Assessment of Rural – Urban Migration in South – Western Nigeria

Abstract

The study examines rural urban migration in south – western Nigeria. Population of the study is the rural households of southwestern Nigeria Multi Stage random sampling technique was used to select two out of the six states that make up the south – western Nigeria. Five Local Government Areas were also randomly selected from each of the state while one rural community was randomly selected from each of the Local Government Area making a total of ten communities used for the survey. Twelve respondents were selected from each community making a total of one hundred and twenty (120) respondents for the study. Data collected were analyzed using Descriptive Analytical tools while Chi-square were used to establish relationship that existed between respondents’ socio – economic characteristics and their annual income among others. Findings revealed that there are more male (62.2%) than the female (37.8%) migrants, that income was one of the major determinant of migration (23.300, p = 0.000). Also majority migrated as a result of lack of social amenities such as health facilities (69.2%), and job opportunities (65.0%) coupled with higher standard of living in urban areas (74.2%) than rural areas.