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Migration and Socio-Economic Links Between Urban Migrants and their Home Communities in Nigeria1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2012

Aderanti Adepoju
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Extract

The observation that migrants in most of Africa's towns maintain close ties with their home communities, initially made with respect to labour migrants, has been extended to include all kinds of migrants—seasonal, semi-permanent, and permanent (Van Velsen, 1960: 265–78; Gugler, 1971: 405; Caldwell, 1969: 140; Mitchell, 1959: 12–47).

It has been stated that a migrant who spends most of his working life in the town still regards his community of origin as his real home, owes social allegiance to it, ‘and reduces rural-urban migration to a mechanical process involving forward and backward movement between the town and country’ (Imoagene, 1972: 4).

This paper investigates the nature and the role of such links between urban migrants and their various places of origin–both rural and urban–in Nigeria. The study is approached from a micro-level by examining the pattern of socio-economic relationships between individual migrants and their families at their various places of origin rather than using aggregate data.

Résumé

LES MIGRATIONS ET LES LIENS SOCIO-ÉCONOMIQUES ENTRE LES NOUVEAUX CITADINS ET LEURS COMMUNAUTÉS D'ORIGINE

Les conclusions que cet article soumet sont tirées d'une étude sur l'lmmigration dans les villes effectuée par l'auteur dans deux centres urbains nigérians (Ife et Oshogbo) entre fin 1971 et début 1972.

La plupart des chefs de famille immigrés qui furent interrogés étaient encore jeunes, avaient reçu une instruction scolaire, exerçaient une activité indépendante ou avaient un travail salarié modiquement rétribué. Environ 90% d'entre eux étaient Yoruba.

Presque tous les migrants entretiennent des contacts avec leurs communautés d'origine en y retournant. 80% d'entre eux y retournent fréquemment, entre deux fois et douze fois par an. Cette fréquence varie avec l'âge du migrant, son métier et son statut matrimonial. Ces visites renforcent l'identification au foyer ancestral et préparent le migrant pour le moment du retour qu'il espère finalement effectuer au terme de son séjour en ville.

Tous les migrants qui retournent chez eux n'y envoient pas d'argent. Ceux qui le font (62% des migrants a Ife et 54% à Oshogbo) envoient des sommes qui sont substantielles par rapport au niveau de vie dans les campagnes et aussi par rapport à ce qu'ils gagnent (entre 8% et 12%).

Ces sommes servent à entretenir les concessions des migrants. Les transferts de revenus permettent aussi aux migrants de réaliser certains projets et de pourvoir à l'instruction de leurs enfants et des enfants de leurs parents. Pour les families de certains migrants, ces versements font plus que compenser la contribution au revenu familial perdue du fait de leur départ. Le lien économique constitue, par conséquent, un aspect important des migrations vers les villes dans le sud-est du Nigéria.

Type
Research Article
Information
Africa , Volume 44 , Issue 4 , October 1974 , pp. 383 - 396
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 1974

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References

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