IMPACT OF RURAL-URBAN MIGRATION ON DEMAND FOR RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY

THE IMPACT OF RURAL URBAN MIGRATION ON DEMAND FOR RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY IN NIGERIA CITIES

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1   BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Rural-urban migration was formerly regarded as favourable in economic development. Today, it has become one of the most embarrassing problems in the Nigerian development experience.

Rural-urban migration is ‘‘the phenomenon of a historically unprecedented movement of people from the rural countryside to the burgeoning cities of Africa, Asia and Latin America’’ (Todaro, 1997). ‘‘It is the movement of people from rural areas into cities’’ (Wikipedia, 2013). Some time ago, migration existed internally to enable excess labour to be taken slowly from the rural areas to provide workforce for industries in the urban areas and therefore aid industrial growth. However, experience in Nigeria has shown that the rate of rural-urban migration has ceaselessly outweighed the rate of job creation and having an overweight on the social and infrastructural amenities available in the urban areas which equally reflects on housing demand.

Housing is one of the best indicators of a person’s standard of living and his place in the society. Like food and clothing, housing ranks among the three (3) basic human needs. Its availability is very crucial to the welfare of every human. Housing, literally is defined as buildings or other shelters in which people live, a place to live, a dwelling and to Nations a critical component in social and economic fabric. To most groups housing means shelter but to others it means more as it serves as one of the best indicators of a person’s standard of living and his or her place in the society (Nubi, 2008). It is a priority for the attainment of living standard and it is important to both rural and urban areas. These attribute make demand for housing to know no bound as population growth and urbanization increase very rapidly and the gap between housing need and supply becomes widen.

According to Olofinji (2016), demand for residential property demand can be explained as the willingness and ability of housing consumer to pay for a particular dwelling, depending upon such consumer’s income, house type, location preferences and local prices.

In other words, demand for residential property at certain price refers to the value that is placed on a house linked with the satisfaction derived in such house.

Residential property demand in urban center is a manifestation and reflection of different household desires to live in an urban center. The desire of people to live in an urban center especially in Owerri is increasing at an alarming rate. Owerri for instance has a teeming population that exceeds the resources inherent, and the city may indeed witness a population explosion if urgent measures are not taken to curtail it.

It is against this introductory background of the study that the researcher has intended to examine the impact of rural urban migration on demand for residential properties in Nigeria cities with particular reference to Owerri Municipal of Imo State in Nigeria.

1.2   STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

At a glance to everyone who visits Owerri Municipal, it is not farfetched to notice the influx of rural population into the area which is evident in the over-crowdedness of Douglas road, Wetheral road, School road etc. This may not be far from the fact that these rural population are seeking for “better life”. In some other places like Oguamanam Street, Uche Street, Uche street extension, Lobo Street to mention but a few, as much as these areas are overcrowded, most people are found living in indecent building apartments due to their socio-economic background which cannot cope with an ever increasing price of decent houses.

Ever since Owerri became the state capital of Imo state, a lot of people have migrated and still migrate from the rural areas and even from some urban areas into it. They come in search of job opportunities, apprenticeship, trading, school etc. Due to this migration of people from different areas into Owerri Municipal, problems of accommodation started, overcrowding on social infrastructure also started which brought about ageing of the infrastructure, damages on the electrical fittings and plumbing fittings of houses, bad ground water due to excess waste that penetrates in the ground etc. Many people live in crowded areas which in turn affect the human health, living standard and the structural members of the city.

On the other hand, it may be the cause of traffic congestion, delayed services in banks, hospitals, and shopping centers. Low quality education in schools in Owerri municipal may also be an issue caused by rural-urban migration. It may have also been the reason for the over utilization of facilities yielding impacts such as  cracking of road, emergence of pot holes, wear-off on buildings etc.

Furthermore, observation has shown that government policies have been in favour of urban development, by purposely and continuously creating employment opportunities, educational opportunities and other infrastructural amenities more in the urban areas compared to the rural areas. Owerri Municipal is not an exemption to this fact. Currently, there exist about three (3) government owned Community Primary Schools clustered together within the boundaries of Tetlow Street and Royce Road whereas there are other surrounding communities which do not have up to two schools to support the entire community. It is noteworthy to also mention that some of the existing schools in these rural communities are not up to standard; therefore, people in search of better education may simply migrate from their rural communities into Owerri Municipal.

It may also be noticed that rural-urban migration have resulted to inequality in the development and quality of life between the rural and urban areas, and therefore may be an enhancing factor to rural-urban migration. People could be attracted to urban areas because they think they will have greater opportunities there.

It is a general notion that the rural areas in Nigeria are being affected by several incapacities in various levels of severity such as: inaccessibility, seclusion, under development, poverty, drabness, boredom, ignorance, depopulation, hunger, and all types of sicknesses. Migration from rural to urban areas may lead to reduction in the number of rural populace and on the other hand may result to high rate of demand on urban housing in cities to which they migrated to.

Therefore, there is need for studies that will focus on the reduction of residential property / housing demand in Owerri Municipal by discouraging rural-urban migration. Such studies will be important so as to create awareness on the present situation, improve understanding and proffer solutions to the issue. This research work is part of the endeavour to contribute towards filling this gap and thus focuses on the impact of rural-urban migration on demand for residential properties in Nigeria with references to  Owerri Municipal, Nigeria.

