THE IMPACT OF MIGRATION ON THE RURAL ECONOMY OF OSHUN DIVISION OF WESTERN NIGERIA P h .D . THESIS IN POPULATION GEOGRAPHY UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN BY OLUKUNLE ADEGBOLA JANUARY, 1972 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• v LIST OF FIGURES ........................... ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENT • •• x ABSTRACT ••• • •• xi CHAPTER* 1. INTRODUCTION ................................... 1 The Study Area* Location and Physical Landscape 6 The People of Oshun Division ••• 15 The Study Approach ••• ••• ••• • •• 26 Arrangement of the Thesis ••• ••• 32 PART II THE HISTORY AND GROWTH OF MIGRATION 2. THE HISTORY OF OUT-MIGRATION FROM OSHUN DIVISION Historical Background ••• ... y* Economic Background ... ... ko Non-economic Factors in Migration ... 1*8 The Present Extent of Out-migration !*9 Conclusion ... ••• ••• ••• 57 3. THE ANALYSIS OF MIGRATION FLOWS ........... 58 Pattern of Flows ... ... ... 58 Occupation at Destination Points ••• 65 Period of Absence from Heme ••• 76 Conclusion ••• ... ••• ••• 89 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY ii CHAPTER: Page k. IN-MIGRATION INTO OSHUN DIVISION • • • • • • 91 The Peasant Cultivators * * m • • • • •• 91 Other In-migrant Groups • • • • • • • • • 99 The Extent, Distribution and Occupation of In-Migrants ... # • • • # • • • • 103 Age Distribution and Sex Composition m « • 109 Conclusion ... ... • • • • • • • • • 115 PART II: IMPACT OF MIGRATION ON RURAL ECONOMY - FACTORS OF PRODUCTION 5. THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK • • • • • • • • • 116 The Migrant as an Agent of Change • • • • • • 122 The Nature of Change • • • * • • • • • 125 The Nature of Migrants' Impact on a Place • • • 133 Conclusion ••• ... • • • * • • • • • 140 6. LAND AND LAND HOLDING * • * • • • • • • 1^2 Land Tenure ... * • • • • • • • • 1^2 Effects of Land Tenure on Holdings ... • • • 155 Disposal of Migrants' Land ... • • • • • • 159 Conclusion ... ... • •• • • • * • * 163 7. LABOUR ••• • # # • m • * • • 166 Sources of Labour • • • • # • # • • 166 The Nature of Migrants' Impact on Labour • • • 169 Conclusion ••• ... • * • • • • • • • I8*t UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY iii CHAPTER: Page CAPITAL ... ... ... ... * « * * • • 185 The Flow of Capital into Oshun Division • • • 188 Outflow of Capital from Oshun Division * • • 201 Credit Facilities ... ... • • • • • • 203 Conclusion ... ... ... • • • • • • 213 PART III: IMPACT OF MIGRATION ON RURAL ECONOMY - PRODUCTION AND SOCIAL SERVICES 9. AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION ... • • • # • • 215 Crop Production of the Natives * » » • • • 215 Crop Production of In-migrants • • • • * * 219 Agricultural Practice ... • • • * • • 222 The Spread of Innovative Crop6 • • • • • • 235 Livestock Production ... • • • • • • 2 ^ Conclusion ... ... ... • • • • • • 250 NON-AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES • • • • • • 251 Crafts ... ... ... m • » • • • 251 Trading ... ...• ... • • • • • • 257 Conclusion ... ... ... • • * • • • 268 11. SOCIAL AMENITIES .......... • • • • • • 269 Leadership Provided by Migrants for Demand for and Supply of Amenities ... * • * • # m 269 Migrants* Role in Initiating and Financing Social Amenities ... ... ... • • • 273 Conclusion ... ... ... • * • • • • 293 H oo U •O •NIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY CHAPTER: 12. CONCLUSION 295 APPENDICES 31 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 326 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY v LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1, Monthly Variation in Estimated Potential Evapo- transpiration ... ... ... • ft ft ft ft ft 9 2. Population Density and Urbanization Index, Oshun Division ... ... ... ... ft ft ft 16 3. Sex Composition of the People of Oshun Division , 1952. 19 k. Age Composition of Population ... ft • ft ft ft ft 20 5. Some Demographic and Social Characteristics of the People, 1952 and 1969. ... ... ••• ft ft ft 22 6. Distribution of Non- and Return-Migrants, 1$€q/6$, 2k 7. Occupational Distribution, 1952 and I969. ft ft ft 26 8. Factors of Migration ... ... ft.ft ft ft ft ft k2 9. Cotton Production in Oshun Division • ft ft ft ft ft k5 10. Grades and Prices of Tobacco ... • * • ft ft ft k? 11. Number of Current Out-migrants by Age • ft • ft ft ft 50 12. Age Distribution of Adult Migrants ft ft ft ft ft ft 5^ 13. Marital Status of Adult Migrants ft ft ft ft ft ft 55 1^. Destination of Migrants ... ... ft ft ft ft ft ft 59 15. Occupations of Adult Male Migrants * * * ft ft ft 66 16. Length of Migratory Career ... ft ft ft ft ft ft 78 17. Continuous Absence of Current Adult Male Migrants 80 18. Time of Last Visit Home by Current Adult Migrants by Destination ... ... ... ... ... 82 19. Letters Received Annually ... • ft ft ft ft ft 85 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Table 20. Purpose of Visits Paid (Quinquennially) ... ... 87 21. Factors of Permanent Return of Return-migrants ... 88 22. Yield Per Acre of the Main Food Crops in Ibadan and Ilorin Provinces ... ... ... ... 97 23. Number of In-migrants in Oshun Division, 1952. 102 2b, Distribution of In-migrants in Oshun Division, 1952. 10*f 25, Age Distribution of In-migrants in Oshun Division 110 26, Sex Composition of the Adult In-migrants in Oshun Division ••• ... ... .». ... 112 27* Land Used with Various Rights ... ... ... 1^5 28. Use of Land Held Under Various Tenurial Rights ... 15^ 29* Size of Land-Holding ... ... ... ... 156 30. Acreage Cultivated by In-migrant Farmers ... 158 31. Allocation of Land Left by Out-migrants ... ... 160 32. The Family Labour Force, 1958 and 1968 ... ... 173 33. Labour Hired by Return- andN on-migrants in the Sample Villages ... ... ... ... ... l80 3b, Value of Capital Brought Back by Return-migrants 186 35. Average Monthly Postal Business at Igbaye in 1950 188 36. Value of Postal and Money Orders Cashed in Oshun Division, January-December, 1967* ••• ••• 190 37. Remittances from Current Migrants, 1956-1965. ... 195 38. Remittances Made to 011a and Oyan Respondents ... 196 39. Capital Brought by Hausa Kola Traders ... ... 200 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY vii Table Page 40. Remittances Home by the In-migrants in Oshun Division* ••• ••• *** ••• 202 41. Number* Value, and Use of Loans by 30 Odeyinka Farmers ••• ••• ••* ••• •*• ••• 211 42. Acreage Cultivated in Sample Villages, 1958/59 and 1968/69 ••• *•• #•* *** ••• **• 216 43* Farmers Harvesting More or Less than Before ... ^ 218 44. Crop Produced by In-migrant Farmers in Sample Villages 220 45. Crop Acreage According to Method of Planting Adopted 223 46. Maize Yield Per Acre According to Methods of Planting 224 47* Fertilizer Used in Oshun Division, 1968/69 and 1969/70, 227 48. Fertilizer Users in Sample Villages ... ... 229 49* Acreage Planted with Kenaf, 1969/70 ... ... 243 50. Cattle Population, 1968/69 ... ... ... 246 51. Cattle Owned by Different Categories of People in Selected Kraals •** ... ... ... ... 248 52. Source of Acquisition of Craftsmen’s Skill ... 252 53* The Experience of Traders Before Establishing the Present Business ••• ... ... ... 258 54. Sizes of Business of Traders in Sample Villages ... 261 55« Tonnage of Kola Nuts Shipped from Odo-Otin District 264 56. Public Contributions of Migrants, 1967 ... ... 274 57* Roads and Bridges Financed by Migrants ... 277 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Table Page 58* Distribution of Postal Institutions in Oshun Division ... ... ••• **• ••• 279 59 • Distribution of Schools, 1968. ... ... ... 282 60. Distribution of Medical Institutions, Beds, Patients Treated and Births Recorded in Oshun Division, 196?. 284 61. Other Public Utilities Financed by Migrants ... 287 62. Distribution of Building in Three Villages ... 290 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure Following 1. Western Nigeria: Location Map of the Study Area 5 2. Belief and Drainage ... ... ... 6 3. The Soil Types ... ... ... 7 k. The Mean Annual Rainfall ... ... 9 5* The Vegetation Belts ... ... ... 10 6. The Main Regions ... ... ... 11 7. The Density of Population, 1969. ... 16 8. Population Distribution: The Degree of Urbanization, 1952. ... ... ... 17 9. Stages in the Movement of Early Out-raigrants 37 10. Distribution of In-migrants, 1952. ... 103 11. Origin and Destination Factors and Intervening Obstacles in Migration ... ... 118 12, Stages by Which a Place is Populated by Migrants IkO 13. Value of Postal and Money Orders Sent to Oshun Division, 1967* ... ... ... «.< 189 Ilf. The Yam Distribution Process ... ... ... 231 15. Trends in the Export of Kola and Other Goods by Rail in Odo-Otin District, I96O-I969 ... ... 26h 16. Communications ... ... 275 17. Distribution of Postal Facilities 279 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY X ACKNOWLEDGEMENT In the preparation of this thesis, I am indebted to far too many people than can be named here. Special mention and thanks are, however, due to the large number of village chiefs, elders, teachers, farmers and government officials who in one way or another gave me the much-needed co-operation and assistance during the collection of the field data. I am much grateful to my village guides who bore a large burden of the village surveys. For the extremely helpful criticism and suggestion given during the stimulating discussion at a number of colloquia held on the subject and for painstakingly reading the whole or portions of the draft of the thesis, I wish to express my gratitude to the staff of the Department of Geography, University of Ibadan. I am particularly indebted to the University of Ibadan for financial support in connection with the study. I wish to express my immense gratitude to my Head of Department, Professor K.M. Barbour for making the award of the scholarship possible and for his most reassuring interest and encouragement throughout the duration of the study. Finally, my supervisor, Professor Akin L. Mabogunje, has my lasting gratitude and admiration. He kindled my interest in migration studies, suggested the topic of the thesis and stimulated and sustained the inspiration which has carried me through my long years of post­ graduate research training. It is largely to him that this thesis owes whatever merit it may deserve. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY xi ABSTRACT This study attempts to describe and analyse the impact of migration on the rural economy of Oshun Division of Western Nigeria* The thesis is in three part3. The first is concerned with the growth of migration from about the beginning of the present century to the late 1950*6. It investigates the historical and economic bases of the spatial distributions of both the in- and the out- migrants and analyses the pattern of their flows* The second part is concerned with the impact of migration on the factors of production. It begins with a consideration of the conceptual framework which tries to see the migrant as an agent of change. The rate of migration in different parts of the Division is shown to have been responsible for significant socio-economic changes especially in respect of the demand for, the supply of and the use of land, labour and capital. It also explains the different trends of economic development in the Division. In the third part of the thesis, the role of migrant orr ie £-€ nareship and leadership is appraised and found to be reflected in the diffusion of agricultural innovations and the flow of skills from the destination end of the migration to the Division. It is largely against this background that the observed higher production of migrants as well as their larger share in the non-agricultural UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY activities is explained. It is argued that the migrants have been responsible for modifying traditional institutions such as those associated with marketing of products. It is also contended that the role of migrants singly or collectively has been an important factor in the provision of some social amenities and economic projects* Finally, the problems and the future prospects of migration in the Division are examined. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY i CHAPTER 1 I N T R O D U C T I O N One of the outstanding features of life in West Africa is the continuous flow of millions of people from their homes to other places in search of profitable economic opportunities. These movements have, in recent years, attracted the attention of sociologists, anthropologists and other social scientists. 1 Many of the studies have been concerned with the reception, acceptance and adjustment of migrants in their places of des­ tination, little being said about what happens in the migrants* place of origin. A few others have looked into the housing and unemployment problems which have been created at the destination end by the yearly influx of these migrants. 2 Very little is still 1 . Kuper, H. (ed.), Urbanization and Migration in West Africa, Los Angeles, 1965; Spengler, J. J., "Population Movement and Economic Development in Nigeria", The Nigerian Political Scene, ed. Tilman, R. 0. and Cole, T. Durham, 1962, 1^7-197; Ardener, E., Ardener, S. and Warmington, W. A., Plantation and Village in the Cameroons, London, 1960; Udo, R. K., "The Migrant Tenant Farmer of Eastern Nigeria", Africa, J>ky *f, 196*1-, 526-559; Skinner, E. P., "Labour Migration and Its Relationship to Socio-cultural Change in Mossi Society", Africa, 50, *f, 1960, 575-^01; Prothero, R.M., Migrant Labour from Sokoto Province, Kaduna, 1959* 2. Olusanya, P. 0., Socio-Economic Aspects of Rural-Urban Migration in W-estern Nigeria, Ibadan, 1969; Callaway, A.C., "School Leavers and the Developing Economy of Nigeria'*, Nigeria Institute of Social and Economic Research Conference Proceedings, December, 19^0; Ejiogu, C. N., "Survey of African Migration to the Main Migrant Areas of the Federal Territory of Lagos", First African Population Conference, University of Ibadan, January, 5-7* 1966. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 2 known about the contribution of these migrants to the social and economic life of their home areas. The spatial structural trans­ formation which takes place in the rural areas in response to, and as a result of, out-migration has not been seriously evaluated. What is more, the migration studies in West Africa have con­ centrated on seasonal and other non-permanent transfers of popula- tion from rural to urban areas. Their real concern is with wage labourers rather than self-employed out-migrants. Such migrants are usually away for too short a time for their absence to have any important impact on resource allocation in their home areas. As Berg points out, these migrants are "perfect seasonals" who consider the time of the first rain and when it is best to migrate and return. 2 They return to their villages at precisely the right time for planting and they make sure that the harvest is completed before they migrate. 