Rural Management as a Strategy for Reducing Rural – Urban Migration in Nigeria

Rural Management as a Strategy for Reducing Rural – Urban Migration in Nigeria

Abstract of Rural Management as a Strategy for Reducing Rural – Urban Migration in Nigeria

Rural resources have a lot of potential which needed to be brought into full production as to uplift the values. These values can only be achieved when other resources like times, money, infrastructure, expertise an d the like are applied. The high demand of products is expected to propel the application of the said resources into maximum production which in turn increase the value of rural environment, confirming value to be a function of profit.

Unfortunately, government policies and programmes in the year past failed to reflect the need for balance rural and urban development. Thus, most development polices and programmes are urban – oriented. As a result rural dwellers have been subjected to poverty, unemployment, poor infrastructure, economic and social defects. Incidentally, rural dweller a stick to migration.

Therefore, this study on Rural Development. As a strategy, for reducing Rural – Urban Migrations in Nigeria, a case study of Ishiehi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, seek to identify rural development programmes/projects extent of rural urban migration and factors responsible for rural urban migration in the study area.

From the findings based on the analysed data, integrated Rural Development Strategy has been pin-pointed and recommended as a feasible and viable measure toward minimizing the rate of rural – urban migration in Nigeria at large and Ishielu in particular.

Chapter One of Rural Management as a Strategy for Reducing Rural – Urban Migration in Nigeria

Nigeria, a country in West African sub-region is blessed with abundant natural and material resources. With an estimated current population of over nine hundred and twenty four thousand (924, 000) square kilometers, Nigeria is easily the most populous in African and one of the largest in terms of geographical area. About seventy percent of the population depend on agricultural activities for their livelihood and live in rural communities.

Currently, over forty million out of the total population of over one hundred million people live in urban area. Therefore, the rural area within the geographic entity of the country is whereby majority of the population is found.

Some of the government officials fear of the belief held that urban areas constitute the development potential of the state, the rural areas, have been neglected in terms of development opportunities.

Following the moribund attitudes that existed  in the rural areas the rural dwellers are attracted to the urban areas to benefits from better paying jobs qualitative supply of basic amenities, highs level of commercial, recreational and industrial activities. Arising from the rapid. Urban population growth and physical expansion are very serious physical planning problem such as poor physical layout like Ajegunle, Gwagwa,, Abakpa in Lagos, Abuja, Abakalike and Enugu respectively. Also in the list include mass transit problem inadequate supply of housing, water and other basic social services.

Hence, it is expected that various governments policy maker rural dwellers, planning team and the general public should involve in harnessing the capture and build in preference of the rural dwellers at anytime.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Generally in Nigerian, there have been uneven development and glaring inequality of opportunities between the rural and urban area. In spite of the fact that the majority of Nigerian are rural dwellers rural areas still have little or no opportunities for education and employment. No doubt rural areas in Nigeria are characterized by poverty, malnutrition, poor communication, illiteracy unproductive agriculture with the use of traditional implement, general low per capital income. Also includes lack of health facilities, public electricity, borne whole water and motorable roads which hinder them from evacuating foods and industrial raw materials.

Rural development proper should module all and sundry, unfortunately lack of sufficient fund for progamme execution, high cost of building materials and labour, failure to incorporate people affected in planning and in more serious note, the rural dwellers level of understanding is too low that instead of attracting government attention by initiating a project, they expect the government to do every thing for them which is impossible. All these factors problems act as a push against the rural dwellers in the study area to the urban areas, where they can enjoy social amenities and infrastructure such as water supply, electricity, health facilities, tarred roads, and abundant job opportunities. At the end of this study, we shall know how the rural development can be effective means (strategy) for reducing rural – urban migration in Nigerian generally and Ishielu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State particular. The preceding sentence, therefore, form the focus of this research.

AIMS OF OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

Maris system of life is dynamic coupled with his insatiable nature which demands better food, shelter and clothes. These are usually achieved through verity of good jobs efficient use of human and natural resources.

The extensive area of land in the rural area can be put to various industrial and agricultural activities, thereby improving the lots of rural dwellers and urban dweller alike Agriculture provide us with food, medicine, firewood, timber and other raw material to the industries as well as employment and foreign exchange. Unfortunately the rural dwellers and farmers which constitute the largest population in the rural areas have not been properly taken care as regards development and as a result the rural dwellers rush to the urban areas to find alternative jobs and social amenities that abound in the urban areas.

This study therefore, is aimed at carrying out a research as follows

(i)                 To identify rural development programmes /projects available in the study area.

(ii)               To identity reasons/factors responsible for rural – urban migration.

(iii)             To examine the extent of rural urban – migration.

(iv)             To suggest and make feasible  recommendation on reducing migration in the study area.

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR THE STUDY

The advent of civilization brought about urbanization or urban settlement. Civilization is the climax of man’s inventions as a means of raising his standard of living. Man believes in hedonism and indeed obtain much pleasure in the company of other fellow men. No doubt, this is why if one had to give one word the raison d’etre for a city it would surely be “communicated”. People come together in cities to be able to communicate person to person, person to firm person to government.

In the pre-history of urban evolution when technology was large and archaic, people had to search for fertile lands for abundant for harvest. These fertile land occurred in Abakaliki division now in  Ebonyi State. Settlements in these areas were promoted as a result of fertile land. The oldest organized settlement known today as the cradle of civilization such as settlement at alluvial plains of Rive Nile, Tigris, Euphrates, Indus and Yangtze – kiang were equally as a result of fertile land.

The discovering of limestone and the establishment of Cement Company at Nkalagu in Ishielu Local Government Area in 1957 attracted many investors and offered employment to the people. During this era there were considerable notice of immigrants in Nkalagu and its neighbouring communities. As a result of failure of the cement company to produce satellite town thereby extending its social amenities to the surrounding communities, the dwellers in the said communities like Nkalagu, Amazu, Umuahuli, Nkalaha, Obeagu started rushing to the urban areas in middle seventies. It is at this period that rural urban – migration gathered much momentum in the study area.

Generally, cities or urban areas apart from fertility of land discussed already started growing as a result of goods site for defence like Ibandan, mineral deposit such as in Enugu for Coal and Port Harcourt for crude oil, other include religious activities like Elele in Nigeria Jerusalem and Mecca. More recently, political tranquility influence of royal courts, holiday attraction and be antiful sceneries as well as economic activities, coastal orientation mineral deposit and traffic junction are the prevailing factors for the growing of cities. The level of standard of living which most of the cities or urban areas provide compel rural dwellers to more to urban areas and settle. It is in the light of rapid growth of urban over rural communities that form the bedrock of this study.

RESEARCH QUESTION

The following research questions were formulated to guide the study.

(i)                 What kind of rural development programmes/projects are being / have been executed in your rural area?

(ii)               Does lack of integrated rural development responsible for rural – urban migration in your area or not?

(iii)             In what way(s) have the absence of integrated rural development affected the standard of living in your rural area?

(iv)             In your own opinion what are the factors militating against rural development in your area?

RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

HO       Lack of integrated Rural Development is not responsible for Rural – Urban migration.

Hi        Lack of integrated Rural Development is responsible for Rural Urban Migration.