A Term Paper on

MIGRATION AND NIGERIA DEVELOPMENT (EXTERNAL AND

INTERNAL)

For partial fulfilment of the requirements of the course GNS 301

Instructor: Mr Adediran

Submitted by

name

matric

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MIGRATION AND NIGERIA
DEVELOPMENT (EXTERNAL
AND INTERNAL)

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ABSTRACT

The study intends to critically assess the relationship between migration and
development taking Nigeria experience as a case study. The study also
endeavors to consider both internal and external aspects of migration and
extensively examining their impacts on development in the Nigerian climate.
It was discovered that migration has increased over time essentially after
independence and mid 1980s as result quest for higher education,
investment opportunities, austerity measures, population, political
upheavals, marriage etc. The study considers the positive impact of
migration on Nigeria development (Increased in foreign investment, cultural
integration, improvement in trade, Technical, political and financial
assistance and Aids etc) as well as its negative impacts.

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OUTLINE

1. INTRODUCTION

2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE

3. SITUATION ANALYSIS

4. EVALUATION/CHALLENGES AND GAPS

5. RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION

REFERENCES

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1. Definition of Terms

With a population of more than 150million and being Africa’s most populous
country, Nigeria still continues to experience high internal and external migration
due to the size of her population, her harsh economic climate, porous borders etc

Nigeria is burdened with corruption and endemic poverty with nearly 70 percent
of her population living below the poverty line (NBS: 2010). Scarce employment
opportunities, corruption and poverty force thousands of Nigerians to emigrate
every year in search of better quality life. Illegal migration is fast on the increase
and is largely facilitated by forgery of passports, visas, false asylum claims, bogus
marriages under false pretense, human smuggling, and human trafficking and a
host of other avenues.

Also, the rate of internal migration in Nigeria is skyrocketing as there has been
high rate of inter-state migration by young able bodied men in search of better
opportunities and greener pastures. Some destination centers are Lagos, Port-
Harcourt, Edo, Calabar, Abuja etc. This has led to a great boost in the economic
activities in these destination centers and retardation in the economic activities in
the source centers especially the rural areas. This inevitably leads to uneven
development and a situation known as ECONOMIC DUALISM.

Development in Nigeria has greatly been affected by the rise in irregular migration.
This is because the bulk of irregular migration in Nigeria occurs among youth age
18-35, which is the most productive age of human life and this is largely driven by
economic incentives. A high youth unemployment rate of 61.1 percent and the

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rising cost of living are the major factors contributing to the high migration levels
among these groups.

The government of Nigeria has continued to give more and even more attention to
migration management as evidenced by the additional responsibility given to the
National Commission For refugees (NCFR) in 2009 to oversee issues relating to
migration and IDPs, the ongoing dialogue with the European Union, and the recent
appointment of a senior adviser to the president on Diaspora affairs. Also, Nigeria
has taken a leading role in the fight against irregular migration becoming the first
African country to enact the anti-human trafficking legislation-The trafficking in
person prohibition and administration act (adepoju and Van der Wiel, 2010:280).
Even with all these measures in combating the high rate of migration (both internal
and external), financial, legal and political shortcomings have impeded effective
control.

1.2 SCOPE AND OVERVIEW.

This study tries to investigate the following migration issues as it relates to

development in Nigeria:

 Factors responsible for migration in Nigeria( external and internal)

 Trends of migration in Nigeria

 Positive impacts of migration and development in Nigeria

 Consequences of migration in Nigeria

 Limitations in the study of migration and development.

 Governments policies towards migration and results

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 CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Migration as a global phenomenon has no acceptable definition. Most definitions

use time and space criteria and those which are included in migration process are
generally considered to be at least semi-permanent and to take place across definite
geographical area.

Migration can be defined as the movement of people, goods and services within or
across national boundaries.

UN defined migration as people moving for various reasons to countries other than
their usual residence, for a period of at least twelve months so that the country of
destination effectively becomes the new country of usual residence. According to
the UN, migration is generally consensual, although it includes movement
prompted by a force of socio-economic or political circumstance. The international
convention for the protection of the right of all migrant workers and members of
the families, 1990 defined the term “migrant” as a person who is to be engaged, is
engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated activity of which he or she is not a
national.

However, a standard definition of migration was given by the International

Organization for Migration (IOM). The IOM defined migration as the movement
of person or group of persons, either across international border or within a state. It
is a population movement, encompassing any kind of movement of people,
whatever is length, composition or causes.

Harris-Todaro’s migration model:

The formal statement of the equilibrium condition of the Harris–Todaro model is

as follows:

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  Let wr be the wage rate (marginal productivity of labor) in the rural
agricultural sector.
 Let le be the total number of jobs available in the urban sector, which should
be equal to the number of employed urban workers.
 Let lus be the total number of job seekers, employed and unemployed, in the
urban sector.
 Let wu be the wage rate in the urban sector, which could possibly be set by
government with a minimum wage law.