3 Thus they do not make a clean break with the rural areas. They retain their rights of cultivation even when they have vacated the land. /f This right, whether held under communal land ownership or by virtue of inheritance, is jealously 1. Mabogunje, Akin. L., "Systems Approach to a Theory of Rural-Urban Migration", Geographical Analysis, 2, 1, 1970, 1. 2. Berg, E. J., "The Economics of the Migrant Labour System" Urbanization and Migration in West Africa, op. cit., 160-181. 3. Gulliver, P. H., "Labour Migration in a Rural Economy, East African Studies, 6, 1955* 1-48} Prothero, R. M., op. cit. S1c6h2ap1e6r8a, I., Migrant Labour and Tribal Life, London, 19^7, - . 4. Mitchell, J. C., "Wage Labour and African Population Movements in Central Africa", Essays on African Population, ed. Barbour, K. M. and Prothero, R. M., London, 1961, 235* UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 3 guarded and the out-migrants are unwilling to renounce it. At worst, they leave the land to revert to bush and at best, ad hoc arrangements are made by which their farmlands are tended in their absence by their wives, friends and other members of their families. The present study is concerned with investigating the effects of semi-permanent migration on the rural economy of a relatively congested part of Nigeria. The study sets out to examine the vexed question of whether or not migration is deterimental to the develop­ ment of a region with a net loss of people. In order to evaluate the effects correctly, the study examines other aspects of migration that have a bearing on and provide an essential background to the subject matter. It therefore traces the history and grov/th of both in- and out-migrations and analyses the patterns of their flow. Emphasis is placed on the roles of self-employed out-migrants in the development of their home areas. How these roles are per­ formed and what changes are effected by the migrants in the spatial distribution and use of the productive resources of the rural areas are some of the problems that have been examined. Such changes will make it possible for the indigenes of a place not only to adjust favourably to the fact of out-migration but they will also make for the possibility of allowing permanent in-mig­ rants who may come to fill the vacuum created by out-migration to make the best use of the resources and thus contribute effectively to the rural economy. Briefly stated then, the study intends to UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 4 test the hypothesis that out-migration has not adversely affected the rural economy. For the purpose of this study, the word 'migration1 will be restricted to that movement which involves not only a change in residence over space and time but also in community over space and time. The district council area is regarded as a community and any person who, in the process of changing his residence crosses its boundary is a migrant. If he moves out of the area, he is an out-migrant. If he enters the area he is an in-migrant. 1 If a migrant travels over fifty miles away from his home ho is a long-distance migrant. If an out-migrant returns to his area of origin after some period, he is a return-migrant. Furthermore, to be a migrant, the person who changes his community must stay for not less than a year in his area of destination. Thus the massive labour migration in search of short-term wage employments in farms, mines or public works is temporary and, therefore, it is not the main concern of this thesis. Attention is focused on the movements of free, enterprising individuals, be they farmers, traders or artisans. It is possible that they started as wage labourers before they struck out on their own after acquir­ ing sufficient capital to start a new occupation. This type of movements is exemplified in Oshun Division of Western Nigeria on which the study focuses._________________________________________ 1. If a distinction were to be made between internal and international migration, the counterpart of out-migration and in-migration would have been emigration and immigration res­ pectively. See Peterson, W., "Migration", International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, ed. Sills, D., 1968, 287. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 5 Oshun Division has been chosen for two important reasons. In the first place, there is a large scale out-migration of farm people from this Division which provides opportunity for examining the role of migrants, the nature of change and adjustment and the mechanism for such change and adjustment in rural communities. Out-migration in this Division is of a long-distance type which cuts across national and linguistic boundaries and about which no study has been made. These long-distance migrations are per­ manent or semi-permanent. The time and distance elements invol­ ved are believed to provide conditions which may influence posi­ tively or negatively the roles of migrants, the nature of the change initiated by them and the nature of adjustments made by members of the families left behind. Secondly, the Division has both forest and savanna vegetation. The forest zone partakes of the cocoa wealth of south-western Nigeria and thus has a low rate of out-migration. It can there­ fore serve as a "control" area against which the effects of out­ migration in the savanna area can be measured. Apart from the variation in vegetational characteristics, there are also differences in relief, geology, soil and climate. These in turn have affected both the economy as well as migration out and into the area. It is therefore essential to begin a serious consideration of the problems with a close look at the study area UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Fig .1. WESTERN NIGERIA LOCATION MAP OF THE STUDY AREA UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY THE STUDY AREAS LOCATION AND PHYSICAL LANDSCAPE Oshun Division lies between latitude 7° and 8°21' north and longitude k° and 5° east (Fig. 1 ). It is defined as that area occupied by the old Oshun administrative Division which came into being on the twelveth day of July, 1951 • In 1968, the Division was split into four new ones namely, Oshun South, Oshun Central, Oshun Northeast and Oshun Northwest. 1 These new adminis­ trative units, as will be shown later, coincide very roughly with the physiographical and ecological regions of the Division. Physi©graphically, the Division is made up of an undulating land surface which rises gradually from an altitude of kOO feet in Aiyedade District in the south to about 1,600 feet in Odo-Otin District in the northeast (Fig. 2 ). The Division can be divided into three physical regions: a lowland area of below 800 feet, a central highland of between 800 and 1,200 feet and a northern high­ land of over 1,200 feet with its quartzite ridges and inselbergs. The topography of the Division has been much influenced by the geology. The whole Division is underlain by the metamorphic rock of the Fre-Cambrian Basement Complex except for the alluvial 1 1. Oshun South consists of four local council areas: Aiyedade, Egbedore, Iwo and Orile Owu. The latter was carved out of Aiyedade in 1963* Oshun Central is made up of three local council areas, namely, Ede, Oshogbo and Irepodun which was created from Oshogbo District Council in 1963. Oshun Northeast has five local council areas, viz., Ilia, Ikirun, Odo-Otin, Ifelodun and Ire-Eripa. Ifelodun was carved out of Ikirun District Council in 1953 and in 1965 Ire-Eripa was created from Ifelodun. Ilia district was formerly grouped with Ife Division before the reorganization of 1968 and it is, therefore, not included in the present study. Oshun Northwest includes Ejigbo and Ogbomosho local council areas. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY F ig .2. RELIEF AND DRAINAGE UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY V deposits in the river valleys. However, variations occur in the grain-size and chemical composition of the rocks. On this basis, two main types of rocks can be distinguished: the acidic and the basic. The acidic rocks are either coarse or fine-grained while the basic rocks are fine-grained. These rocks, as well as the topography, affect soil type. The effect of the topography is to produce catenary association along the slopes. The rocks which are the parent materials from which the soils are formed affect the soil constituents and charac­ teristics. On the basis of these characteristics, the Division can be divided into three parts, each part forming a west-east belt across the zone (Fig. 3 ). In the southern belt are found some of the best soils in the Division, except for the eight square miles of impeded drainage in the centre of the belt. The soils are not only friable and porous but have heavy texture. These properties make for good drainage, aeration and retention of mois­ ture and nutrient. In addition, the carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratio is low, being between ten and thirteen, the normal range in agricul­ tural land, and nitrate is generally formed in adequate amount by microbial decomposition of the organic matter when land is brought under cultivation. 2 The growing of tree crops is therefore favoured To the north is a middle belt of relatively poor soils with a small patch of fairly good soils to the east. Soils here are_____ 1. Buchanan, K. M. and Pugh, J. C., Land and People in Nigeria, London, 1955* 38. 2 • Vine, Harry, Notes on the Main Types of Nigerian Soils, Lagos, 1953* 1-4. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Pi S3 - 3- TH E S O IL T Y P E S Ecological boundary 10 2 0 M ile s IiN S O IL S O IL A S S O C IA T IO N C H A R A C T E R IS T IC S C oarse te x tu re d , g rey ish brow n and — b ro w n ,s a n d y to fa i r ly c la yey so ils,cverlying I w o w e a th e re d rock m ate ria l-F resh ro ck at depths of 7 t o 9 f e e t , sh a llo w er on s te e p slopes. Fa irly fre q u e n t rock outcrops- Fine te x tu re d , brow n to brow nish r e d , f a i r ly E S B E D A clayey to c layey so ils-.overly ing r e d . b ro w n , y e llo w and w h ite m o ttled c la y to depth s in e x cess of 15 fe e t. Rock outcrops v e ry r a r e . Rolling to s teep ly ro llin g ,s lo p e s 3 -7 % .G re y brow n coarse sands over abundant concretionary F A S H O L A g ra v e l in ye llo w brow n sandy clay. Deep brown sands com m on.Laterite outcrops a re common and low s c a tte re d in se lb ergs a fe a tu r e . Rolling to steeply rolling, slopes 3 -7 % Brown sands w ith q u artz and q u a rtz ite stones overlying I G B O -O R A concretion ary re d brow n sandy clay.or coarse brown sands w ith ironstone concretions but little clay in th e top 30 ' Th ere a re occational la te rite outcrops andanum ber of low q u a rtz ite ridges Fine te x tu r e d , brow nish r e d o r ch o co la te b ro w n ,v e ry c layey soils. U niform p ro file to IT A G U N M O D I depths in excess of 15 fe e t ,e x c e p t on s te e p slopes. Very shallow o v e r iron-pan on som e sum m it sites, _____ Fine te x tu re d , dull greyish brow n soils, w ith hori O R IG O zons of im pervious plastic clay, strongly cracked and s tru c tu re d in the d ry season. F re e ly draining soils a t low levels in th e to p o ­ graphy. Textures v a r ie d and colours usually pale JA G O Gley- m ottling indicates seasonal r is e o f the w a te r tab le w ithin 4 f e e t o f th e s u rfa c e . A dapted f r o m So il S u rvey m ap p r e p a r e d by th e M i n i s t r y o f A g r l c . a n d ' N - R - t W es te rn N i g e r i a , 1965 8, 1969 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 8 usually shallow, iron-stone material occuring at depths varying between five and thirty-six inches of the surface. Most of the soils are unsuitable for tree crops although they will support arable crops. The situation in the northern belt is complex. Except for the skeletal soils on top of the residual hills the soils are good and vary from sandy to clayey. Where the soils are clayey, as in the hill-creep area east of Ikirun, retention of nutrients and water is maintained and trees can be grown. Where they are sandy, as in the hill-wash area east of Ikirun, water retention is diffi­ cult and the soils are unsuitable for trees although they are suit able for arable farming. Where clayey materials underlie friable porous soils very close to the surface as in the area between Ikirun and Oshogbo and the areas around Ogbomosho, Owu, and Inisha Ejigbo, the advantages of good drainage, aeration and retention of plant food are combined. The carbon/nitrogen ratio is very high because of the accumulation of organic matter during long fallow periods. This leads to a serious shortage of nitrate in at least the first season after clearing the land and thus makes tree cul­ tivation difficult.1 From the above analysis, it is clear that the soils in the south and part of the northeast will support tree crops while those in other places will support arable crops. Soil is, however not the only crucial factor affecting the pattern of crop produc­ tion in the Division. Equally important is the climate. In fact, 1. Ibid UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 9 it is contended that climate, especially rainfall, is more impor- tant than soil in the establishment of cocoa in Western Nigeria. As shown in Fig. 4 , rainfall decreases from southeast (Asejire 55«5 inches) to northwest (Ogbomosho 47*8 inches). The effectiveness of rainfall, which is so crucial agriculturally, is determined by, among others, relative humidity,duration of sunlight and temperature. A consideration of these factors with the rainfall figures gives a much better picture of moisture con­ ditions than do rainfall figures alone. Records for these are available for only Oshogbo. Two stations, Ibadan and Ilorin which, though outside the Division, have weather conditions rea­ sonably close to the conditions in the southern and northern parts of the Division were used to get an overall picture of moisture availability in the Division. The picture is well illustrated in Table 1 which shows the potential evapotranspiration in each TABLE 1 MONTHLY VARIATION IN ESTIMATED POTENTIAL EVAPOTRANSPIRATION Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec. dan 61.14 5.45 5.24 5.87 5.51 5.46 5.50 4.49 4.13 4.55 4.94 5.05 5.15 ogbo 61.48 5.15 5.24 6.18 5-56 5.78 5.36 4.49 4.13 4.59 4.90 5.00 5.10 rin 62.47 5.15 5.24 6.18 6.18 5.78 5.36 4.82 4.77 4.90 5.20 5.29 3.60 Source: Calculated from Meteorological Note, Nos. 4 and 14 Nigeria Meteorological Service, Lagos, 1964 and 1965. 1. Adejuwon, J. 0., "Crop-Climate Relationship: The Example of Cocoa in Western Nigeria", The Nigerian Geographical Journal, 5, 1, 1962, 21-31. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY THE MEAN ANNUAL RAINFALL (BASED ON DATA UP TO AND INCLUDING 1961) Adapted from F A 0 Land Use Survey Western Nigeria 1962 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 10 station. In general, the potential evapotranspiration increases from south to north. This means that the ''water need" of the stations in the north is higher than that of the southern stations. In other words, more moisture is returned to the atmosphere in the north than in the south. The corollary to the last statement is that the northern part is relatively short of water while the southern part is adequately supplied with water. Under the prevailing edaphic and climatic conditions the climax vegetation of the Division would have been lowland rain forest in the south, dry forest in the northeast and savanna in the northwest. 