EFFECT OF BANDITRY ON RURAL-URBAN MIGRATION IN NIGERIA
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY: Migration is regarded as the movement of person(s) from one ecological region to another region, which might be on temporary or permanent origin [Adewale 2005]. A group of persons migrate based on the existing conditions and the motives for it differs from one person to another depending on the circumstances that brought about the decision to migrate. Migration is a selective process affecting individuals or families/households with certain economic, social, educational and demographic characteristics. The movement of people from rural to urban areas is a common episode in Northwest Nigeria masterminded by the insecurity issues prevalent in this areas.
The movement sometimes poses some calamities in the rural as well as in the urban areas even though; there are benefits derivable from it. In most rural areas, the impact of rural-urban migration was a rapid deterioration of the rural economy leading to chronic poverty and food insecurity [Mini S.E 2003].These arise mainly due to excessive drain of youth from the rural population hence leaving only the older, women and aged members to constitute the labour force of the rural area. Migration to urban areas is placing increasing pressure on local government's ability to respond to social service needs of urban populations.
Banditry means occurrence or prevalence of armed robbery or violent crimes. It involves the use of force, or threat to that effect, to intimidate a person with the intent to rob, rape or kill. Banditry is a crime against persons. It has been a common genre of crime, as well as cause violence in contemporary societies (Nigeria Watch, 2011). The prevalence of banditry in Nigeria appears to have been high and rising over the years.Nigeria’s Northwest is gradually becoming another major regional theatre of violence, much like the Northeast where Boko Haram terrorists have wreaked havoc in the past ten years. A problem, which initially appeared as localized disputes between herders and farmers over access to land, has morphed into an intractable crisis posing a major threat to national and regional security. The level of rural banditry keeps escalating from 2014 till date attracting a lot of attention, while assuming increased political undertones are master minders to this yet its of great implication to the survival of common man and at large hence the reason why most rural settlers leave their home and migrate to urban areas in the bid secure their their lives. Banditry refers to armed violence driven principally by the criminal intent to steal and plunder. It is motivated by the quest for economic accumulation. The victims are individuals and communities with material valuables or most cases average people displaced from their home and are forced to migrate.
Banditry in the northwestern states of Kaduna, Zamfara and Katsina has reached alarming heights in recent years. Bandits terrorize villages with impunity. They have actually settled in the states like Ogun in form of herdsmen, Kaduna and Kastina State respectively, setting up fortified enclaves in the hinterland and on the frontiers, from where they plot and carry out their operations on rural community settlers.
1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Crime thrives in contexts where there’s little deterrence. In most of Nigeria’s rural communities, there are many opportunities for criminal activity. For one thing, some of these communities are located in remote areas where there is little or no government presence. More importantly, households and schools are in some cases separated by and interspersed with forest areas. This renders them vulnerable to banditry. This situation is made worse by the absence of effective community policing mechanisms capable of addressing the hinterlands’ peculiar security challenges. The on going banditry activities prevalent in northwest region of Nigeria has pushed rural dwellers out of their homes into searching for succor in the urban area. The implication of this could be tremendous both to rural community and urban.In addition to displacement, the violence has hampered agricultural activities and heightened the risk of acute food insecurity. Livelihoods have been disrupted, fear and insecurity among the population have increased, and IDPs and host communities are competing for scarce resources such as water, land and food. Protection concerns are heightened for women, children and the elderly, while security, food and other necessities for survival are priority needs in affected areas.However it is against this backdrop that this study is seek to examine the effect of banditry on rural-urban migration.