IMPACT OF RURAL MIGRATION ON COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
ABSTRACT
The world is now a global village with the invention of new technologies. However, the physical migration of people is still inevitable and it is necessary for rural community’s development. There are several reasons while people migrate, like economic reasons, ecological reasons, educational reasons etc. The purpose of the research work is to bring to the fore the “Impact of rural migration on community development”. Hypotheses were structure in a way to show the significant relationship between rural migration and community development. Data were collected through primary and secondary sources. Questionnaires were structured in order to solve the identified problem and meet up with the stated objectives. Chi-square was used to test the positivity and negativity of the hypothesis. Conclusively, there is a relationship between rural migration and community development.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Migration is a universal phenomenon. It had been a daily routine from time immemorial till this present time. Migration is the movement of individual or group from one location to the other. Rural-migration is the movement of individual group of people from one country–side to a particular geographical rural /urban area (Della Summers 2000). Previous research as documented the devastating effect of out-migration on rural communities. In this process, young highly skilled migrants leave rural area that offer little opportunity, migrating to urban and suburban areas. Their out migration leaves behind an older, less educated and low skilled community that struggles to meet increased social-service needs with shrinking tax base (Cushing, 2000). The migration pattern of the poor, coupled with the out-migration of the non-poor, exacerbated poverty rates in poor countries.
Nigeria’s concern and desire to do something about rural urban migration stems from the unprecedented rapid growth of the urban population which is believed to had result from the rapid influx of migrants from rural areas. In–migrants are blamed for swelling population for beyond the towns economic capacity thus, creating urban problems such as unemployment successive Nigerian government have planned and executed several projects ranging from farm settlements in rural areas to development of new, smaller, satellite towns to divert migration from the more crowded, large towns (Markiwa, 2004).
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Migration is an inevitable phenomenon. It has negative and positive impact on both rural and urban communities. The migrants from the rural communities posses lot of problems on the urban communities. Most of these problems are:
i. Congestion in population: Due to over concentration of people in a particular area which create problem for the government to execute its plan effectively for its residents or citizens of a particular area.
ii. Poverty: Over concentration of migrants in a particular local area without proper documentation or records from government can reduce the standard of living of the people because there is increase in the population against government plans.
iii. Crime: Migrants who leave their homes hoping to get a good job in other communities ends up being disappointed as a result of unemployment and at the end get involve in one criminal activities or the other, in other to make ends meet.
iv. Illiteracy: Migration is also a bane to educational system. School age migrants who migrate to another community posed problem to their education in the sense that the facilities might not be able to accommodate more population of students–migrants who are aspiring to further their educational carrier.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
i. To examine the impact of rural migration on community development.
ii. To examine the relationship between rural migration and illiteracy in the community.
iii. To examine the effect of crime on community development.
iv. To examine the relationship between rural migration and poverty level in the community.
v. To make appropriate suggestions.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
i. Why do people migrate to a particular community?
ii. What is the effect of migrants on the educational system of the community?
iii. Is crime a bane of community development?
iv. Is migration a determinant factor of poverty?
1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES
1. Ho: There is no significant relationship between rural migration and community development.
Hi: There is a significant relationship between rural migration and community development.
2. HO: That rural migration is not a determinant of poverty manifestation in community development.
Hi: That rural migration is a determinant of poverty manifestation in the community.
3. HO: There is no relationship between over population of migrants and level of illiteracy.
Hi: That there is a relationship between over population of migrants and level of illiteracy.
4. HO: There is no significant relationship between unemployment of migrants and increase in crime activities in the community.
Hi: There is a significant relationship between unemployment of migrants and increase in crime activities in the community.
1.6 DEFINITION OF TERMS
Impact: The effect or influence that an event situation etc has on someone or something.
Rural: A place far from the city, with a natural environment.
Migration: It is the movement from a particular location to another.
Community: A group of people who share the same nationality or religion or who are similar in another way.
Development: The gradual growth of something, so that it becomes bigger or more advanced.
Theory: It is a reasonable or scientifically acceptable explanation for a fact or event which is yet to be proven true.
Model: Fred Riggs asserted that models are constructs purely hypothetical, ideal type abstracted from observed realities and useful as tools of analysis to significant phenomena and relationships.
1.7 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
It must be clearly stated here that absolute proof or perfection is not possible and for the purpose of this study the following limitations are imminent.
· Time constraint
· Financial constraint
· Under the sampling method, since the whole population is not selected, there is a possibility of inaccuracy
· The method of data collection selected, questionnaire is subjected to too much individual biases
1.8 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY
This research work will be carefully arranged in five chapters. Chapter one is the introductory, part and it deals with those aspects such as background of the study, objective, statement of problems, research questions, statement of hypotheses, definition of terms, limitation of the study and organization of the study. Chapter two focuses on literature review and theoretical framework. Chapter three deals with research methodology which describes population of the study, sample and sampling methods e.t.c. Chapter four focuses on the result of the field investigation through the presentation and interpretation of data and the testing of hypothesis. Chapter five focuses on the summary, conclusion and recommendations for further research.
