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Rural Infrastructural Development A Means Of Combating Rural-urban Migration In Nigeria
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According to Agyemang (2013) different motives account for rural urban migration amongst rural dwellers such as;
socio-cultural issues where people are forced to migrate to avoid numerous social problems at their place of origin,
Poor infrastructural development and lack of basic amenities ;
Search for better economic opportunities such as job etc.
Accessibility and ease of transportation and communication has also been noted to facilitate rural urban migration;
The
extension of road network from major towns to the peripheral urban and
rural areas that resulted in the decrease in transportation cost and
improved communication systems.
However, the situations in Nigeria as
pose a discomforting problem facing this country socio-economic
development. A situation where the desire for better employment,
business opportunities and education push both young and old out of the
rural areas to the urban areas. While the reasons for rural urban
migration has it negative effect on both rural and urban environment
(communities) are as follows;
Rural urban migration considerably affect agricultural production that end up reducing food supply;
Decline in production and manpower reduction in the rural areas;
Slow pace of the rural areas development;
Pressures on urban housing and the environment in general;
High rate of population growth in the urban centers;
Congestion and pressures on the available infrastructural amenities in the urban areas;
Increased crime rate and insecurity in urban areas.
In
addition Lykke (2002) opined that rural urban migration makes the
highly educated and most agile people migrate from rural to urban areas,
leaving behind the feeble and uneducated people who are not able to
combat poverty successfully. This he argues consequently increases the
differences in the standards of living of the rural and urban
inhabitants. It is against the backdrop that I carried out this research
on “Rural Development: A Means of Combating Rural Urban migration in
Nigeriaâ€.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Incessant and excessive rural
urban migration has brought about a lot of socio-economic difficulties
both in the rural and urban areas. McCarthy (2004), opined that
‘excessive urbanization, lead to crime and poor infrastructure such as
proper sewage disposal system, safe and potable drinking water,
electricity and other amenities, chronic unemployment with the attendant
creation of large slums and shanty towns. Many developing countries
including Nigeria have made several attempts to resolve these problems
of rural urban development. In Nigeria, from colonial period till date,
successive administration have tried to reform the rural areas where
over 75% of Nigeria live in for the sake of attaining balance growth and
development, and discourage rural-urban migration, to no avail
(Omonigho, 2013). According to Nwakeze (2004), the Nigerian population
is growing at an annual rate of 2.8 percent that of the urban population
growing at 5.5 percent, it is pertinent to note that this rate is among
the highest in the world today.
Given the contribution of the rural
section to the national economy, enhancing the development of the sector
should be priority to government and relevant stakeholders.
This is
necessary as such would further enhance the ability of the sector for
increased contribution to the overall national growth and development.
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ABSRACT - [ Total Page(s): 1 ]This study examines Rural Development as a means to combating rural urban migration in Nigeria. The research employed content analysis for secondary data collection and survey research method for primary data collection. Hypothesis was tested using chi-square technique. The Harris – Todaro model (HT) as theoretical framework was used for the study. Finding of the research work includes among others, that respondents are not satisfied with the present level of rural development in Nigeria ... Continue reading---