2 Except in the Forest Reserves and along streams, centuries of human occupation has influenced the existing vegeta­ tion (Fig. 5 ). Rain or high forest is still found in parts of the south but it has become more open, having been cleared several times and planted with cocoa trees amongst which lianes do not survive. In the north, forest vegetation is now confined to the rocky soils of steep quartzite ridges which are avoided by farmers. Thus over most of the north and over soils with impeded drainage or poor moisture-retaining qualities in the centre, cultivation and burning have produced savanna vegetation. From the interactions of the various forces of the physical and biotic environment have emerged the three main regions of the 1. Thornthwaite's formula was used to calculate the potential evapotranspiration values. For the methods of calculation see Thomthwaite, C. W. and Mather, J. R., "Instructions and Tables for Computing Potential Evapotranspiration and the Water Balance", Publications in Climatology, 10, 3, 1957, 185-243. 2. Smyth, A. J* and Montgomery, R. F., Soil and Land Use in Central Western Nigeria, chapter 7, Ibadan, 19&2. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY THE VEGETATION BELTS UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY li Division (Fig. 6 ). Topography, soil and climate combine to make the cultivation of cocoa possible in the south but discourage its cultivation in the north. Instead of cocoa, the northeast where Coexxz the soils are also suitable ̂ concentrate on the cultivation of kola and a large acreage is being increasingly devoted to the crop. In the northwest, arable crops dominate. These three contrasting regions provide the basis for evaluating the differential impact of migration on rural economy. The southern region coincides roughly with Oshun South Administrative Division; the northeast region with Oshun Central and Oshun Northeast (excluding Ilia District) while the northwest coincides with Oshun Northwest. In each zone, there is a large central town, usually with a popu­ lation of 100,000 people or more which also serves as the seat of the local divisional administration* The growth of these towns influences migration in and out of each zone. In the northwest is Ogbomosho, the largest town in the Division and the second largest in Western Nigeria. It is essen­ tially an administrative as well as a route centre. The importance of Ogbomosho as an administrative centre dates back to the nine­ teenth century when it was an important administrative centre for the eastern province (ekun osi) of the old Oyo empire. Its market featured prominently in the economic life of the empire. Eoads going to many parts of the empire passed through Ogbomosho. The European colonization and the subsequent re-orientation of trade routes towards the coast at first affected the town adversely. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Fig. 6. THE MAIN REGIONS • Iwofin \ I Ogbomosho \ : <§> ! O G B O M O SH O V__• ̂ f T O b a c C ° ° k« ku0 y a n \ ) 0 - O T I N . - r1 ----- \ k^OIld ‘ VKI Ry N n p i t \ Ejl%bo / / K ° L \rA 'NTIrragb''iiTjij iIfFeElLoOuDuUn^* / _— " , / Tl I * 11111II k .•Oshogboj^ ®| 1111 N W O t I W O . \ « . Otuponna \ \ 6 0. C 0 A y ^ A rea w h ere cocoa is « / rece#ding,Y . r ^ ° v Gbongan*. — . — State boundary* . . — > • • Old Divisional boundary I J: B .E••L•■. T .■ \ ------ -------- New „ » * l k i r e ................. D istrict f (8) Divisional capital/ A IYE DADE • D istrict headquarters Odeyinka j 1 Ecological boundary/ Olla Sample village I - / 0 10 =210 Miles J UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY n The town was circumvented by the western railway line. The con­ struction of roads in the 1930*s, however, made Ogbomosho become, once again, a route centre for the north-south and west-east traffic. The initial displacement from the main trade routes did affect the economic growth of the town. Until the recent past, there was little commercial development comparable with that of Oshogbo. Local traditional manufacture of cotton textile, however remained important and was a factor in the early history of migra­ tion out of the town. The major town of the northeast is Oshogbo, located on the Oshun river. It was founded about 1800 by a dissident Ijesha chief, but grew so rapidly that it is now the second largest town in the Division and the third largest in Western Nigeria. It is by far the most important commercial centre in Oshun Division. Its early commercial growth was due to the fact that six important routes converged on it. The real turning point in its growth came in 1906 when the Western railway was extended to it. For many years, the town remained the northern terminus of the line. In subsequent years, feeder roads were constructed to link it with Ilesha, Ogbomosho, Ibadan, Offa, Ilorin and Iwo. In 1907 European trading firms started to establish commercial houses very close to the railway station. The importance of Oshogbo was further increased in July 1951 when it was made the headquarters of the newly created Oshun Division. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY IS Public buildings, banks and other commercial houses sprang up and as employment opportunities increased there was a rapid influx of people into the town. However, the town cannot boast of any modem industry. There is a Cotton Ginnery which was established by the British Cotton Growers Association before the First World War. A Timber and Plywood factory was established in 1967. The town is famous for its local industry. It is known as Ilu Aro, meaning a dyeing centre, because of the ofi (woven cloth) and adire (dyed cloth) which its people produce. These types of cloth were important articles of trade of the early out-migrants from the area. Iwo, the major settlement in the south, is the third largest town in the Division and the fifth largest in Western Nigeria. It is a traditional pre-colonial town situated twenty-seven miles northeast of Ibadan. The town was not linked with Ibadan by any road until the bridge over the Oba river was constructed in 1933* The town remained poorly served with roads until the 19^0's. However, tarred roads now link the town with Ibadan, Oshogbo, Oyo and Gbongan. The railway station was built in 1929 hut railway services are not being used fully due to the fact that the rail- head is six miles away from the town. The poor network of roads greatly reduced the rate of growth of the town. Until 1969 when a branch of Bata Shop was opened, there were no commercial trading firms in the town. Iwo does not have any large-scale industry 1. The general belief among the elderly men is that the railway, was intended to carry away their wives. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBR RY except two cassava processing units, three quarrying operations and two saw mills. Like other Oshun towns, it is known for its traditional weaving, dyeing and pottery. As a major centre for the Baptist and Islamic Missions, Iwo has several schools. Its Baptist Training College and its Quranic School are famous throughout Western Nigeria. The town has been the headquarters of Iwo District Council since 19^0 and of Oshun South Division since 1968. Thus it has a large body of urban workers. The alignment of the railway within the district has resulted in the fact that no traditional town lies on the line. For example, apart from Iwo, Ile-Igbo and Kuta are three and a half and three miles respectively away from the rail-line. Instead, new settlements such as Yawu, Iwo Station, Kuta Station and Ile-Igbo Station developed along the line. These settlements are occupied largely by in-migrant traders, produce buyers, railway staff and teachers. The existence of a fairly large number of non­ farm people creates markets for food crops and is important for the in-migration of farmers who are engaged in the cultivation of food crops. Their presence in these new centres however, means that the older towns are denied a certain proportion of their non- agricultural workers. It is therefore worthwhile to consider not only the economic, but also the demographic and social characteristic! of the people of the Division who influence or are influenced by migration. This is necessary because the maintenance and organiza­ tion of the rural economy depends to a great extent upon the size and characteristics of the population. UNIVERSI Y OF IBADAN LIBRARY 15 THE PEOPLE OF OSHUN DIVISION The basic data for population analysis are usually found in censuses. Unfortunately, the pre-1952 census in Nigeria cannot be trusted at all; some of the figures were nothing more than rough estimates. The only comprehensive statistics about the population of the Division are contained in the 1952 census. The more recent 1963 census is,however, even far less reliable than its predecessor. •1 The 1952 census itself is not above criticism. It i6 believed that there was not only an undercount but consider­ able difficulties with ascertaining the age groups of the great majority of the people. 2 On the whole, however, this census is considered by many writers to be the most reliable and all other estimates are usually based on it. In this study, such estimates are used to supplement the 1952 census data in analysing the dis­ tribution and other demographic characteristics of the population. Distribution of Population Table 2 indicates the distribution of population in Oshun Division. It shows that although the Division has the highest popu­ lation density in Western Nigeria (371 in 1952 and 608 in 1969) 1. The unreliability of the 1963 census has been pointed out by many writers. See Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research, Nigeria: Population Models For National and Regional Development, 1969* Okonjo, C., "A Preliminary Medium Estimate of the 1962 Mid-Year Population of Nigeria”, The Population of Tropical Africa, ed. Caldwell, J. G. and Okonjo, C., 1968,78-96. Udo, R. K., "Population and Politics in Nigeria”, The Population of Tropical Africa, op. cit., 97-105. 2. Okonjo, C., "A Preliminary Medium Estimate of the 1962 Mid-Year Population of Nigeria", The Population of Tropical Africa, op.cit.. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY TABLE 2 POPULATION DENSITY AKD URBANIZATION INDEX, OSHUN DIVISION Popula­ Popula­ Density Density Area tion tion 1952 (per 1969 (per Urbanization (sq.ral.) 1952 1969 sq. ml.) sq. ml.) Index, 1952 South 940 254,761 421,081 271.0 448.0 70.6 Aiyedade 517 55,418 91,598 107.2 177.2 55.1 Egbedore 121 42,900 70,907 354.5 586.0 75.0 Iwo 302 156,443 258,576 518.0 856.2 74.8 Northeast 587 569,989 611,535 63O.O 1,041.8 84.3 Ede 203 51,055 94,303 281.1 464.6 78.5 Ifelodun 151 86,279 142,606 571.4 944.4 80.1 Odo-Otin 91 38,275 63,263 420.6 695.2 42.9 Oshogbo 142 188,380 311,363 1 ,326.6 2,192.7 96.4 Northwest 792 228,234 377,236 288.2 476.3 70.3 Ejigbo 157 33,518 55,400 244.7 404.4 47.3 Ogbomosho 655 194,716 321,836 297.3 491.4 74.3 Total 2,319 852,984 1,409,852 370.9 608.0 Sources: The Population Census of the Western Region of Nigeria, 1952, Bulletin 7. the distribution varies within the Division (Fig. 7 ). The 1969 figures are estimates based on extrapolating the 1952 Census results sind assuming a growth rate of 3*0 per cent per annum compound. The south has the lowest population density while the northeast has the highest. In the northeast, land is very scarce because of the 1 . The rate has been suggested after taking into account the undercount and in-migration into Western Nigeria. See Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research, Nigeria: Population Models For National and Regional Development, 1969. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Fig .7. THE DENSITY OF POPULATION, 1969 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY V i closeness of the settlements. Few settlements are more than five miles away from the next. The closeness has led to the merging of Ikirun Ada, Ororuwo and Iragbiji into one settlement and of Ifon, Ilobu and Erin into another. The Table also shows that the districts vary greatly in size, number of people and density of population. Three of the five smallest districts (Odo-Otin, Oshogbo and Ifelodun) are situated in the northeast. They are also the most densely settled areas of the Division and in one of them, Oshogbo, population density was as high as 2,193 in 1969* Aiyedade has the largest area but the least density in the south. On the other hand, Iwo district has a fairly large area, the largest population in the south and is the third district by density in the Division. In the northwest are located Ogbomosho with the largest, and Ejigbo with one of the least land areas in the Division. In spite of the large area of Ogbomosho, the density of its population is higher than that of Ejigbo. These facts have a direct bearing upon the local extent of migration. Degree of Urbanization More light is thrown on the distribution of population in the Division by Fig. 8 • The map relates to the position in 1952. The high degree of urbanization which it reveals is typical of the well-known feature of Yorubaland. There are three belts of varying degrees of urbanization, each corresponding very closely with the ecological zones which have been described above*_______ - - 1. The urbanization index was calculated as the percentage of the total population living in settlement with population of at least 5.000. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY POPULATION DISTRIBUTION UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY The first belt, marked by a high degree of urbanization (index: 84.3), corresponds very closely to the northeastern zone except for Odo-Otin district where the urbanization index is 43.0. This zone constitutes about a quarter of the area of the Division but contains 45.49 per cent of the urban population of the Division. In the south, the urbanization index is 70.6. Of particular interest is the concentration of urban centres in the northern part of the zone. Egbedore and Iwo areas, for example, account for about 83 per cent of the total urban population in the zone. In the north­ west population begins to thin out and becomes more scattered. Although the urbanization index (70.3) in the zone is only mar­ ginally less than that of the south, only three urban centres are found there compared with seven in the south. A major explanation for the seemingly high index is the size of Ogbomosho. The town contains over 87 per cent of the urban dwellers in the zone. This pattern of urbanization, it will be shown later, has a direct imp­ lication for the adjustment of the people to migration. Sex and Age Composition The sex composition of the population in 1952 is shown in Table 3* There is a relatively great preponderance of males over females in the south where out-migration rate is low. The great majority of men were away from home in those areas where masculinity is low. Thus there is an inverse relationship between masculinity and out-migration rate. This is one of the features that will be discussed when the effects of migration on labour are examined. