (2014). Identifying and serving LGBTQ youth: Case studies of runaway and homeless youth program grantees. Final report. Mathematica Policy Research.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2019). Homelessness and homelessness services. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-welfare/homelessnessand-homelessness-services.
Baptista, I., Benjaminsen, L., & Pleace, N. (2015). Comparative studies on homelessness 5. European Observatory on Homelessness. https://www.feantsaresearch.org/download/feantsastudies_05_web7437249621511918755.pdf.
Baptista, I., et al. (2012). Counting homeless people in the 2011 housing and population census: Comparative study on homelessness 2. European Observatory on Homelessness. https://www.feantsa.org/download/feantsastudies_02_web8204705709124732086.pdf.
Bell, M., & Card, S. K. (2021). Maiduguri: City scoping study. African Cities Research Consortium. https://www.african-cities.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/ACRC_Maiduguri_City-Scoping-Study.pdf.
Benjaminsen, L., et al. (2014). Extent and profile of homelessness in European member states: A statistical update. FEANTSA & EOH. https://housingfirstguide.eu/website/wpcontent/uploads/2016/04/feantsa-studies_04web2.pdf.
Binji, A. (2020). Paradigm, epistemology, ontology, and philosophy of science. https://researchcor.com/paradigm-epistemology-ontology-and-philosophy-of-science/.
Borgen Project. (2019). 10 facts about homelessness in Nigeria. https://borgenproject.org/homelessness-in-nigeria/.
Bourdieu, P. (1993). The field of cultural production. Columbia University Press.
Bryman, A. (2012). Social research strategies. Oxford University Press. Online.
Kröner, A., et al. (2023, March 27). Africa. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Africa.
Budgit. (2018). What we know about Lagos finances. Lagos State Data Book. https://yourbudgit.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/LAGOS-STATE-DATA-BOOK.pdf.
Busch-Geertsema, V., et al. (2010). Homelessness and homeless policies in Europe. European Consensus Conference on Homelessness, 32-37.
Busch-Geertsema, V., et al. (2016). Developing a global framework for conceptualising and measuring homelessness. Habitat International, 55, 124-132.
Chamberlain, C. (2014). Homelessness: Re-shaping the policy agenda? AHURI. https://www.ahuri.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/2249/ahuri_final_report_no221_homele ssnessre-shaping-the-policy-agenda.pdf.
Edawor, P. A. (2014). Homeless children and youths in Lagos, Nigeria: Their characteristics, street life and sexual behaviour. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 5(1), 538-541. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271104891_Homeless_Children_and_Youths_in_L agos_Nigeria_Their_Characteristics_Street_Life_and_Sexual_Behaviour.
Edwards, R., & Holland, J. (2013). What is qualitative interviewing? Bloomsbury Academic.
Ekhaese, E. N., et al. (2021). Homelessness factors and psychological wellbeing concerns in Nigerian cities. IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/665/1/012014.
Enoch, R. A., & Jacobus, D. T. M. (2022). Africa is losing the battle against extreme poverty. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.org/iss-today/africa-is-losing-the-battle-against-extreme-poverty.
European Commission. (2019, March 2). Homelessness. Employment, Social Affairs, and Inclusion. https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catid=1061&langid=en.
FEANTSA. (2019). European framework for defining youth homelessness. Homelessness Services in Europe, European Observatory on Homelessness, Comparative Research, 1-17.
Federal Republic of Nigeria Ministry of Budget and National Planning Abuja. (2016). Draft national social protection policy. https://www.social-protection.org/gimi/RessourcePDF.action;jsessionid=yNzua5HXN27pzDBZAPGSm_v5WQijOo4QDpvixpvy0Maj7Ys209gx!539423187?id=55768.
Federal Republic of Nigeria National Youth Policy. (2019). Enhancing youth development and participation in the context of sustainable development. Federal Ministry of Sports Development Edition.
Fitzpatrick, S. (2000). Young homeless people. Palgrave Macmillan.
Gaetz, S., et al. (2012). Canadian definition of homelessness. Canadian Observatory on Homelessness Press.
Giddens, A. (1984). The constitution of society: Outline of the theory of structuration. Polity Press.
Giddens, A. (1991). Modernity and self-identity. Stanford University Press.
Giddens, A. (2006). Modernity and self-identity: Self and society in the late modern age. Polity Press.
Government Statistical Service GSS. (2019). Harmonisation of definitions of homelessness for UK official statistics: A feasibility report. https://gss.civilservice.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/GSS-homelessness-report-1.pdf.
Hilgers, M. (Ed.). (2015). Bourdieu’s theory of social field: Concepts and applications. Routledge.
