THE CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF RURAL-URBAN MIGRATION:
A CASE STUDY OF EGOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF EDO STATE
ABSTRACT
Rural-urban migration is detrimental to economic development in Nigeria especially in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State. The objective of this study is to:
-              Identify the problems facing rural dwellers as a result of urban migration
-              Provide possible solution or ways of reducing the rural urban migration in Edo State.
Hypothesis of this study include:
Rural-urban migration brings about over population of rural areas which rises to urban areas.
Reduce in the agricultural output.
Over population of urban area which resulted in high crimes raters, slums, poor sewages system, poor environmental sanitation.
High pressure on public utilities in the urban areas.
The methodology used in this study include primary source which is mainly based on textbooks, newspaper and magazines friom the review of literature and analysis of available data, it has been observed that rural urban migration is determined to the people in Egor local government area of Edo State in that it resulted in the de-population of the rural areas which in turn leads to those remaining in rural areas ability to tap the available resources. Based on the findings that rural urban migration is detrimental to the people of Egor local government area, the researcher made the following recommendations which are subject to review by other researchers who may undergo this type of findings, these include: developing the agricultural sector to increase establishing more industries in the rural areas. Improving the life style of the people in the rural areas by providing adequate infrastructural facilities such as good roads, electricity and water just to mention but a few. Finally, the willingness of the people cooperate with one government will help to reduce mass exodus of people in the rural areas to the urban areas.
TABLE OF CONTENT
Chapter one: Introduction           
Background of the study
Statement of problems
Objectives of the study
Research questions
Significance of the study
Scope of the study
Limitations of the study
Definition of terms
Chapter two: literature review
Definition of migration
Types of migration
Types of rural-urban migration
Causes of rural-urban migration
Effects of rural-urban migration
Solutions to migration  
Chapter three: Methodology       
Population of study
Sample/sampling techniques
Research instrument
Method of data collection
Method of data analysis
Chapter four
Analysis of data and discussion of results
Showing that there is rural-urban migration in the study area
Causes of rural-urban migration in the study area
Effects of rural-urban migration in the study area
Chapter five
Summary
Conclusion            
Recommendation  
Reference     
Questionnaires
 CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
The mobility of man has increased with technical and economic process. He has specialized means of transport to assist his mobility as much that distance is spoken of in terms of time according to the mode of transport. Migration is a dynamic component of population with reference to movement of people from one geographical area to another. Migrants live in the new place permanently or for a reasonable length of time. The place where migrant move from is called source (or origin) and where they move to is called destination or receiving area. Migration is a universal process which take place all over the world.
Migration can be classified into the following;
a)   Rural – rural migration: which is the movement of people from one rural area to another.
b)   Rural – urban migration: which is the movement of people from rural to urban areas.
c)   Urban – urban migration: which is the movement of people from one urban centre to another.
d)   Urban – rural migration: which is the movement of people from urban to rural areas.
e)   Internal migration: which is the movement of people from one country to another. The people who migrant into a country are called immigrant while those who migrate out are called emigrants. The five types of migration discussed above take place all over the world but their relative importance varies from place ton place and from time to time for example, international migration is less important today than it was some countries back when, for example, tens of millions of European moved to North America, Australia, Africa and South America. The only major international migration which we witness today involves the movement of refugees especially in Africa which has witnessed much political instability and drought in advanced countries urban-rural migration is significant because the people cherished rural life. In developing countries rural to urban migration is taken on a large scale because the rural areas are very poor and underdeveloped.
