Rural-Urban Migration in Nigeria: “who migrates most”? A Case Study of Ogun Waterside Local Government Area of Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

This paper examined who migrates most from rural to urban areas in Nigeria, using Ijebu waterside Local Government Area of Ogun State, Nigeria, as a case study from the period of 1999-2008. The paper examined the sex of migrants from the study area, investigated the ages of the migrants at migration, ages of migrants in groups at migration, and identified the year the migrants migrated from the study area. The study endeavoured to find solutions to research questions by using survey design and purposive sampling technique to gather data from 144 respondents with the help of personal interview and 10-itemstructured questionnaire. The respondents included families of migrants from the study area. Data for this research were examined using descriptive statistics such as, frequencies and mean. Data collected were modified, coded and examined using Statistical Packages for Social Science (SPSS). The results disclosed that majority of migrants were female, they were youths between the ages of 16-29 years, and the number of migrants each year, from the year 1999 to 2008 were similar. The paper recommended the provision of tertiary institutions and high income earning jobs through the establishment of industries–small, medium and large scale industries within the entire Local Government Area, and carry out a planned, intentional, and holistic transformation of the rural areas, socio-culturally, technologically, economically, and politically, through its policy and programmes in order to make the rural areas cherished and habitable for the youths who go to the urban areas in search of comfort.