Checkmating Rural-Urban Migration of Youths, in Nigeria.

Abstract

There has been an increase in youth migration from rural to urban centres in Nigeria in search of a livelihood. This is also visible in Ondo State, as the teeming youths, who are supposed to be an ‘engine’ to economic development in the rural areas, are now out to urban centres. The paper conceptualises this movement based on push-and-pull theory. The level of poverty and other attendant problems - such as, poor infrastructure, little or no employment opportunities, rural neglect, etc- are identified as contributing factors to rural-urban migration and poverty. It is therefore, suggested that, for poverty alleviation programmes – such as; giving out cars and buses on affordable terms, to prospective owners while easing transportation problem in the rural areas, distributing of grounding machines to self-employed women, opening of poultry farms in all the 18 local government area, making health care accessible and affordable etc- that are put in place by the Labour party-controlled government, in Ondo State, to achieve the desire goals, policy formulation and implementation must target youths, especially, the ‘army’ of unemployed graduates, while focusing on the urgent need to productively engage youths in poverty-reduction strategies. Those to execute these policies must be experts in their chosen fields, and not ordinarily technocrats in order to monitor for effective implementation. With this framework, youths can improve their livelihoods with complementary improvement in education, health care, and quality of life.

Key words: Migration, Poverty, Employment, Youth