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 19 TABLE 3 SEX COMPOSITION OF THE PEOPLE OF OSHUN DIVISION - 1952 Male Female Masculinity* South 155.887. 118.874 114.3 Aiyedade 28,590 26,828 106.6 Egbedore 21,180 21,720 97.5 Iwo 86,117 70,326 122.5 Northeast 172,905 197.084 87.7 Ede 27,494 29,561 95.0 Ifelodun 40,481 45,798 88.4 Odo-Otin 17,470 20,805 84.0 Oshogbo 87,460 100,920 86.7 Northwest 115,521 112,715 102.5 Ejigbo 17,458 16,080 108.4 Ogbomosho 98,083 96,635 101.5 Total 424,315 428,671 99.0 * Masculinity * number of males for every 100 females. Source? The Population Census of the Western Region of Nigeria, 1952, Bulletin 7. Table 4 indicates the percentage proportion of different age groups in the Division. The general trend is for the children in every zone to show more males than females and for the people of working age (15 - 50) to show more female than male. It may be that mortality is higher among the female children than among the male. It can also be observed that in spite of the high rate of UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 20 TABLE *+ AQE COMPOSITION OF POPULATION (Proportions per cent) Male Female Both Sexes Over Over Over 0-1*1 15-50 50 0-1** 15-50 50 0-1** 15-50 50 South 58.*+ 53*2 8.** 56.0 35.7 8.3 57.2 3**.** 8.3 Aiyedade **8.0 **1.6 10.3 **6.1 ****.9 9.1 **7.1 **3.2 9.7 Egbedore **8.3 **0.5 11.2 **5.8 **2.9 11.3 **7.1 **1.7 11.3 Iwo 6**.2 28.7 7.1 62.9 30.1 7.0 63.6 29.3 7.1 Northeast 38.0 35.0 7.0 **9.** **2.3 8.3 53.** 38.9 7.7 Ede **8.6 **3.6 7.8 **3.0 **7.9 9.1 *+5.7 **5.8 8 .5 Ifelodun 52.9 39.6 7.5 ****.0 **5.9 10.1 *+8.2 *+2.9 8.9 Odo-Otin 55.5 35.1 9 •** **3.3 **5.7 10.9 **8.9 **0.9 10.2 Oshogbo 63.8 30.1 6.1 55.0 38.3 6.8 59.1 3** .5 6.** Northwest 52.8 38.6 8.6 51.2 **0.0 8.8 52.0 39*3 8.7 Ejigbo 55.7 36.6 7.7 52.5 39.2 8.3 5**.1 37.8 8.0 Ogbomosho 52.3 39.0 8.7 51.0 **0.1 8.9 51.6 39.6 8.8 Total 56.7 35.** 7.9 51.7 39.9 8.** 5**.2 37.7 8*2 Source: The population Census of the Western Region of Nigeria, 1952, Bulletin 7. out-migration in the northeast and the northwest, the two zones have the largest proportions of the population of working age. The proportion of the population of under-fifteens is highest in the South, the zone with a low rate of out-migration. This fact is borne out by the results of the sample survey. The average size of a family is about five in the northeast and northwest whereas it is about seven in the south. It seems that a large family is UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 21 still regarded as an economic asset in the cocoa region whereas it is not so regarded in the north. This may be due to the fact that the burden of child dependency is lightened by the cocoa wealth and by the low age at which children start to participate effectively in cocoa production. The distribution of children, particularly female children affects the rate of population growth in different parts of the Division. Population Growth The trend of population in the Division can be ascertained iTvOi'lcUM-M from its fertility^levels. Unfortunately, vital statistics which can be used to give measures of fertility Aare not available. In the absence of such records, the Child-Woman ratio is often used as a surrogate. The ratio is the number of young children aged under four per thousand of females in the age group 15-4-*+ from which the children’s mothers were probably drawn. As a measure of fertility, the ratio has several disadvantages particularly as it measures not children bora to all mothers but only the ratio of the survivors of each group. 1 One other problem is that because of the break-down of the age composition of the 1952 census returns the ratio given here is based on 0 - 6-year-olds and females aged 15 - ^9* The latter problem explains why it has not been possible 1. Caldwell, J. C., Population Growth and Family Change in Africa, London, 1968, 197-198. 2. Mabogunje, Akin. L., "Migration Policy and Regional Development in Nigeria", Paper read at the ikth Annual Conference of the Nigerian Geographical Association, Zaria, Jan. 1970. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY I to standardise the ratio as suggested by Caldwell. 1 However, the ratio will give a rough indication of the trend of population. Table 5, which records some of the other basic population characteristics, shows that the Child-Woman ratio indicates a high birth rate in all parts of the Division, with the wealthiest south having the highest ratio, no doubt reflecting better social conditions for rearing children. The high birth rate is likely to remain so long as the social values remain unchanged. Once children start to be looked upon by their parents as responsibi­ lities rather than assets to be used in furthering their farming interest, the incentive to produce many children will weaken. •v ■ This will be more so as people become exposed to western way of life especially through out-migration. TABLE 5 SOME DEMOGRAPHIC AND SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PEOPLE. 1952 & 1969 Literacy (Proportion per cent) Child-Woman Out-Migration Zones 1952 (a) 1969 (b) Bilinguists (b) Ratio (a) Rate (b) South 6.3 15.0 12.3 2315.2 18.23 Northeast 7.5 23.1 66.2 1530.5 45.70 Northwest 10.1 24.2 60.3 1662.8 44.03 Sources: (a) The Population census of the Western Region of Nigeria, 1952, Bulletin 7. (b) Field Survey, 1968/69. Based on 456 sample families. 1* Caldwell, J• C., o^. îĵ UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 23 Out-Migration Rate Out-migration rate is the ratio of the number of current out-migrants in a zone expressed per thousand of the total number of people in the zone. It has not been possible to comment on migration trends reflected by census figures because migration questions are not usually asked during censuses. The survey con­ ducted in six sample villages records the number of out-migrants and non-migrants and it is from these that out-migration rates were calculated. 2 Table 5 shows that migration rate is highest in the northeast but lowest in the south. In the northeast and the northwest, not only is the density of population high but the resources are less than in the south. Since the major reason for out-migration of many people is economic (spelt out in detail later), few people migrate from the south. However, the trend in out-migration is at present increasing in the south. A corollary which can be expected from the above discussion is that the northeast and northwest with their high out-migration rates will also have more return-migrants than the south with its low rate. This is reflected in Table 6 which shows the distribution of return-migrants and non-migrants. The number of non-migrants appearsto be high in the northeast and the northwest only because of the high number of children. A comparison of the numbers of 1. Bogue, D. J., "Internal Migration", The Study of Population, ed. Hauser, P. M. and Duncan, 0. D., Chicago, 1959* **86-509. 2. The method of survey and the size of sample are spelt out in detail later. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 24 adult non-migrants and adult return-migrants shows that there are many more of the latter in the two zones. The distribution of these return-migrants affects both the literacy and the occupational characteristics of Oshun people and hence their adjustment to out­ migration. TABLE 6 DISTRIBUTION OF NON- AND RETURN-MIGRANTS. 1968/69 (Proportion per cent) Total Number of Non- and Non-Migrants Return-Migrants Total Return- Children Adults Children Adults Migrants (0 - 15) (over 15) (0 - 15) (over 15) South 2311 54.0 44,7 0.3 1.0 100.0 Northeast 1318 43.5 20.8 2.8 32.9 100.0 Northwest 1224 59.2 25.6 5.8 29.4 100.0 Total 4853 47.4 35.4 2.4 16.8 100.0 Source; Field Survey, 1968/69* Based on two villages in each zone. Literacy A comparison of Tables 5 and 6 shows that there is a close direct relationship between the proportion of literate people on the one hand and the proportion of out-migrants and return-migrants on the other. A literate person is defined in the 1952 census as one who is able to read and write in Roman script. The percentage of literates in the population for that year shows that literacy rate was generally low in the Division, but it was lowest in the south, the zone with a low rate of migration. Educational conditions have changed radically since 1952, owing mainly to the introduction of universal free primary education UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY and adult literacy classes. The sample survey shows that the educa­ tional attainment of the people have improved considerably since 1952. There is now a much higher proportion of literates in the northern zones than in the south. About one quarter of the total number of adult literates in the northern zones had no formal school­ ing. Some of the return-migrants learnt to read and write in order to be able to communicate with home and with their customers abroad. Others had attended only adult education classes. An official in 1954 observed that in Oshun Division, the greatest progress was made in Ejigbo district. In addition to this willingness of the people to become literate, most of them learnt and speak a second language which is usually the one that is spoken in the country to which they migrated. In Ejigbo district, where most of the migrants go to French-speaking countries, many of the return-migrants speak French fluently. In Ogbomosho district, some of the return-migrants speak Hausa as well while others speak one Ghanaian language or the another. The desire to learn a foreign language had, in some cases, influenced some children to go abroad with relatives who came home on a visit. Occupation Table 7 indicates that about 80 per cent of the employed people were in agriculture and other allied occupations. There appears to be an inverse relationship between out-migration rate and the number of people who are engaged in agriculture in each zone, 1. Nigerian National Archives, Annual Report of Oshun Division, 195^» vol.19, p*36. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 26 especially in 1968/69. As long as the prices of cocoa are con- sidered adequate,^majority of the people in the south are likely to remain in agriculture. In other zones, some of the return- migrants do not go back to agriculture because they have acquired new skills in their place of migration. Others who return to agriculture now also concentrate on poultry farming or combine farm­ ing with another occupation, especially trading. Most farmers in the northwest, for example, now market their crops directly in the large centres of the Western State. TABLE 7 • s ' ' : ' * - ’* OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION. 1952 & 1969 Percentage in Percentage in Percentage in Percentage Agriculture Trade Craft in others 1952 1969 1952 1969 1952 1969 (a) (b) (a) (b) (a) (b) South 80.5 81.1 13.^ 8.5 6.3 3.9 Northeast 82.5 70.5 12.0 20.0 5.0 *f.2 Northwest 72.8 68.8 21.3 22.7 5.6 2.9 Total 79.2 73.^ 15.0 17.2 5.6 3.7 Sources: (a) The Population Census of the Western Region of Nigeria, 1952, Bulletin 7. (b) Field Survey, 1968/69. Based on two villages in each zone. THE STUDY APPROACH The study has been based mainly on field survey of some villages as well as extensive travels and observation throughout the Division, Documentary materials were freely used. These include records from UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY the District and Divisional Council Offices, the Nigerian National Archives, the various Ministries connected with the rural economy, particularly the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Communication, Lagos and the Post and Telegraph, Ibadan, for information on postal services. These materials were particu­ larly useful because they cover the whole of the Division. Conclusions arrived at from the sample villages could therefore be checked against information revealed by the records. The chief source of data, however, was field work. Experience from the extensive tours of the Division between March and April, 1968 revealed that although different villages can be chosen for the study of the impact of in- and out-migration, it is more realistic to ensure that both villages were in the same environment or better still, that one was a satellite of the other. This is to make sure that where in-migrants do not live in the same village with the indigenes, their selection is not only random but also has influence on the main villages. The tours also helped in pin-pointing certain vital issues and thus in structuring the formal questionnaire. An extensive field study of six main villages (for out-migration effect) and five minor villages (for in-migration effect) is believed to be a reasonable frame of reference considering the depth and nature of the investigation as well as the reliability of the data vis-a-vis the constraints imposed by the factor of funds and time. The three geographical regions of the Division serve as the strata from which the six main sample villages were chosen, two being drawn from each stratum. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 28 In selecting the sample villages, a grid system delimiting twelve mile squares was imposed on a 1 = 250,000 map of the Division. This gave a total of eighteen cells (excluding the marginal areas) distributed among the three strata in a proportion of five, six and seven. Two cells in each stratum were randomly selected through the use of a table of random figures. All the rural settlements within each of the six selected cells were serially listed and a sample village was randomly selected from each of the list. The villages that thus emerged in the final sample are Qdeyinka and Oluponna in the south, Oyan and Igbaye in the northeast and 011a and Iwofin in the northwest. The villages present a good mix of large and small settlements, as well as settlements on good and poor roads. Both Oyan and Oluponna can be classified as big villages since they had over 5*000 people in 1952 although the figure which was given for Oluponna (7*827) was said to include its hamlets. Except Odeyinka which had a population of 1,2^9* all other villages had a population of aoout 3*000 in the same year. All the villages except Oyan and Oluponna are on untarred roads. The physical condition of roads as well as nearness to an urban centre differs from village to village. In the south, Oluponna which is just two miles south of Iwo on Iwo-Gbongan road is more exposed to urban influences than Odeyinka which lies about fifteen miles southeast of Ikire* the nearest urban centre and to which it is linked by a very narrow and badly maintained road. In the north­ east, Igbaye is about two miles off the tarred Ikirun-Offa road but UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Oyan is the terminus of the tarred road from Ikirun. While 011a, in the northwest is just four miles to Ejigbo, Iwofin is fifteen miles away from Ogbomosho. The relationship of these villages with their nearest urban centre also varies. All, except Iwofin and Odeyinka, are indepen­ dent of their nearest urban centre historically, socially and culturally. They regard themselves as 'towns' in their own right. It is the economy, and modern political system that bring them closer together. On the other hand, Iwofin and Odeyinka are off­ shoots of Ogbomosho and Ikire respectively. The people regard these 'mother towns' as their home and the village as a place of temporary sojourn. For important festivals and ceremonies they go 'home'. They are thus inclined to have better houses at 'home' than in the villages. For the "minor" villages, lists of in-migrants settlements in the environs of each sample village were compiled serially. A settlement was randomly selected from each of the lists. The villages that eventually came out of this secondary sample are Igbotele (Oyan), Inisha (Igbaye), Aba Igbira (Oluponna), Gambari (Iwofin) and Iwata-Isundunrin Gaas (011a). Rather surprisingly, none of these 'minor' villages is under the political influence of villages in the primary sample. In Odeyinka, it was found expedient to use the same village for both out-migration and in- migration sample because the in-migrants lived in the village with the natives having been compelled by a bye-law to do this. In addition to all these, the Fulani kraals found in 011a, Iwofin, and Oyan were also included in the investigation. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 30 To choose the respondents, lists of the heads of all house­ holds in each village were made through the cooperation of the village and compound heads. A household is a group of people who live together and eat from the same pot. One third of the names ' in each list was randomly selected. This gave a total of respondents. Similar steps were employed in choosing the 100 in-migrant respondents. Those people who finally emerged as informants thus included people of different ages, family sizes, occupation, professional reputation, wealth, and migratory history. Apart from individuals in these master samples, some respondents were specially chosen to meet other needs of the investigation. For example it was found necessary to interview people who received loans in Odeyinka even though they were not in the master samples. Because of the type and nature of the information required it was essential that one should establish confidence among the people of the area. It was thus necessary to be in the field for over a year (August 1968 - October 1969) sharing rural life with the respondents. This, and the formal introduction at community _____ jservices by the chiefs, elders and leaders of the village did a lot to create an atmosphere conducive to detailed inquiry and to solve the problem of non-cooperation. At some of these meetings, panel interviews were conducted. Unstructured interviews at points of social contact such as the (ntxrtve o f MophJft? W ) market place, 'ayo* game playing ground and in lorries proved a rich source of information. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 3i Formal questionnaires, copies of which are shown in the appendix, were administered to the respondents and they were designed to elicit information from the respondents on the follow­ ing: major and minor occupations, equipments, evolution of the present land tenure system, present and past labour force, source and use of capital and other possessions, marketing, participation in extension service programme, possession and use of modernization indicators such as radio, the number, demographic* social and economic £ characteristics of the population and links of migrants with home. Since the farmers keep neither records nor accounts, it was difficult for them to remember what they had produced, consumed, sold and bought over a year. To overcome this problem, the field work was not limited to the administration of questionnaires alone. It was made as practical as possible. For instance, in order to arrive at the accurate sizes of farms, actual chain-surveying of the farms of the first twenty farmers in each village was carried out with the aid of a guide. The remaining farms were paced but the experience gained from those surveyed was very useful in guiding estimation. The acreage given to each crop as well as whether the crop was planted with or without fertilizer, as a sole, mixed, succession or mixed succession crop was noted. Also noted was the number of economic trees scattered about the arable farms. In order to arrive at what has been produced and to find out whether migration has any effect on yield, special attention was paid to yield data.' In each farm plot a yield plot was marked out UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY by pegs. A farm plot is a piece of land which carries one crop or crop mixture. A point was arbitrarily selected in the farm plot. A peg was driven into the ground at this point and a rope, 18 feet 7# inches long was attached to the peg. The rope was rotated to describe the circumference of the yield plot the area of which would be 121 square yards or 0.025 acre. This area is adequate as a sample since the size of most farm plots is less than an acre. The yields from this plot were weighed when the crops were harvested and from them the yields of the whole farm were calculated. This method made it essential to be around during the harvest. Fortunately, two harvest periods (1968 and 1969) were spent in the Division and this made it possible to have the yields recorded. The only effect is that while the farm sizes and yield data collected for Igbaye and 011a were for 1967/68 agricultural year, those for the other villages were for 1968/69 agricultural year. These form the broad steps taken in the collection of the data. Other steps taken and the problems associated with them will be highlighted in the chapters where they bear relevance. ARRANGEMENT OF THE THESIS The thesis is divided into three parts. The first part gives a general background on which the subsequent parts are based. Apart from the Introductory chapter in which the problem is set out and the environment and the people of the study area discussed, the chapters in part one trace the history and growth of migration in the Division UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 33 The second section of the thesis which consists of chapters five to eight deals with the effects of migration on Factors of Production. The fifth chapter provides a theoretical framework while the sixth discusses land and land-holding systems. The acreage available to and held by the people in each zone is examined. The chapter also examines the disposition of land vacated by migrants and the changing nature of the land tenure system. How migration has affected the deployment of labour is discussed in chapter seven. Chapter eight relates migration to capital formation and traces the flow of capital out of and into Oshun Division. The third section explores the relation between migration and production. It consists of chapters nine, ten, eleven and twelve. The ninth chapter shows how far agricultural output has been affected by the innovations which have been introduced by return-migrants. In chapter ten, the influence of migration on non-farming occupation is examined. It is shown that a considerable number of artisans learnt L their trade when they were migrants and that there is a large volume of commercial transactions in those zones with a high rate of migration Chapter eleven discusses the role of migrants in the provision of social amenities in their village of origin. The concluding chapter gives a brief summary of the findings in order to highlight the extent to which migration has aided development in Oshun Division. It also examines the future problem and prospects for the migration out of and into Oshun Division. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY PART I THE HISTORY AND GROWTH OF MIGRATION UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY CHAPTER 2 TH^_HISTOR^_O^^UT^IGRATIO^_FRO^^SHU^^IVISION_ Out-Migration in Oshun Division can be divided into two main phases: the pre-colonial and the colonial period movements. It is the latter movements which are more crucial in shaping the present land-sefape of the Division and it is on these that attention is focused. Most of these movements started as temporary migration, i but they have now become semi-permanent in nature and very large in volume. The factors responsible for this extensive out-migration and the process of the migration itself are examined in this chapter. For an understanding of the factors and the processes some historical background needs to be examined. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND The Yoruba wars of the nineteenth century produced widespread population movements in Oshun Division and many settlements were evacuated. The general resettlement of some of these villages did not take place until after the restoration of peace in 1893* In fact the repercussion of the war on population movements in the Division continued until the first decade of the twentieth century. The Modakekes for example, had to shift from Ile-Ife to a new settle­ ment in Ode Omu, Oshun Division, in 1909 while Iwofin people moved from Ibadan to their present site in 1910.2 T • For dislocation of people caused by the Yoruba wars see, Johnson,S., The History of the Yoruba, Lagos, 1921, 684pp. 2. Ibid. 646-64?. Nigeria, National Archives, Ogbomosho Matters, Oshun Division File No.1/2 OS 70 Vol.1, 172-174. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 35 However, it was the peace which followed the establishment of Colonial Administration that has been responsible for the present pattern of migration in the Division. With peace, insecurity was removed and people could move freely. Trade between one part of Yorubaland and the other either developed where it did not exist or increased where it had long existed. In fact, the desire to ensure free flow of trade was the most important factor which caused the British interference in the politics of Yorubaland. -t Not only was peace needed to encourage the flow of goods but the Ijebu and Egba middle men were also to be eliminated to allow the interior people to trade directly with Lagos.2 Hitherto traders from the interior exchanged their goods for imported articles at Oru, Ejinrin, Ikorodu, and Badagry but could not go to Lagos. Even their movements to the lagoon towns depended on the goodwill of the Ijebu who closed and opened the routes at will. In 1892, the Lagos Administration sent a military expedition to subjugate the Ijebu. This forced them to open the route. It also served as a warning to the Egba who voluntarily opened their own route to Lagos. 3 The first group of people to take advantage of the route were from Ogbomosho district. By the turn of the twentieth century they 1. Dike, K. 0., "Trade and the Opening Up of Nigeria”, Nigeria Magazine, 1960, **9-57. 2. In his report published in 1891, Alvan Millson showed the great potentialities which Yorubaland offered for British goods and emphasized that the obstacle to Yorubaland was the Ijebu. See Millson, A., "The Yoruba Country, West Africa”, Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society, 13* 1891, 577-587. 3 Johnson, S., op. cit., 610-625 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 36 had been travelling to Lagos on foot to buy salt and other manu­ factured goods to be sold not only in Ogbomosho but also in Ilorin. From Lagos they also went along the lagoon westward to Porto Novo and eastward to Ejinrin. Groups from other parts of Oshun north followed the Ogbomosho people. Although these groups of traders were temporary migrants, they were important in the migration history of the Division. Firstly, some of them enlisted in the colonial army and were sent to areas outside Lagos. Secondly, they served as a channel through which the opportunities in Lagos and other lagoon towns could be communi­ cated to the people in the interior. Thus, when labourers were sought for the building of the rail­ way from Iddo to Ibadan in 1896 it was easy for the interior people to hear of it. Just deprived of their fighting occupation, some of the ex-soldiers in Oshun Division were willing to work as labourers on the railway, if only temporarily, in order to earn a living. The construction of the railway created new opportunities for the traders. The workers on the railway constituted a new market in which goods, especially foodstuffs and local cloth from the interior or manufactured goods from Lagos, could be sold. As the construction progressed, the traders followed the line into the interior, making important towns on the railway the base of their tradin£ operations. In addition to railway construction, the new agricultural product, cocoa, brought many Oshun people to Lagos (Agege). The 1 See p.39 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY crop had been introduced into Yorubaland about 1890 but it was not 1 until 1900 that its cultivation at Agege became profitable. Acreage cultivated was expanded and labourers were needed. The labour was drawn very largely from the interior of Yorubaland. By the early 1900's news of the successful cultivation of a new crop by a certain Mr. Coker had reached many parts of Odo-Otin in Oshun northeast and the Oshun people went as labourers on the Agege farms. 2 Some of the agricultural labourers worked for a year before returning home while others remained longer. On their return, they brought with them the technology of cocoa cultivation, experimented with it and taught their neighbours how to plant it. If the cocoa grew well they remained at home; but if not they returned to Lagos as labourers on the railway or on Agege farms. Lagos therefore provided the first step for most migrants in their subsequent move­ ments to other destinations (Fig. 9 )• The second stage in the migration history of Oshun people involved movement to Northern Nigeria between 1899 and 1900, to Sekondi in Ghana about 1897 and to Cotonou in Dahomey between 1897 and 1900. The construction of the Sekondi-Tarkwa railway and that from Cotonou to Parakou had started in 1897 and 1900 respectively. 1. Berry, S. S., Cocoa Growing in Western Nigeria, 1890-19^0? A Study of an Innovation in a Developing Country, Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Michigan, 19&7. Ayorinde, J.A., "Historical Notes on the Introduction of Cocoa Industry in Nigeria, Nigerian Agricultural Journal, 8, 1, 1966, 18-20. 2. The Oloyan of Oyan claimed that cocoa had been introduced into Oyan since 1899 not by people who went to Agege but by his father who served in the French Army in Central Africa. See Chapter 9* UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY F i g . 