What began as acts of generosity by celebrities and influencers has increasingly sparked concerns about the unintended consequences of flashing cash and handing out money to street beggars in busy parts of Lagos.
Videos of public figures stopping on the streets to distribute cash to beggars often attract thousands of views and comments on social media. While such gestures are generally presented as acts of kindness, the growing visibility of these encounters has raised questions about whether they are inadvertently encouraging a more aggressive form of street begging.
In some viral videos, groups of beggars can be seen surrounding vehicles belonging to celebrities and other motorists, knocking on windows, blocking movement and persistently demanding money.
The situation can become particularly concerning when several people converge on a vehicle at once, leaving motorists with little room to move and, in some instances, exposing them to intimidation or confrontation when they refuse to give money.
For some observers, the problem is no longer simply about poverty or the need for assistance. It is about how public displays of cash can create the perception that aggressively approaching motorists is a reliable way to receive money.
The repeated social media exposure may also have an unintended ripple effect. When videos of celebrities handing out cash to large groups of street beggars go viral, they can advertise particular locations as places where money is readily available.
This has raised concerns that more people, including children and vulnerable individuals, could be drawn into street begging, while organised networks may also exploit the situation.
The issue becomes even more complicated when children are involved. Rather than providing a pathway out of poverty, prolonged exposure to street begging can leave vulnerable children in environments where they are exposed to traffic, exploitation, abuse and other dangers.
There is also the question of dignity. A person asking for help should not have to surround a moving vehicle, knock repeatedly on a car window or put themselves in danger to receive assistance.
This does not mean that people should stop helping those in need. Rather, it raises the question of how that help is provided.
Celebrities and influencers have enormous power to shape behaviour. A public figure who gives out cash on the street may intend to inspire generosity, but when the act is recorded, amplified and repeatedly celebrated online, the message received by others may be very different: that street confrontation can attract money, attention and even publicity.
The growing trend therefore calls for a shift from spontaneous handouts to more structured assistance.
Rather than encouraging vulnerable people to remain on the streets, charitable interventions can focus on food support through established centres, education, skills acquisition, healthcare, rehabilitation, shelter and other programmes that address the circumstances pushing people into street begging.
There is room for compassion, but compassion must also consider consequences.
As Lagos continues to grapple with the challenges of street begging, the conversation should move beyond whether people should give money and towards how society can help vulnerable people without creating another problem in the process.
A viral video of a celebrity giving cash may last a few minutes online. But the behaviour it encourages on the streets can have consequences long after the cameras are gone.