People can decide to migrate out of their own free will. Also people can be forced to migrate. Therefore we can distinguish between voluntary migration and forced migration. One example of forced migration is the deportation of exportation of illegal aliens. Other examples of forced are related to war, famine, political or religious persecution, natural disaster, such as earthquakes and volcanoes, and the slave trade. In case of voluntary migration, the motive can either be economic, social. It is economic if the aim of the migrant is to search for employment or to better himself in some materials respects. Economic consideration is in fact the over riding factors in most migration. The motive for migration is social if it is related to any of these.
a.    To go on a religious pilgrimage
b.    To join one husband
c.    To attend higher institution
d.    To escape from a place where one has already earned a bad name.
e.    To escape fro parental control or unpleasant customs and traditions e.g. the ogun customs in Ibodand
f.     To move to an area with more varied recreational and cultural facilities for purpose of tourism or better living.   
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS
There have been a large movement of people from rural areas to urban centres since independence. This project is meant to find out the causes and effects of rural-urban migration, which has now become rampant in the study area Egor Local Government Area of Edo State. Perhaps, this movement may be as a result of inadequacy of socio amenities in the rural areas, searching for white collar jobs, educational purposes etc. But finance and time have been the major constraints to the realization of this project work.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objectives of this study that will be achieved include the following;
a)   To identify the causes of rural-urban migration in the study area
b)   To highlight the effects of rural-urban migration in the area
c)   To suggest ways of controlling rural-urban migration in the area
RESEARCH QUESTION
Since this project work will be guided by the following research questions,
a)   What are the causes of rural-urban migration in Egor L.G.A.?
b)   What are the effects of rural-urban migration in the area?
c)   What are the possible ways to check rural-urban migration in Egor L.G.A.?
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The study of migration has become a problem for a long time now, because since the world began, people have been moving from one locality to another in search of favorable opportunities such as good accommodation, good job, education, health, good communication networks, water and power supply.
The study will help to educate the mind of the individual, policy makers and the government to see the need to formulate policies for integrated rural development to check rural-urban drift in Egor local government area.
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The scope of the study will cover the causes and effects of rural-urban migration in Egor Local Government Area, Ondo State.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
The terms used in this project work as follows,
Migration: Migration can be defined as the movement of people from rural areas to the urban centres in order to earn a living
Rural area: This refers to the countryside; it refers to hamlets, villages, farmsteads etc.
Hamlets: A small settlement (less than average) consisting of only a few building or farmstead, usually located at road intersections in advanced agricultural societies. Hamlets are also found in developing countries but may not easily be accessible.
Villages: An organized unit of settlement reasonably large, usually consisting of hundred, of families. Villages are generally engaged in primary production such as farming, fishing and lumbering some of them also render some specialized services in addition to their primary function. This traders artisans, teachers and other professional may form part of the village population.    
Urban area: This refers to towns, cities, communities, metropolis etc.
Town: centre of population larger than a village harboring thousand of families. Town perform mainly non agricultural functions. They act as services centres where increasingly specialized activities locate themselves as the towns become large and people from extensive areas around will depend on them to provide goods and service that are unobtainable in smaller settlement, city. Like in the case of villages and towns, there is no universally accepted size for a city. However, most cities contain more than 100,000 people. They are large urban centres which have acquired very specialized function.   
Conurbation: is smaller to metropolis. It is two or more large urban centres that have grown towards each other and eventually merged. For example, the Chicago conurbation is actually a merger between Chicago and Gory, just as New York, kersey city New York and the North east of USAS. Tokyo-Yokoham is a conurbation of two big cities in Japan. The best example of conurbation in Africa is the twin cities of Accra Tema in Ghana while in Nigeria what is usually called, warri, the oil city is actually a merger of Warri and effurun in Delta State.
Metropolis: This is the highest category of settlement. It is an urbanized region, an extremely large urban territory, comprising a series of great conurbations. The best example is found in the eastern seaboard of USA stretching 1,000km from Boston to Washington DC (fig D9). It contains about 45 million people, that is about 20 percent of the united state population concentrated in less than 5 percent of the land surface. Therefore a metropolis in Japan and in England as well    
Settlement: A place containing one or more buildings with people living in them
Migrants: People engaged in moving out of a country
Emigrants: people engaged in moving out of a country
Immigrants: People that moves into a country