Deconstructing the burden of rural-urban migration in a non-regulatory system: the case of Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

Nigeria is one of the countries in the world with very high rural-urban dichotomy. Although the nation is generally characterized by poor social amenities, both in quality and quantity, rural communities are disproportionately more disadvantaged than urban centres due to governmental neglect. Consequently, the number of rural inhabitants that migrate to cities in the hope of overcoming the powerlessness that is consistent with rural life is unprecedented. The resulting population densities in these destinations and the corresponding disadvantages require effective regulations that will engage the push factors, on one hand, and methods for in-migrants to adjust to destination cities without infringing on the existing social equilibrium, on the other. Although the adjustability of some in-migrants in Lagos was examined, the challenge of non-regulation and the consequent unmanageable migrant-inflow into the city sustain the burden at family and societal levels. This paper argues that Nigeria, generally, practices a non-regulatory internal migration system with prospective recipients, most times, forced to adjust grudgingly to unforeseen human additions. Investigating how these receiving families and groups are coping with this recurring contingency is critical to understanding the burden and contradictions of the non-existence of registration systems and haphazardness in spatial allocations, land use, distribution of public resources and compliance to laws. Suggesting appropriate context-specific intervention strategies to a non-regulatory migration patterns and processes, as in the case of Nigeria, is strongly recommended.