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Management Of Rural Urban Migration And Economic Development In Nigeria
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According
to Onah (2010), agriculture had been the main foreign earnings in
Nigeria before the advent of oil and accounted for major contribution to
her GDP. Agriculture is a major source of employment for over 80% of
Nigerians before oil dominated the economy. The poor technology,
environmental hazards, high cost of implements due to neglect of
agriculture has forced the rural farmer and young people in search of
white collar jobs and high rate of rural-urban drift to survive.
According to Peil (1981), people who migrate are mainly motivated by the
desire to improve their standard of living above what is
earlier obtained at home.
Migration is also caused by the desire
of people to go to school and acquire knowledge to develop themselves
and their environment
Migration from the rural area to the urban area
has become almost accepted as a normal phenomenon in Anambra state as
many rural dwellers migrate to major urban areas in the state like Awka,
Onitsha, Nnewi etc. as a result of economic development in these urban
area. Most of the youths who want to enroll into tertiary institutions
come to Awka, where federal universities, College of Education
and other private universities are located. Those who want to engage in
business and entrepreneurship find themselves in Onitsha. Onitsha is one
of the largest commercial centers in West Africa, while others go to
Nnewi to establish industries where household materials are produced and
various auto parts are assembled. Therefore, most of the youth and
adult men and women of working age (18-60) have left the rural area
which has contributed negatively to economic development of Anambra
state. The elderly men and women are left to provide for themselves with
their little farm lands since most lands are used to build large
mansions which nobody lives rather some people are paid to keep watch
over their properties.
However, some of the migrants come back to
these rural areas with experiences from the urban area, having made use
of all forms of techniques to survive as a result of high competition in
those urban areas. Some may set up
patent medicine store, motor
mechanics workshops, vulcanizing, hair salon, supermarket, restaurants,
etc. while others may terrorize the rural dwellers, through robbery,
kidnapping and criminal activities. Likewise the urban areas suffer from
overpopulation, unemployment, crime, social vices, over
utilization of infrastructure and poor management of social amenities.
If the rural communities are able to develop the local technology,
thereby give way for further development, it will attract government,
international bodies, non government organizations and other agencies to
support development of such area.
Policies and project such as rural
electrification, self-help projects, DFRRI, ADP, NOA, ANIDS, NEEDS and
SEEDS were some of the programmes setup by the federal, state or local
government to manage the rural urban migration through some of these
rural development policies or integrated rural development to see to its
success. However management of rural-urban migration in the state seems
to have some difficulty. In managing some of the programmes the state
or local government, have put in place some agencies to address these
problems and its adverse effects on economic development of the state.
These agencies will be analyzed effectively to see how adequate they are
in carrying out their duties.
Rural-urban migration has affected
food production in the state. Most of the basic food stuffs are imported
from the northern part of the country even t hough we have a better
climate condition in the eastern region. The inadequate
infrastructure
and social amenities has also hampered development as most of the
programmes and projects are located in the urban areas while the primary
beneficiaries do not benefit from the project. In Nigeria most of the
developmental plans are in favour of the urban areas. Business and
commercial activities are successful where the market is. The rural
areas do not have that market and factors of production are inadequate
for economic development in Anambra state. It is on the strength of this
situation and occurrences, that the researcher decided to study
theâ€Management of Rural-Urban Migration and Economic Development, with
emphasis on Anambra State.
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ABSRACT - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]This thesis studied the Management of Rural-Urban Migration and Economic Development in Nigeria: The case of Anambra State. Development of a Country or State depends on its ability to manage and deal with challenges that come with development, such as over-population, pressure on facilities (roads, electricity), accommodation problems, environmental pollutions and other implications. In conducting this study, the researcher elicited relevant data from both the primary and secondary sources. Ques ... Continue reading---
