The Kaduna-based Human Resource Development and Empowerment Initiative (HRDEI) Center has spoken out against the planned Almajiri Commission.
The center's executive director, Mohammed Ali, called for the practice's outright ban in a speech he delivered on Sunday in Kaduna.
On second reading last month, the House of Representatives approved the legislation establishing the commission on Almajiri and other unschooled children.
The majority of "kid beggars" attend Qur'anic schools (Tsangaya), where kids are under the supervision of Islamic teachers in order to learn the Qur'an.
According to Ali, it is bad for society, the economy, and the environment for people to donate money to street beggars.
The director voiced worry about the high number of homeless persons in public locations such shopping malls, parking lots, houses of worship, neighbourhoods, and ceremonial sites.
Begging, according to Ali, is a sign of laziness, mental dependency, and an oppressive conscience.
A bold move “to act and disabuse the minds of Nigerians who think or believe that Islam approves of begging” was something he asked the government to do.