9. STAGES IN THE MOVEMENT OF EARLY OUT-MIGRANTS UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 38 Some of the people who had worked on the Nigerian railways were recruited because of their skill and because of the confidence which the builders had in the Nigerian workers. The majority of Oshun people recruited to Ghana were from the northeast and Ogbomosho area while those who went to Cotonou were mainly from the northwest. In both cases the migrants found their own culture superior * to that of their hosts. The hosts, for example, had poorly developed cloth weaving handicraft and went about in conditions of virtual nudity. The idea of bringing hand-woven cloth from home to sell to their hosts developed and some of them left the railway to become traders. Pieces of Yoruba woven or dyed cloth were bought in Oshun and taken to Dahomey or Ghana for sale to the local people. New and ever-increasing avenues for labour existed in the then Gold Coa6t and, as the railway moved northwards these opportunities came to the knowledge of the railway labourers. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the gold mines in Ghana had been experiencing a labour shortage owing to the reluctance of the local people to work for Europeans. One aspect of the work was the cutting of wood to 2 be used for fuel in the mines. Some of the Oshun migrants turned to selling firewood especially after the completion of the railway lines. In Dahomey, where there were no minerals the migrants took up trading when the railway was completed. The Dahomeans' connection 1. Darko, S, A., "The Effects of Modern Mining on Settlements in Mining Areas of Ghana", Bulletin of the Ghana Geographical Association, 8, 1, 1963, 2k, 2. Boateng, E. A., "The Tarkwa Gold Mining Industry", Bulletin of the Gold Coast Geographical Association, 2, 1, 1957, 5-9 • UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 39 with other francophone West African countries was crucial to the movement of these traders to the Ivory Coast especially after the First World War. It was the Dahomeans who told the Oshun traders in their midst of the opportunities in other francophone countries. The fact that there were better economic opportunities in the Ivory Coast caused the traders to stay there in larger number than they 1 did in other francophone countries. Another important historical factor responsible for out-migratior from Oshun Division is the enlistment of the people into the colonial armies. Some of the Oshun traders in Porto Novo had enlisted in the French army about 1893 and had fought in different places in West and Central Africa. Others joined the Lagos constabulary, the genesis of the Royal West African Frontier Force and took part in the Ashanti compaigns of 1896. When the First World War broke out in 191^ many Oshun people in the Royal West African Frontier Force participated in the campaigns in different parts of Africa. During all the campaigns the soldiers acquired much knowledge about the places in which they fought and realised that there were fundamental economic differences between their home environment and these places. There were more opportunities in the latter than in their own home areas. There was work on the mines and opportunity to trade with the people. They were therefore prepared to return to the place after their discharge from the army. 1. For economic opportunities in various French West African countries, see Thompson, V and Adloff, R., French West Africa, London, 1958, 2^9-512. 2. For details about the Royal West African Frontier Force, see Haywood, A. and Clarke, F. A. S., The History of the Royal West African Frontier Force, Aldershot, 196^, 5*+0pp. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 4 & During the whole period, the different categories of migrants paid occasional visits home. During these visits they encouraged others, directly through advice and indirectly by the display of their wealth, to accompany them when returning to the places of migration. In Oyan, for example, the *pambua* sandal and manv.- factured ankara cloth attracted the people who had never migrated before. In Ogbomosho migrants became the elite and distributed various gifts to many people. Silver coins, for example, were freely given away by return-migrants. By 1920, therefore, the habit of migration had already taken a firm hold among Oshun people. Labour demand on the railways, military service and the opening of the route to Lagos are the events which are remembered as important land-marks in Oshun migration his­ tory by the older men of the Division. All these factors exerted a pull on the rural population and drew them out of their homes. However, there were also influences which pushed people away from their home base and for a fuller understanding of migration factors, the economic conditions of the migrants' home area must be analysed. ECONOMIC BACKGROUND The lack of sufficient cash earning opportunities at home is very important incentive to migration. During the course of the colonial rule, Oshun people learnt to use many imported goods. In order to satisfy these new wants, they were obliged to find new 1. 'Ankara* is said to be a corruption of the word 'Accra' from where the materials were brought. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY sources of income especially as exploits from Yoruba wars ceased to come in after the 1893 peace. Agriculture became the major source of income but as a result of varying ecological conditions in different parts of the Division, the profitability of the occu­ pation was not uniform. Some zones favoured the production of new crops for export markets while others did not. The areal differen­ tiation in ecology in each zone needs to be further analysed to appreciate the factors that“pushed"the people away from their homes. The South Cocoa was grown and it brought considerable income to the inhabi­ tants. The average income of a cocoa farmer in Gbongan was £106 in 1952 whereas a food-crop farmer earned less than £50 in the same year. The effect of the high income was to prevent large-scale out-migration of farmers. Anyone who migrated was regarded as lazy. Table 8 shows that out-migration, particularly migration of adults from this zone is very low compared with migration from other zones. Oshun south accounts for only 1 3 .5 per cent of the 2,656 out-migrant adults in the whole of the Division. Out of these few migrants (358), none moved because of lack of cash crop and only 2 .2 per cent migrated 1Vl<2 because of scarcity of land, jjflajority (50*2 per cent) migrated because of reduction of farm yield or income. The yield in cocoa started to decrease in the early 1960's partly because of the old age of the trees and partly because of the attack on trees by capsid pests and black-pod diseases. The situation was aggravated by the 1. Galletti, R., Baldwin, K. D. S. and Dina, I. 0., Nigerian Cocoa Farmers, London, 1956, k09-k2k. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY TABLE 8 FACTORS OF MIGRATION Reduction To do what Land Lack of in yield others Scarcity cash crop or income did Others Total No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % South 8 2 .2 - - 180 30.3 46 12.9 124 34.6 358 100.0 Oluponna 8 3.7 — - 106 49.1 46 21.3 55 25.9 215 100.0 Odeyinka - - - - 74 52.1 - - 69 47.9 143 100.0 Northeast 256 20.3 284 22.4 102 8 .1 22 1.7 602 47.5 1266 100.0 Oyan 7 0.9 232 37.8 70 11.4 20 3.3 286 46.6 615 100.0 Igbaye 249 38.3 52 8.0 32 4.9 2 0.3 316 48.5 651 100.0 Northwest 8 0.8 444 43.0 50 4.8 78 7.6 452 43.8 1032 100.0 0 1 1a 8 1.5 207 39.8 40 7.7 28 5.4 238 45.6 521 100.0 Iwofin - - 237 46.2 10 2 .0 50 9.8 214 42.0 511 100.0 Total 272 10 .2 728 27.4 232 12.5 146 5.5 1178 44.4 2656 100.0 Zonal Proport ionsC South 5.9 54.2 31 .5 10 .5 13.5 Northeast 94.2 39.0 30.7 13.1 51 . 1 47 .7 Northwest !.9 61 .0 15.1 53.* 38.4 38.8 Source: Field Survey, 1968/69 a. Based on two villages in each zone. continuing fall in the prices paid by the Marketing Board for cocoa over the years. In 1954/55* one ton of grade one cocoa was sold for £200 but in 19 6 1/6 2 the corresponding price was £ 100. 1. Western Nigeria, Annual Report of the Marketing Board 1954/55 and 1961/62, Ibadan, 1956 and 1965. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 43 The reduction in yield and income did not affect the zone equally. As the Table reveals, many more people moved in Oluponna than in Odeyinka, because of fall in income. The people in Oluponna felt the hardship of the low yield more severely as the density of population is higher there than in Odeyinka. An adult male in Iwo district (Oluponna) had 6.0 acres of land whereas acreage per adult male was 22.3 in Aiyedade District (Odeyinka). It is only in Iwo district that out-migration of farm people is gradually becoming important in the south. The Northeast Unlike the south, migration incidence is high in the northeast. From Table 8 it will be seen that the main reason for migration from this zone is an economic one. It is either that land was scarce or there was no cash crop. Of the 272 people who migrated in the whole of Oshun because of land scarcity 94.2 per cent were from the north­ east. This is to be expected because of the congestion of population in this zone. Cultivable land per head was 1.02 acres. In the more populated areas such as Oshogbo district, this drops to 0.48 acres and many people migrated for lack of land. Of the 256 people who migrated because of land scarcity in this zone, 249 were from Igbaye, a village suffering from great pressure of population on land. Many of those who did not migrate leased land from nearby villages. As far back as 1935 Schofield had noted that the land occupied by the people of this zone was inadequate for them. Childs also attributed 1. Schofield, I. F. N., Intelligence Report on Okuku Area, Nov. - Dec. 1935. Ibadan, 1935, 3« UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 44 the perennial land dispute in this area to population pressure on land. 1 In places where population density is not very high, as in Ede District and Oyan area, migration has been attributed to lack of a cash crop. Of the 284 people who migrated because of lack of a cash crop, 232 were from Oyan. Cocoa was tried in the earlier days but acreage had decreased in the face of an unfavourable climate. The yield from the few trees that survived was also affected by pests and diseases. Income from cocoa was therefore, insufficient to prevent the wave of migration out of the zone. 2 Cotton could grow well and was introduced m the early 1920's. As Table 9 shows, production was highest in the northeast. This zone alone was responsible for 71 »6 per cent of all the cotton produced in the Division in 1934. There was a steady increase in production in subsequent years and it was thought that cotton could replace cocoa as a cash earner. In fact, in the 1930's the colonial administration decreed that the Northern Provinces of Nigeria should n be devoted to the cultivation of groundnuts and the savana area of Western Nigeria should be encouraged to grow cotton.^ However, the scheme was a failure because of low prices. In 1938, the average price of cotton fell from 14s to 5s per fettitd. Production declined until cultivation was halted in 1948 1. Nigeria, National Archives, Boundary Between Northern and Southern Provinces Near Erin, File 2 2 /6 No.22/27, p.73; Oyo-Ilorin Boundary; Memorandum No.373a/34/l923» File 2 2/2, 56-100. 2. Nigeria, National Archives, Cotton, File 1/1 62, 1-120. 3. Ibid. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY • 4 5 TABLE 9 COTTON PRODUCTION IN OSHUN DIVISION (in Tons) Marketing Zones Centres 1934 1935 1936 1937 South 296.3 438.6 517.8 166.4 Ile-Igbo 47.5 10 7 .6 133.3 49.0 Iwo 248.8 331.0 384.5 117.4 Northeast 835.3 1445.0 2 1 1 5 .0 15 2 1 .2 Ikirun 100 .2 157.2 255.0 224.3 Oshogbo 475.4 659.2 995.1 1028.5 Ede 259.7 628.6 864.9 268.4 Northwest 34.4 50 .2 40.9 14.0 Ogbomosho - 11.7 11.4 - Odo-Oba 34.4 38.5 29.5 14.0 TOTAL 116 6 .0 1933.8 2673.7 17 0 1.6 Source: Nigeria* National Archives Oshun Division File 1/1 62, Vol.1, p.33. 1 and was resumed only in 1953* Even within the period that cotton was grown, the home market, rather than the overseas market absorbed the bulk of the production. The local weavers paid more for a pound of cotton than the British Cotton Growers Association, In 1949* for example, the local weavers paid 9d. as against 4d. per pound paid by 2 the 3ritish Cotton Growers Association. Local consumption would21 1, Nigeria, National Archives, Annual Reports of Oshun Division, 1953, 73. 2. Annual Reports of Oshun Division, 1949, 9. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY have thus made cotton a remunerative cash crop powerful enough to * stem out-migration from this zone but for the importation of cheap manufactured clothes which ruined the local weaving industry. The Northwest The basic cause of migration in this zone as shown by Table 8 is a complete absence of any cash crop* Unlike the northeast, land was plentiful because of a lower density of population. The soil and climate are, however, unsuitable for cocoa cultivation. Although, the zone is part of the savanna area of southwestern Nigeria where cotton trials were undertaken, cotton would not grow. Table 9 shows that this zone grew the smallest quantity of cotton for the four-year period. Production declined steadily from 3k,k tons (3 .0 per cent) in 193^ to 1^ .0 tons (0.8 per cent) in 19 3 7. Even the savanna area of the south produced more cotton than the northwest. In an effort to find a cash crop, the colonial administration advised the cultivation of groundnuts in 19 35* but the scheme did not succeed because of serious depredation by game. The only asset of the northwest is, therefore, food crops. Yam and maize grow very well in this area but until recently there was no system of marketing them efficiently. Because of poor communication system the size of the market was very limited. Poor storage facilities also forced farmers to sell the crops at the same time with the result that there was always a glut between August and November. 1. Nigeria, National Archives, Ogbomosho Matters, File 1/2 OS 70, 352. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY This zone thus never had a viable source of cash income until the introduction of tobacco in 1933* If the tobacco was classified according to the mode of curing, two types were introduced: the northern flue-cured and the southern air-cured. The southern air- cured is the more popular in this zone although it has several disadvantages over the northern flue-cured. It can be planted only in the dry season. Full utilization of the land is not possible unless it is planted with food crops which have already been shown to be unremenurative. Furthermore, as Table 10 shows, while the northern flue-cured is divided into three grades, it is divided into six grades. While the range of prices for grades of the northern flue-cured is only from ks, ifd. to 2s. 6d. per pound, that for the southern air-cured is from 2s. ifd. to 3~cs~as the fact that the great majority of -migranta are likely to be found- where there are few economic opportunities. THE PRESENT EXTENT OF OUT-MIGRATION Number of Out-Migrants The total of out-migrants shown in Table 11 for each village has been derived from interviews with relatives left behind and is clearly affected by the size of the village. In spite of this, the proportions correspond# very closely with the out-migration rates given in the introductory chapter. The table shows the ratio of out-migrants in each village to the total migrants in the Division. The northeast and the northwest together account for 83.9 per cent of all the 2,9^2 migrants in the UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 5 0 TABLE 11 NUMBER OF CURRENT OUT-MIGRANTS BY AGE Absolute Figures Percentages Children Adults Total Children Adults Total (0-15) (over 1 5 ) (0-15) (over 15) South 118 .358 476 24.8 75.2 100.0 Oluponna 13 215 228 6.1 93.9 100.0 Odeyinka 105 143 248 42.3 57.7 100.0 Northeast 80 1,26 6 1,346 5.9 94.1 100.0 Oyan 16 615 631 2.5 97.5 100.0 Igbaye 64 651 715 8.9 91.1 100.0 Northwest 88 1,0 3 2 1,120 7.9 92.1 100.0 011a 31 521 552 5.4 94.6 100.0 Iwofin 58 511 568 10.2 89.8 100.0 Total 286 2,656 2,942 9.2 90.3 100.0 Percentage of zonal migrants to Total migrants South 41.3 13.5 16 .2 - - - Northeast 28.0 47.7 45.8 - - Northwest 30.7 38.8 38.0 - - - Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 - - - Divison. However, variations exist between and within these zones. It is Igbaye in the northeast which has the highest number of migrants (715)• The village is the most densely settled in the sample. It has been hemmed in by other villages and as such land UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY available per family is the least in the sample. 1 About two miles to the east is Okukuj Faji is only one mile to the west and Opete is just three miles to the north. The last two are smaller villages which have more land than their inhabitants can utilize. Some of the ’’excess** land is given to Igbaye people. This is especially tame of people who settled late in the village and therefore had little traditional land or people, such as those from Oluode compound who have lost the small area of land they once possessed through a court verdict. What happens in the case of Igbaye is true for most other settlements in the northeast. For example, rocks hem in Iresi and Iree on nearly all sides so that little land is available for farming The same is true of Iragbiji which is not only surrounded by rocks but also by Ada and Oj*oruwo villages. Many of the people in these settlements have their farms about ten to twelve miles away in Ilia. Erin is surrounded by Ilobu, Ifon and Iddo-Oshun. In fact, Erin has no farming land of its own. The land they have is that on which they built the village and were given by the Olobu of Ilobu. They have to lease land from their neighbours for farming purposes. In these particular instances, therefore, congestion of people has a direct bearing on the extent of out-migration. There is little or no difference between the proportion of out-migrants in the villages of the northwest yet one might have expected that the total population would affect the difference. 1. See Chapter 6, "Land and Landholding". UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Sixty families in Iwofin produced 568 (19 per cent) out-migrants whereas eight-four families in 011a were responsible for 552 (18 per cent). Proximity to Northern Nigeria to which many of these migrants go probably has influenced the local variations but it is by no means the most significant factor. Iwofin is well within the savanna reg*ion whereas 011a is on the forest fringe. There was relatively greater scope for experimenting with cocoa and other forest crops in the earlier days. Thus although the first batch of migrants left the village at the turn of the twentieth century, the incentive to follow this group was not high. It was only in the late 1930*s when cocoa had been proved to be a failure that large scale out-migration started from there. In Iragberi, to the south of 011a, migration became extensive only in the early 1950's when cocoa trees started to "die-back". It is therefore safe to conclude that migration rate in Oshun Division increases from the south to the north. The case of the southern zone reinforces this conclusion. The zone is responsible for only 16.2 per cent (476) of the migrants because it has the greatest scope for local employment. A greater number of people moved in the northern part of the zone (Oluponna) than in its southern part (Odeyinka). Many people in the far south can still earn enough from their cocoa and therefore have little or no incentive to move UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Age Composition, Sex Distribution and Marital Status A closer look at Table 11 will reveal that there are fewer children migrants in the north than in the south. Two factors are responsible for this situation. Any village which has no post- primary institution sends its children who are over thirteen else­ where for secondary education. All the villages except Odeyinka and Iwofin have a post-secondary school nearby. Nevertheless, the fact that ^2.3 per cent of the migrants of Odeyinka are children while only 10.2 per cent of the migration in Iwofin are children calls for further explanation. Migration has a longer history and the distances covered are greater in the north than in the south. Many of the male migrants in the north produce their children while away from home. The respondents have a hazy idea about the children of these adult relations; but they know the number of children taken away by a visiting migrant on his departure. It is the number of these latter children that is recorded. The figures given for the adults will be fully appreciated if they are correlated with the economically active and inactive population. This is shown in Table 12 which reveals the number and proportion of migrants in both categories. The figures show that the higher the opportunity for local employment the lower the pro­ portion of active members of population away from home. The north­ west which has the fewest opportunities, has the highest proportion whereas the reverse is true of the south. One striking feature of the Table is the very high proportion of migrants in the active age-group (15-50 years) of which between UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY TABLE 12 AGE DISTRIBUTION OF ADULT MIGRANTS Absolute Figures Percentages 15-50 Over 50 ____ 15-50 Over 50 Total M F Both M F Both M F M South 158 7** 232 68 58 126 ****.1 20.7 19.0 16.2 100.0 Oluponna 100 **5 1**5 **9 22 71 **6.3 21.3 22.2 10.2 100.0 Odeyinka 58 29 87 19 36 55 **0.8 19.8 1**.1 25.3 100.0 Northeast kkz 436 878 188 200 388 3**.9 3**.5 14.8 15.8 100.0 Oyan 215 200 **15 113 86 199 35.2 32.6 18.2 14.0 100.0 Igbaye 227 236 **63 75 11** 189 3**.7 36.2 11.6 17.5 100.0 Northwest **06 376 782 13** 116 250 39.** 36.** 13.0 11.2 100.0 011a 184 181 365 93 6k 757 35.2 3**.9 17.6 12.3 100.0 Iwofin 222 195 **17 **1 52 93 **3.5 38.1 8.2 10.2 100.0 Total 1,006 886 1,892 390 37** 7 6 k 37.9 33.3 14.7 1**.1 100.0 Source: Field Survey, 1968/69 60 and 82 per cent are away from home. The lower percentage oi older migrants is due to the manner in which the migration is conceived, namely, as essentially semi-permanent to be abandoned at old age. The sex distribution of the adults is also an interesting feature of the nature of migration. It will be seen from Table 12 that very few women are migrants in the south. Here, especially in Odeyinka, the distance travelled by migrants is not great. They can therefore keep their senior wives in the village and take UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY with them the junior ones. On the other hand, as many women as men are away from home in the north. There are more female than male migrants in Igbaye while in other villages nearly half of the adult migrants are women. This may be due to the tendency among Igbaye people to have several wives. The explanation for the situ­ ation will be clear if the age distribution is considered together with the following Table which shows the marital status of migrants of both sexes. The age is the current age of migrants but the marital status relates to the time at which they left home; that is, whether they were married or single at the time they migrated. TABLE 15 MARITAL STATUS OF ADULT MIGRANTS Absolute Figures Percentages Male Female Male Female M S M S M s T M s T South 44 182 112 20 19.5 80.5 100.0 84.8 15.2 100.0 Oluponna 13 136 62 5 8.1 91.9 100.0 91.2 8.8 100.0 Odeyinka *6 50 1? 41.0 59.0 100.0 78.1 21.9 100.0 Northeast 84 546 604 32 .13.3 86.7 100.0 95.0 3-o 100.0 Oyan 53 276 27k 12 15.9 84.1 100.0 95.8 4.2 100.0 Igbaye ?1 270 330 20 10.6 89.4 100.0 94.3 5.7 100.0 Northwest 78 462 436 pe 14.4 85.6 100.0 88.6 11.4 100.0 011a 35 242 206 39 12.3 87.7 100.0 83.7 16.3 100.0 Iwofin **3 220 230 17 16.7 83.3 100.0 93.3 6.5 100.0 Total 206 1,190 1,152 108 14.8 85.2 100.0 91.4 8.6 100.0 Source: Field Survey, 1968/69* M * Married S c Single T = Total UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY It is found in Table 12 that the proportion of young adults of either sex is higher than the proportion of older adults of the same sex, but that the proportion of male to female is nearly the same for each age group especially in the north. There is, therefore, the tendency for more younger women to migrate than older women. The implication of this is indicated in Table 13 which emphasizes that many more men migrated before they married whereas the converse is true of the women. Differences in the marital status of men and women migrants can be found in the nature of migration. Young men migrated because there was insufficient income at home for realising their objectives, one of which was marriage. When they had saved enough money they asked their relations at home to look for a wife for them. Money would be sent to cover all the marriage expenses. The marriage could take place by proxy and the wife sent to join her husband. Alternatively, the husband could come home to take away the wife whom he might have never seen before except perhaps in photographs. On their part the girls look forward to being engaged to a migrant. Such a marriage would provide them with economic security because migrants are believed to be wealthier than non-migrants. Since by custom, girls are not as free as their male counterparts, marriage to a migrant would give them an opportunity to see life outside their villages. The conclusion one can draw from this analysis is that nearly all the women who migrated accompanied their husbands or went to join UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 57 them. Only a few were taken away by their parents or relatives and fewer still were in school or white collar jobs in centres outside the village. Furthermore, although men left home as single men, they married between two and five years after their departure and lived with their wives in the place of migration. CONCLUSION The different rates of migration within the Division suggest a very close relation between economic conditions at home and the desire to migrate. The picture presented here is certainly one of movement from a poor area to a relatively wealthy one. In spite of the strength of economic motives, an important feature of the migration factor is the absence, rather than the predominance of people who move because of shortage of food or because of the desire to earn money to relieve pressing needs such as tax. It would appear that Oshun migrants are continually in need of money to satisfy their social obligation and aspirations. Thus, although unlike southern and eastern Africa there are no labour contracting firms, no specially laid on transportation arrangements and no formalised system of advertising the economic advantages, Oshun migrants are found in various places where there are economic opportunities and engage in those occupations that will raise their standard of living as the next chapter shows. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 58 CHAPTER 3 THE ANALYSIS OF OUT-MIGRATION FLOWS The previous chapter describes the historical factors which brought the first batch of migrants from all parts of Oshun Division initially to Lagos. It also shows their dispersal from Lagos to other areas. The subsequent destination was largely determined by chance; but once there existed a nucleus of out- migrants from the same community, other members from that area were attracted. Hence out-migrants from each zone in Oshun Division now go to specific places where members from their zone are to be found. PATTERN OF FLOWS Table 14 indicates the places to which migrants go and the proportion who go to each place. One important feature is that migration in Oshun Division is chiefly international. Of the 2,656 adult migrants in the sample villages 1,790 (67.4 per cent) crossed the Nigeria border. Of the remaining 32.6 per cent only 18 per cent are employed within Western Nigeria. The proportion of people who move within Western Nigeria is lowest in the south (19»2 per cent) and highest in the northeast (51.5 per cent). Because the south itself is the home of cocoa, it was not necessary for the people to leave the area in search of better cocoa land. It is only very recently (1960's)that a UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY S$ 2 2 to ►3 M M0 a H 0 a0 Oa. 0 toO O 0 O2 £O (-* 0 to « H> a 4H- t+ a a 4 3 ct* Ct* 3 * H-« aS' S' p PS S£' « M ON IOVsj no ro ro -P- ON 1 1 1 N ft < O V•N •ON 4-A *<1 -V! -̂3 On VN vn VNro ■ P- VN 00 vn O • • ft ft ft ft ■5ft O OO -p- O ON 1 | | 1 VN ro a CP) f+ -A 2 ro VN VN r-P- -p- C o O 0 -A -A o ON 0 0 ft Q to •0 -p- A VN •P- ro IV> •p- 1 ON ON 3 * ON VN O • * • s3 •A ■ p- vn ■ p- ON VoN ON S 3 O n a vn O O O •p- vn NO ro A 5f t • • • • ft ft ft 6 • VN OO -v3 ■ P- •>3 ro NO 1 0 0 ~ 0 -A 2 A -P- vn to VN vn O w •p- - r -p- -P- 0 0 ro ro -p- ON | ON ON ft a ^3 vn p * • * • 0 ON A VN a n -p- O NO vn VN vn ■ p- ro A 5ft a 0 • • • • • ft ft • ft 2 VN OO ro 0 -P- vn -p- 1 00 S I rv> -A -A 2 2 -0 ro 10 Vn VN to O n -p- ro ON O 0 vn r\> ro *0 -p- •p- ON 0 A NO O -p- 0 -p- ft 4 •P* -A VN S3 ct* • • • O 3 * - 0 NO -P- *0 -A ro A VN A O O ■ p- vn •P- •p- -p- •P- A NO -0 -eft 2 w • • • • • ft ft ft ft ft H- ►9 VN VN 0 vn NO ON S 3 0 VN NO on M ft 0 2 w ■ P- A A ro 2 K S ) ■ P- NO •p- •V! -O -p- ^3 ro NO O a to VJ1 -A 0 0 ON -P- 0 O ON ON 0 10 f\> ft a NO A vD c+ • • • VN Vn ro -A A A IV) -A A -p- A ro 2 00 NO 00 VN ON ro NO NO 0 vn 5ft H* • • • • ft ft ft ft- ft ft CK5 0 O 0 ON -A •p- -P- VN ro ON ft -A 2 -A -A A VN A ro ro VN ON Oro -A vn -P- - r ON O ON -p- 0 NO vn -P- ft O ON ■ 0 ON Ct* * • • & VN Vn !NJ A A A a -p- ro VN ro O so A NO ON S3 5ft 4 • • • • ft • • ft ft • a VN -0 A NO NO VN ON S3 ON NO ro -A A 2 ON vn Vn 0 ON ON ro A ro VN O vn .A IV) VN Vn A ON •p- A vn • *3 VN -p- -A ON A -A ro •A vn ON VN vn 00 O OO -o VN ct* CO -0 vn -A -A -A A A H A A A A A 0 0 O 0 0 0 O 0 0 0 5ft 0 0 O 0 0 0 O 0 0 0 • • • • ft ft ft ft • • 0 0 O 0 0 O O 0 0 0 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY DESTINATION OF MIGRANTS ! No