1.3   AIM AND OBJECTIVES THE STUDY

The aim of this study is to examine the impact of rural-urban migration on demand for residential properties in Nigeria – a case study of Owerri Municipal.

OBJECTIVES

Specifically the objectives of the study are;

1. To ascertain the causes of rural-urban migration and its impact on demand for residential properties in Owerri Municipal.
2. To determine the setbacks which rural-urban migration has on residential property demand in Owerri Municipal.
3. To suggest ways of discouraging rural-urban migration thus reducing its impact on housing demand in Owerri Municipal.

1.4   RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research questions are posed to guide the study.

1. What factors lead to rural-urban migration?
2. What are the impacts of rural-urban migration on the

demand for residential properties in Owerri Municipal?

• What mechanisms are to be adopted in solving the problem of rural-urban migration in other to reduce its impact on residential properties demand in Owerri Municipal?

1.5   RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

The hypothesis for this research work is as follows;

H₀: The rate of residential properties / housing demand in Owerri municipal is not dependent on rural-urban migration.

H₁: The rate of residential properties / housing demand in Owerri municipal is dependent on rural-urban migration.

1.6   SCOPE OF STUDY

The scope of this study is limited to rural-urban migration and its impact on residential properties demand in Nigeria, with the primary focus on Owerri Municipal in Imo State.

Furthermore, the research assessed the high rate of housing demand attributed to rural-urban migration which may be associated with various detrimental consequences that will be unfolded in the course of this research.

Hence, the study is limited to showing the adverse impact rural-urban migration has on the demand for housing in Owerri Municipal. Generally, the study looked at the problems, impacts, causes, and how they can be tackled.

1.7   SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This work is expected to provide a proper understanding for the subject matter under study, thus it will be of immense help in tackling the problem of its practical perspective.

The study will supply the much needed background in tackling the impact of rural-urban migration on housing demand. Most of the developed countries today are great because they make use of research findings, which often originate from research works.

Therefore;

– The study when successfully completed will be of value to the educational planners and the government.

– The study will be of importance to researchers/students working on related topics.

– The study will reveal the reasons why people migrate from rural area to urban centers and the impact of such movement on housing demand in the study area.

– The study will also be an addition to previous works on the topic, thus, an addition to knowledge.

1.8   THE STUDY AREA

Owerri Municipal is a local government area of Imo state, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the city of Owerri. Owerri Municipal council, formerly the headquarters of old Owerri local government area(comprising the present day Owerri Municipal, Owerri north, Owerri west and Ngor-Okpala local government areas) became a Municipal council on 15^th December 1996.

The council has an urban setting with one autonomous community made up of 5 indigenous kindred (Owerri nchiise) vis: Umuororonjo, Amawom, Umuonyeocha, Umuodu and Umuoyima, under the rulership of one permanent traditional ruler, presently he is the Eze of Owerre (a.k.a Ozuruigbo of Owerri). The apex traditional institution in the area is the “Oha Owerri” elder’s council, which is the area, is also the judicial aim of government (settling all dispute and other matters). “Onyeishi ala Owerri” is the traditional chief priest of the community. The entire women of “Owerri nchiise” are also under one umbrella body- the “Udodinindom Owerri”.

Generally, the five kindred of Owerri Municipal council are: Amawom, Umuodu, Umuonyeocha, Umuoronjo, Umuoyima. Owerri Municipal also covers the following areas: New Owerri, Ikenegbu, Aladimma, G.R.A and Work layout. Entrances into the Municipal council are Okigwe road, Onitsha road, Port-harcortroad, Aba road and Mbaise road.

1.8.1        LOCATION AND SITE

Owerri Municipal in Owerri, Imo state, Nigeria is located at approximately 5.4833N (Latitude in decimal degrees) and 7.03041E (longitude in decimal degrees). That is 5.4833N 7.035E coordinates: 5.485N 7.035E

Nigeria->Imo state->Owerri->Owerri Municipal Time zone: WAT (UTC+1) Owerri Municipal is bounded on the north by Amakohia, on the north east by Uratta, on the east by Egbu, on the east by Naze, on the south by Nekede and on the north east by Irete.

(a)    Rainfall

The study area is within the rain forest belt of Nigeria. Two distinct condition or season (ie wet and dry season) exists. These two regimes are derived from the different air masses prevailing over the country at different times of the year namely; the dry northeast air mass of Sahara origin (tropical continental air mass) which is responsible for the dry season. It blows across the Sahara desert towards Nigeria. This wind pushes the southeast wind further towards the coast where the tropical front is now formed. It is cold, dusty and dry; hence, it does not bring rain. Rather, it brings very cold, dusty, and dry weather called harmattan. It usually starts from November and ends around February and the humid tropical maritime air mass (south west trade wind) originating from the south atlantics. It blows from the high pressure belt area in the south in June to the low pressure belt in the north. This then pushes the tropical continental air mass towards the north where the inter-tropical front is formed. That is, the wind blows across the Atlantic oceans towards the coast of Nigeria. The wind is warm and wet; hence it brings rainfall to the study area. The rainfall decreases towards the northern part of Nigeria. It usually starts around March and ends around October with a short dry period in august called august break.

The rainfall pattern in the area is oscillatory, that is convectional rainfall occurs in area intensively heated like the study area. This results in heavy rain, accompanied by thunder and lightning. The area is characterised by heavy winds, lightning and thunder storm accompanied with heavy rain. The two peak periods are usually between June and September. The annual rainfall ranges from 1600-2900mm.