Rural-Urban Migration in South Western Nigeria: A Menace to National Development

Abstract

Migration is the movement of people from one place to another which could either be permanent or temporal. The study investigated the resultant effects of rural-urban migration to national development with a particular focus on the South western part of Nigeria. It analyzed the causes of rural-urban migration, past efforts of the government in reducing the rate of rural-urban migration in these areas and the socio-economic factors influencing rural-urban migration. The study also reviewed existing literatures on rural-urban migration. Data were collected from the respondents through a structured questionnaire which was administered on Lagos, Ondo, Ogun, Osun and Ekiti states; all in the southwestern part of Nigeria. The study identified lack of social infrastructure, neglect of the rural community, modernization and others as some of the factors responsible for rural-urban migration. The paper therefore proposes that for all round national development, the rural communities has to be developed to meet the standard of the urban centres in order to reduce the rate of rural-urban migration.

Keywords: rural, urban, migration, menace, national development.