Rural to urban migration will take place if:

Conversely, urban to rural migration will occur if:

At equilibrium,

With the random matching of workers to available jobs, the ratio of available jobs
to total job seekers gives the probability that any person moving from the
agricultural sector to the urban sector will be able to find a job. As a result, in
equilibrium, the agricultural wage rate is equal to the expected urban wage rate,
which is the urban wage multiplied by the employment rate.

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Todaro Migration Model:  A Graphical Exposition with a Numerical Example

1. Our economy has eight million workers, and consists of two sectors, rural and
urban, with demand curves for labor that look like this.

2. Workers can move back and forth freely between town and country.  Where will
they go?  Under conditions of wage flexibility, workers will always look for the
highest wage, so that equilibrium will require wage equalization between the two
sectors, with the entire workforce of 8 million employed.

CHAPTER THREE

SITUATION ANALYSIS
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Documented history of migration in the territory that is now Nigeria dates back to
four simultaneous slave trade in Africa between 1400 and 1900, the largest being
trans-Atlantic in which 12 millions slaves were exported from west, west central,
and eastern Africa to European countries and Americas. Estimates Harvard
economist Nathan Dunn indicate that Nigeria lost about 2 million people during
the 500 year period, out of which about 1.4 million slaves were shipped to the
Americas. The arrival of the British in the mid-19 th century provided a framework
for large scale migration as the British needed a large labour force for mines,
plantations and public administration. An estimated 10,000 to 30,000 Tuaregs
from Niger moved into Kano city and its environs between 1914 and 1922.

TRENDS OF MIGRATION SINCE INDEPENDENCE

Flows from Nigeria to countries beyond the region did not occur on a large scale
until independence in 1960.From the 1950s through the 1970s, the emerging elites
moved mainly to the mainly united kingdom due to legacy of colonial ties, for
educational pursuit, in a few cases for administrative matters.

The expectation was that Nigerian students would return with valuable skills
needed for nation building. Indeed, most Nigerians educated abroad in the 1960s
and 1970s readily came home after completing their education to assured plum
jobs in the civil service or booming oil and private sectors of the economy. After
independence in1960, this largely highly skilled migration to the United Kingdom
continued, although an increasing proportion of Nigerians also migrated to the
United States for study, business, and work.

As political tension engulfed Nigeria and as its economy stagnated in the late
1970s and 1980s, the stream of emigrants increased. Unlike previous emigrants,
these Nigerians tended to stay abroad for longer periods after graduating, and some
never returned.

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 As a result, a well developed culture of professional migration emerged. By 1978,
an estimated 30,000 Nigerian graduates from UK higher institutions were living
outside Africa, with 2000 them living in the united states.1984, the Nigerian
population living in the United States had increased to 10,000 according Afolayan
and colleagues; many were highly skilled. In addition to the poor economy,
Nigerian-based professionals left because of austerity measures of structural
adjustment program (SAP), which the government agreed to as a condition of a
loan from the IMF in mid-1980s.Because the program included devaluing the
national currency, wages for professional became lower and working conditions
worsened. As desperation in the country continued, many less educated youth
became significant part of the emigration stream. By the early 2000s, an increasing
number of Nigerians had migrated to countries such as Spain, Italy, Ireland and
Belgium as well as the Gulf states.

Factors Responsible for Migration in Nigeria (External and internal)

        There so many factors responsible for migration in Nigeria. These factors are
both economic and non economic.

 The search for employment opportunities

 Marriage

 Political oppression and upheavals.

 Cost of living

 Availability of infrastructure and basic amenities

 Desire for higher education

 Favourable climatic conditions

 Investment opportunities
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  Political opportunities

 Presence and absence of relatives

 Ethnic or racial tolerance

 Religious considerations

 War and violence

 peace and stability

 Availability cheap goods and services.

 Government policies.

The list is inexhaustible. Again, it is important to note that migration in Nigeria both
external and internal has increased over time. Emigration and immigration constituted
these stocks of migration in Nigeria Economy.

The recent demand of UK of 3000 British pounds in bonds by five selected countries
including Nigeria, Ghana, Bangladesh, Sri-lanka, Pakistan and India is a clear indication
the trends of Nigeria immigrants into UK and other parts of the world is increasing; thus
government of UK’S stringent measure to control the situation.

FOREIGN VICTIMS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING/SMUGGLING.

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons and other
Related Matters (NAPTIP) gives figures for foreigners who were the victims
of trafficking in persons in Nigeria as follows: 332 (2004), 75 (2005), 924 (2006),
339 (2007) and 867 (2008) rescued foreign victims in Nigeria.