Homeless Hub. (2021). Canadian Observatory on Homelessness. https://www.homelesshub.ca/about-homelessness/population-specific/youth.
Homelessness Australia. (2019, March 16). What is homeless. https://www.homelessnessaustralia.org.au/about/whathomelessness.
Honneth, A. (1992). Integrity and disrespect: Principles of a conception of morality based on the theory of recognition. Political Theory, 20(2), 187-201.
Honneth, A. (2004). Recognition and justice: Outline of a plural theory of justice. Octa Sociologica, 47(4), 351-364.
Kaiser, S., & Schulze, G. C. (2018). Person-environment analysis: A framework for participatory holistic research. ResearchGate.
Levinson, D., & Ross, M. (Eds.). (2007). Homelessness around the world. Berkshire. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1jd952s.11.
Lonnie, E., et al. (2016). Causes of child and youth homelessness in developed and developing countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatrics, 170(5), 437-444.
Mayoch, P., et al. (2014). Young people, homelessness and housing exclusion. Focus.
Minnery, J., & Greenhalgh, E. (2007). Approaches to homelessness policy in Europe, the United States, and Australia. Journal of Social Issues, 63(3), 641-655.
Norwegian Refugees Council NRC. (2019). NRC in Nigeria: Violence are forcing millions of Nigerians to flee their homes. https://www.nrc.no/countries/africa/nigeria/.
OECD. (2017). Homeless population. Affordable Housing Database. http://www.oecd.org/els/family/HC3-1-Homeless-population.pdf.
Ogwumike, O. F., & Ozughalu, M. U. (2018). Empirical evidence of child poverty and deprivation in Nigeria. Child Abuse & Neglect, 77, 13-22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.12.019.
Palais De Nations. (2020). Mandate of the special rapporteur of adequate housing as a component of the right to adequate standard of living, and on the right to a non-discrimination in this context. https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=25055.
Pawson, H., et al. (2018). Australian homelessness monitor. Launch Housing.
Pleace, N., Teller, N., & Quilgars, D. (2011). Social housing allocation and homelessness: Comparative studies on homelessness 1. European Observatory on Homelessness. https://www.feantsaresearch.org/download/feantsa_eoh-studies_v1_1220116551222474255824828.pdf.
Population of Cities in Nigeria. (2020). World Population Review. https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/nigeria-population/cities/.
Ringer, F. (2004). Weber methodology. In Max Weber: An intellectual bibliography. The University of Chicago Press.
Ross, N. (1999). Governing the soul. Free Association Books.
Rukmana, D. (2020). The causes of homelessness and the characteristics associated with high risk of homelessness: A review of intercity and intracity homelessness data. Housing Policy Debate, 30(2), 291-308. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511482.2019.1684334.
Schmitz, V. (Ed.). (2019). Axel Honneth and the critical theory of recognition. Palgrave Macmillan.
Bhaskar, R. (1975). A realist theory of science. Routledge. (2008 edition).
Ruslin, et al. (2022). Semi-structured interview: A methodological reflection on the development of a qualitative research instrument in educational studies. IOSR Journal of Research & Method in Education, 12(1), 22-29. https://doi.org/10.9790/7388-1201052229.
Speak, S. (2019). The state of homelessness in developing countries. UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. https://www.un.org/development/desa/dspd/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2019/05/SPEAK_Suzanne_Paper.pdf.
Springer, S. (2000). Homelessness: A proposal for a global definition and classification. Habitat International, 24(4), 475-489. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0197-3975(00)00017-1.
Standing, G. (2014). The precariat: The new dangerous class. Sage Publications. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24710572.
Stevenson, C., & Cutcliffe, J. (2006). Problematizing special observation in psychiatry: Foucault, archaeology, genealogy, discourse, and power/knowledge. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 13(6), 758-765.
Thakur, S. K. (2021). Research design. https://www.jiwaji.edu/pdf/ecourse/commerce/Research_Design.pdf.
Thompson, S. (2006). The political theory of recognition: A critical introduction. Polity Press.
Tipple, G., & Speak, S. (2005). Definitions of homelessness in developing countries. Habitat International, 29(2), 337-352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2003.11.002.
United Nations. (2005). Global homelessness statistics. Homeless World Cup Foundation. https://homelessworldcup.org/homelessness-statistics/.
United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH). (2018). Key federal terms and definitions of homelessness among youth.
Youth.Gov. (n.d.). Federal definition of homelessness. https://youth.gov/youth-topics/runaway-and-homeless-youth/federal-definitions.
Weber, M. (1963). Economy and society: An outline of interpretive sociology. University of California Press.
Copyright (c) 2024 Joseph Aigbolosimon Famous
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright for this article is retained by the author(s), with first publication rights granted to the journal. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
