Abstract

This study identifies the factors influencing the rural-urban migration in some selected local government areas of Lagos State. It was carried out in Lagos because of its high concentration of migrants from different parts of the world. About 15 of the 20 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the State make up Lagos metropolis. These 15 LGAs were purposively chosen based on perceived migrants population and six (6) of these were randomly selected within their categories. In each LGA, the street listings of the 1991 National Census were used to draw a random list of seven streets from which 10 respondents were selected. Only 400 interview guides were however analyzed given the dearth of relevant data from the remaining 20.

Data were collected by the use of pre-tested interview guide to elicit information from the respondents in the study areas. Logistic regression model was adopted for the data analysis.

The study revealed that unemployment, education, family reasons, inadequate social amenities in the rural communities, avoidance of boredom in agriculture and health reasons are the major factors influencing rural-urban migration in Nigeria. It was however recommended that to stem down the rate of the migration, functional amenities such as pipe borne water, electricity, recreational facilities should be provided in the rural areas. Good educational facilities and qualified teachers should be made available in the rural areas. Agro-allied industries must be set-up in the rural areas in order to provide job opportunity for the rural dwellers.

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