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  FOREIGNERS VOLUNTARILY RETURNING BACK HOME

IOM works with its Missions in Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, and Switzerland
and the United Kingdom to implement the Assisted Voluntary Return (AVR)
Programme. The AVR Programme is used to encourage and assist the return
home of emigrants who are legally and permanently settled in host countries. Most
of the programmes are implemented with the help of non-governmental
organizations, which manage the logistical aspects. For example, the IOM AVR
Programme in Nigeria indicates the programmes offered by the Swiss Federal
Office, in collaboration with IOM, to Nigerian nationals who are currently living
under Swiss law and wish to return voluntarily to their place of origin in Nigeria.
The programmes listed cover travel assistance, business training, financial
reintegration and additional assistance for vulnerable persons.

In general, the IOM AVR of Nigerian nationals abroad has been carried out on a
small scale, involving 614 Nigerians between 2003 and 2008 (IOM, 2009b).
Gender-wise, slightly more Nigerian males (52.5%) benefitted from AVR, as
The IOM Mission in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya returned 152 Nigerian
nationals; IOM United Kingdom featured next with 140 Nigerian assisted
returnees, followed by IOM Switzerland (111), Ireland (95) and Italy (51).

 Irregular immigration routes

On account of the porosity of Nigeria’s border, many irregular immigrants can

enter the country through countless ways along the country’s land boundary of
4,047 km. However, the major entry and exit routes used by most regular
migrants/passengers, as of 1991 (NPC, 1991), were international airports (Lagos,
Kano, Port Harcourt and Calabar), the two major seaports (Port Harcourt and
Lagos) and about 150 other border posts, including Seme and Idiroko
(southwestern border) and Ilela (Sokoto) and Jibia (north-west and north-east
border posts). Since then, Abuja International Airport has been opened. According
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to a survey by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in
Persons and other Related Matters (NAPTIP, 2005), the major trafficking
routes from Nigeria were Edo, Kano, Kaduna, Calabar and Lagos. From these
centres, and from ECOWAS borders, the routes were Benin, Cameroon, Gabon,
Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso and Mali. Also, irregular immigrants could use either
the Lagos or the Calabar exit axis, travelling by boat or any other vehicular means,
either to enter or leave the country for varied purposes (trade/business, pilgrimage,
sexual exploitation, domestic work/urban informal sector, begging). Those who
use the northern land routes, via the porous borders of the States of Sokoto, Kebbi,
Katsina, Kano, Jigawa, Yobe and Borno, are overwhelmingly male traders and
farmers, who perceive the border as an imaginary line. However, on the issue of
migration, Nigeria still remains a strong attractive pole for immigration population.
Table below shows an increase in the total number of stock of immigrants over the
years for 101,450 in 1963 to 972,126 by 2006 and an estimated 1.1 million in
2007.

Population and migration characteristics of Nigeria as: 1990, 2000 and 2005

Year 1990 2000 2005 2010

Estimated total population at mid-year (‘000) 97338 124842 140879 158259
Estimates of international migrants at 447 751 972 1127
midyear(‘000)
International migrants as a % 0f total 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.7
population

Year 1995-2000 2000-2005 2005-2010

Net number of international migrants -19 -34 -60
(‘000)

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Net migration rate (per 1000 people) -0.2 -0.3 -0.4
Source: UNPD, 2008 and 2009

The percentage of immigrants to total population increased from 0.5 in 1990 to 0.6
in 2000 and to 0.7 in 2010. The overall majority of these migrants, 74.1% of the
total were nationals from neighboring ECOWAS countries, see figure below:

Total foreigners Of which Citizens

ECOWAS
Year Number Number % of total
foreigners
2001 481000 305000 63.4
2002 495000 314000 63.4
2003 509000 477000 93.7
2004 625000 537000 85.9
2005 639000 623000 97.5

Immigrants from Benin, Mali and Ghana represent the most numerous nationalities
in Nigeria. The number of refugees increased from 7106 in 2000 to 8031 in 2005
(UNDP, 2007) and 10124 in 2008 (NCFR, 2008). Table 19 below show that
western Africa as the main source with 71% of the total immigrants’ population
with Liberia taking a leading position with 5,303 of the total refugees as of 2008.
However, a significant number of refugees were repatriated after the return of
peace and democracy to Liberia and Sierra-Leone among others and the official
closure of the Oru refugee camp in as at 2008, the figures for new asylum
applications had reduced in Nigeria, totaling 1218 in 2008.The figure below shows
the refugee in Nigeria by nationality and region in 2008.

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 POSITIVE IMPACTS OF MIGRATION IN NIGERIA (EXTERNAL
AND INTERNAL)

 Increased in foreign investment

 cultural integration

 Exchange of vital ideas

 Friendly relationship between regions and countries of the world.

