Shifting the Imbalance: The Impact of Structural Adjustment on Rural-Urban Population Movements in Northern Nigeria

Abstract

This paper attempts to draw out some of the major historical and policy determinants of rural-urban migration dynamics by outlining their history in northern Nigeria. This is followed by an analysis of the impact of crisis and adjustment on urban incomes and terms of trade on rural income generation and on the operation of rural-urban social networks. The evidence from recent fieldwork in various parts of northern Nigeria is then drawn together to suggest the emerging patterns of rural-urban population movements in the context of the Structural Adjustment Plan (SAP) and the implications of these new trends for economic development and social stability in Nigeria. Overall the adjustment of rural-urban migration patterns under SAP has reinforced tension and disequilibria within and between rural and urban areas. While urban areas have benefited from investments rural areas have suffered depletion thereby widening the gap of incomes and basic facilities between the two areas. The reversal of rural-urban terms of trade under SAP has not improved income distribution but rather has tended to contribute to the further economic marginalization of both low-income urban dwellers and small-scale farmers. SAP has increasingly undermined rather than promoted the tendency of internal population movements to contribute to the emergence of stable frameworks for economic development and democratic collective action.