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Rural-urban migration of
young persons from selected conflict ridden communities in
Rivers State: A sociological approach
Eze Wosu* and A. Kinikanwo Anele
Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences,
University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.
*Corresponding author. E-mail:
ewosu@yahoo.com.
Accepted 25 February, 2010 |
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Migration could be voluntary or involuntary. The paper
examines the involuntary movement of young persons or child
labour (youth) from conflict communities of Ogbogoro,
Ogbakiri, Rumuekpe and Rumuolumeni, in Rivers State. The
techniques deplored are the interview and focus group
discussion (FGD) methods in collecting data. The theoretical
framework is hinged on the Marxist political economy theory.
Its focus is on the sustenance of young persons and children
(child) livelihood in the urban centre or cities. Our
argument is that the influx of young persons (youth) from
these communities to the urban centre as livelihood or
survival mechanism constitutes the myriads of nefarious
activities in the urban centre, in the absence of state or
government control. Conversely, it is posited that the
increase in communal conflict in these rural communities
generates a tremendous population upsurge to the urban city.
This will give rise to all kinds of survival or livelihood
strategies.
Key
words:
Rural-urban, migration, conflict, young persons. |