 Technical, political and financial assistance and Aids

 Improvement in trade

 Regional integration and settlement of disputes among different parts of

countries and the world at large.

 Development and expansion of market

 Healthy global competition

 Establishment of Joint projects.

 Availability cheap goods and services

 Religious and ethnic tolerance

 Increase in foreign remittances

 NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF MIGRATION (EXTERNAL AND

INTERNAL)

 Racial abuse and discrimination

 Transfer of diseases and sicknesses

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  Violence and killings

 Pollution and environmental degradation

 Foreign dominance of the domestic economy

 Religious violence

 Influx of contraband goods

 Unemployment

 Repatriation of profits

 Congestion

 Shortage of basic amenities

 Food shortage

 Foreign exchange depreciation.

CHAPTER FOUR

RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION

 Improvement in the knowledge base for migration: With than

improvement in the knowledge of how many people migrate in and out of
the country, and also with information on the reasons for their movement,
the government of Nigeria would be able to locate the key areas to be
targeted to improve migration management.

 Strengthening government policies towards migration: Another step that

can be taken to maximize the positive effects of migration and minimize its
negatives is to enhance further regulation of irregular migration and protect
vulnerable groups (internally displaced Persons).
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 Employment opportunities: Government should make deliberate efforts to
create more employment opportunities in Nigeria. A large percentage of the
reasons for migration are occasioned by economic incentives-a quest for
better life. Development in Nigeria has been negatively affected by
increasing “brain drain” and loss of labour and manpower via international
emigration because of scarce opportunities in the country. The poverty level
is very high with the average Nigerian living below the international poverty
line while the labour force increases ten folds relative to the available
employment opportunities and this force thousands of Nigerians to emigrate
yearly. If the government can make a deliberate attempt at improving
investment, encouraging FDIs and increase its spending to create
opportunities, loss of labour will be greatly minimized.

 Awareness of Diverse functions: The National Commission for Refugees

(NCFR) which is responsible for the coordinating of the different activities
in migration should be made aware of its diverse functions. Therefore, its
roles and responsibilities should be clearly indicated, understood and agreed
upon.

In conclusion, as clearly seen, the issue of migration remains a global phenomenon

and a major issue of concern for several countries. As in the case of Nigeria, the
effect of migration on development cannot be ascertained at a glance. This is
because the effect of migration on development has many facets. For example, the
study showed that international emigration leads to brain drain and loss of
manpower which adversely affects growth and development. On the other hand, it
was shown that remittances from Nigerians in Diaspora accounted for s reasonable
portion of our GDP. Furthermore, it was also stated in the above study that
immigration provided positive contribution to development it helps introduce
FDIs, boost foreign investment, encourage industrialization and national income

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contribution through tourism. The study also exposed that foreign immigrants
repatriate profits made in Nigeria back to their country thereby reducing growth
and development in Nigeria. The question now is; what is the net effect of
migration and how do we maximize it to positively affect migration. Strategic
policy development is hereby required in four key areas of migration management;
migration and development, migration and facilitation, migration regulation and
forced migration management. Better policies in these areas will ensure a more
comprehensive approach to migration that maximizes its benefits while minimizing
its negative impact on development. The positive link between migration and
development need to be strengthened by promoting involvement of the Nigerian’s
in diaspora in development, improving procedures for transferring remittances,
protecting migrant rights and carrying out other related measures.

REFERENCES

 Adepoju, A. 1984. Migration and rural opportunities in Nigeria. Labour and

society, 9(1):29-41.
 Adepoju, A. and D. Jacques-Minnegheer 2008 Review of Migration Profile
for Nigeria for the CSP and Pre-feasibility Study. Final Report.
 Afolayan, A.A. (1988) Immigration and expulsion of ECOWAS aliens in
Nigeria. International Migration Review, 22(1):4–27.
 Development Research Centre on Migration, Globalisation and Poverty
(DRC) 2007 Global Migrant Origin Database, Development Research
Centre on Migration Globalisation and Poverty, March 2007, Version 4
 Economist Intelligence Unit

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 2009 Forecasting International Student Mobility: Nigeria Report.
British Council.
 Harris, John R. & Todaro, Michael P. (1970), "Migration, Unemployment
and Development: A Two-Sector Analysis", American Economic Review 60
(1): 126–142, JSTOR 1807860.
 International Organization for Migration: 2006 Migration, Human
Smuggling and Trafficking from Nigeria to Europe.

Migration Research Series No. 23. IOM, Geneva.

 National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)
2008 Trade Statistical News. Abuja
 National Commission for Refugees (NCFR)
2008 Update on Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons
in Nigeria. Report submitted by the NCFR. The African Union
Commission for the 16th Permanent Representative Committee and
the 13th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council, June 2008.

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