Source: Field Survey, 1968/69 few people mainly from Iwo and partly from Aiyedade started going to lle-Ife because of the old age of their trees. The majority of migrants in Qdeyinka do not travel long distances. They go to Ibadan or Iwo to learn a trade or for post-secondary education. A high proportion of migrants from northeast Cehun who go to other parts of western Nigeria engage in cocoa farming. This reflects the nearness of the zone to the cocoa growing area. The cocoa boom of the early 1930*s attracted the people and they crossed the boundary into Ife Division to "take” land. The land was actually leased to them on the payment of "Ishakole" which is an obligatory payment^ often nominal in amount, to remind the cultivator that he is not the owner of the land. Towards the end of the 50's the people of northeast Oshun had started to move further afield into Ondo Province where there is much more plentiful virgin land. On the other hand* only a few migrants from northwest Oshun go to other parts of Western Nigeria. Many of the migrants from the northern part of this zone (Ogboaosho) are traders. In the southern part of the zone (£jigbo) where the inhabitants once enjoyed some wealth from cocoa, there is some migration to the cocoa growing area of the lest. The Table clearly exemplifies this point for while 18 per cent of the migrants in 011a are in Western Nigeria only 9 per cent of Iwofin migrants are in the West. A corollary of the above statement is that migrants from the northern part of the northwest will be found largely in other parts of Nigeria where they trade. In the Table, the northwest is UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 61 responsible for more than half (5^.7 per cent) of all migrants who go to Northern Nigeria. The northern part of the zone has more migrants in Northern Nigeria than does the southern area. While the proportion of Iwofin migrants is 2^.3 per cent o n ly 5.0 per cent of the Clla migrants are in Northern Nigeria. In addition to the railway, the construction of roads also aided the movements of Ogbomosho people further and further north until they spread into every part of Northern Nigeria, Today they are found in all large towns of Northern Nigeria. Recently, people from southern Oshun are also moving to Northern Nigeria in the face of declining income from cocoa. Although migration to the North frcm this zone started about the early 1960's the real opportunity was provided late in 1966 when they moved in to take the place of the Ibos who fled from the North because of the Nigerian crisis. The high proportion from Odeyinka reflects primarily the small extent of long-distance out-migration from Aiyedade and Egbedore districts and the limited number of destinations to which people go. The number of the people concerned is only twenty-two. The significance of the figure lies in the fact that a start has been made and the trend may con­ tinue unless more income accrues from cocoa. By far the majority of Oshun migrants go beyond the borders of Nigeria. The main destinations are Ghana, the Ivory Coast and Dahomey in that order. A few are found in other parts of West Africa but the number is insignificant and has been inflated only UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 62 recently by those who were forced out of Ghana and the Ivory Coast. 1 Nearly half (^5.3 per cent) of all Oshun migrants were in Ghana before February 1969. Table 1*f, however, reveals some interesting variations among the zones. The northeast had 73«^ per cent of all the 1,20*f Oshun migrants in Ghana and the northwest 26.1 per cent. At the village level, each of the following villages had over 60 per cent of their migrants residing in Ghana: Cyan, Igbaye (in the northeast) and Iwofin (Ogbomosho area of the northwest). Various reports also show that migration from the northeast and from Ogbomosho district (northwest) started in the distant past. The District Officer reported in 1929 that many Oshogbo natives migrated to Ghana. 3 In 1933 Schofield commented that the energetic and adventurous disposition of Odo-Otin people in the northeast A had taken them to Ghana. In 1953 and 1955 the District Officers commented on the considerable movement of people between Ogbomosho, Oyan, Okuku, Inisha and towns in Ghana.^ 1 . In March, 1968, Nigerians in the Ivory Coast were attacked by a mob and in May of the same year, the Ivory Coast Govern­ ment recognised the secessionist regime in Nigeria. These events forced Nigerians out of Ivory Coast. In December, 1968 the Ghana Alien Law was passed and by February, 1969 Nigerians started to leave Ghana, See "Nigerians attacked in Abidjan," Daily Times, March 2?, 1968; "Government to Recover Goods in Ivory Coast", Daily Sketch, October 15, 8; "Nigerians Flood Out of Ghana", Daily Times, February 7, 1969, 1. 2. The Promotion of Ghana Enterprises Decree Number 323 forced the migrants out. See ibid. 3. Nigeria, National Archives, Oshogbo Matters. File 1/1. *t. Schofield, I. F. W., Intelligence Report on Okuku Area, Nov.-Dec., 1935* Ibadan. 5* Nigeria, National Archives, Annual Reports of Oshun Division, 1953 and 1955. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY An important factor in the settlement of migrants in Ghana is the ease of movement. Both Ghana and Nigeria were under the same colonial government and had many things in common. Their citizens were Commonwealth citizens and there were no entry restrictions. The English language especially its pidgin form, was common to both countries. The same currency and postal orders were in use and migrants found it easy to remit money home. There was no question of losing money through exchange control. Furthermore, the pre-independence phase of African nationalism, unlike the post-independence phase cut across the individual territories in its expression. West Africans saw themselves as one people fighting against a common enemy and did not regard the citizens of one country as aliens in the other. Another aspect of the movement to Ghana is that people from Oshun Division settled mainly in the Ashanti region and in southern Ghana. Their choice of destination was related to their occupation. The miners settled in the mining towns of Obuasi, Bibiani, Tarkwa, Prestea, Nsuta, Akwatia, Awaso and Konongo. Cocoa farmers were found in the cocoa growing towns of Kumasi, Sunyani, Wenchi, Mampong, Juaso, Mpraeso, Kibi, Koforidua, Oda and Achiasi. Finally, traders moved to the coastal, industrial and commercial towns of Accra, Winneba, Cape Coast, Sekondi, Takoradi, Nkawkaw and some of the centres already mentioned above. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Outside Ghana, the most popular destination is the Ivory Coast. It is the principal place of migration for Ejigbo people of the northwest. They also account for 73«3 per cent of all the 472 migrants to the Ivory Coast while no one from the northeast was recorded as having migrated to the Ivory Coast. 011a alone (in Ejigbo district) accounts for 33^ of the 3^6 people migrating from the northwest to the Ivory Coast. So important was the volume of migrants from Ejigbo to the Ivory Coast that Mr. Fenn made a distinction between the home population and the population of Ejigbo people in the Ivory Coast when recording the population of Ejigbo district in 1953«^ They were so numerous that they had appointed their own Elejigbo to govern them there. Migration to the Ivory Coast has now extended from Ejigbo further south to the adjoining Iwo district of Oshun south. Communication between Ejigbo and Iwo district makes known the migratory habits of the Ejigbo. The people needed only some motivation before they too started to move. The push was provided by the falling income from cocoa which has already been discussed. Finally, a few of the Oshun migrants chose Dahomey as their destination. About *t9 per cent of the few migrants (11*0 in this group are from the northeast and *f6 per cent are from the northwest. 1 1. Nigeria, National Archives, Handing over Notes; Ogbomosho and Ejigbo District, File 1/1 68/2, 39* Unfortunately, Mr. Fenn did not give the number involved. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY S 5 The confinement of these migrants to the northern part of Oehun Division was shown in 1938 when a District Officer reported continual movement* of people between Oshun north and Dahomey.1 Migration to Dahomey from the northeast is restricted to some parts of Odo-Otin and Iree and from the northwest it is limited to Ejigbo. Some of the migrants to Dahomey are relatives of the very first group of migrants described above but a few others are newer migrants who went in the late 1950’s. This latter group went to take advantage of the favourable condition of land holding to establish large farms in southern Dahomey. In other words, some of the migrants to Dahomey are engaged in agriculture. However, other migrants engaged in occupations other than farming. OCCUPATION AT DESTINATION POINTS Although the first group of migrants were engaged as labourers, soldiers or petty traders, several changes have taken place both in the destination of migration and among the migrants themselves such that the occupations in which they are now engaged are as diversified as their distribution. The five categories into which the numerous occupations have been grouped are shown in Table 15. "Mining” includes labourers and diggers on the mine field* Mine labour has been combined with digging because the majority 1 1. Nigeria, National Archives, Social and Economic Progress of the People of Nigeria. Ibadan Division File l/l 1050, 1?8. UNIVERSITY F IBADAN LIBRARY $ f «* awwo * vtOo vn vOno to Vn vn H >• •to • vn a 00 rpu- 8 av to 0000 | •» 1 t 1 V•O •P *V•n •p- w £4?- own • v•n • v•o v•n •ov C1t vn p -to 00 v© \0 0 to 00 0 ti Ct 0 > a fS vn - to wp* 0 to C C 0 } 0 *1 1 1 I • •to • •p • • • » •P- • A M vn 00 H to 0 vn O Ov a r a a1 03 A w to w £ * 0) t t 1 •OS 1 1 1 •w •o v V•© 1 1 1 SI vo to p- 0 c t 1 I 1 OS vn os Ov vn ov v•n S• I •Co •OS Jar• • • • • • p- Avn 0 •v3 vn w si S3 W 0 2 * M p H H H W H W w 1 1 1 •8 •8 8• •8 •8 8• s• •8 8 0• •0 HI£ O O O O 0 0 0 O O 0 r* UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY OCCUPATIONS OF ADULT HALS MIGRANTS , Absolute Figures Total 100.0 Source* Field survey, 1968/69 of Oshun "labourers” in Ghana’s mineral fields are not labourers since they earn no wages, but are self-employed. "Trading" consists of exchange of goods on small and large scales as well as transport operation. The capital outlay of petty trading is less than £50 while the investment in large-scale trading is over £50. Under "artisans" are included all skilled occupations such as handicrafts, driving, produce buying, butchery, laundry and hair cutting. Activities included under 'others’ range from clerical to other labourers. The variation in the figures reflects that of the economy of the place to which the migrants go. For example, Ghana has a relatively more diversified economy than any other destination.'*' Those parts of the northwest and the northeast which had migrants in Ghana, therefore, had its people abroad engaged in nearly all the occupations listed in the Table. On the other hand, most of the migrants to other parts of the Western State are farmers. The northeast which has the largest proportion of migrants to the Western State also has the largest proportion in agriculture although some of its inhabitants in Ghana were farmers. The variation is also due to the habit of the early migrants in seeking work in particular occupations. The Oyan migrants in Ghana, for example, sought work in the BKtne-fie-ld and on farms whereas the Ogboraosho migrants rarely did so. It would appear that 1 1. For Ghana economy, see Boateng, E.A., A Geography of Ghana, Cambridge, 1959, 61-131. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY SB the Ogbomosho people had a definite prejudice against working in the mines as very few of them reported working there* They were satisfied with starting petty trade with the money they had acquired as labourers on the railway or in the army. On the other hand, the Oyan people were afraid to risk the money made as labourers on trading. They preferred to work in the mines in order to acquire more money before becoming traders. Moreover, the people from northeast Cshun reported more of their members as enlisting in the force that fought in the Ashanti war of 1896 than did the people from the northwest. The former had, therefore, had more contact with mining than had the latter. Finally, the Oyan migrant farmers had been influenced by the profitability of cocoa growing at Agege or at home and they thus preferred to start as cocoa farmers. The result is that occupations among the people of the northeast were more diversified than among the people of the other zones. Trading The majority of Oshun migrants are traders. Table 15 reveals that trading varies in popularity among the migrants. The north­ west alone accounts for 53 per cent of all the 756 traders in the sample villages while the south accounts for only 13 per cent. Migrants from Ogbomosho and the northeast trade mainly in Ghana and Northern Nigeria. Yet only *f0.6 per cent of all the northeast migrants were traders compared with 7^.^ per cent recorded as traders UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY in the northwest* The Ejigbo people and the Iwo people traded in the Ivory Coast. Traders from other parts of the Division, particularly the south, were chiefly petty traders found in the cities of Western Nigeria and Lagos, A high proportion of the migrants engaged in trading because this occupation was believed to bring fairly good returns. To become a successful trader was therefore the goal of many migrants. Capital was required to start a trade but this capital was usually acquired from another occupation. There was thus a hierarchy of occupations through which people passed before becoming traders* In most cases (about 70 per cent) they start as labourers. When they have acquired sufficient income they become petty traders. La$er they become large-scale traders and finally transport owners. The petty trading might take the form of an exchange of local products or of imported European goods. The early Oyan and Inisha migrants in Ghana were, for example, fishmongers dealing in fresh, semi-dried and dried fish. They bought in bulk directly from the fishermen or fish smokers along the coast and sold to Ghanaian women retailers. The Ejigbo migrants in the Ivory Coast sold various kinds of household and fancy goods while migrants to Northern Nigeria traded in foodstuffs and manufactured goods. Early migrants from Ogbomosho, Ede, and Oshogbo areas to Ghana and Dahomey traded partly in imported articles like salt and UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 70 fishing nets but chiefly in Yoruba cloth such as locally woven kijipa, ofit sanyan, etu, petuje; designed .jakan and dyed adire pieces. Contact was maintained with the local weavers, designers and dyers in Oshun Division through messages sent via the many people going to and fro. Types of cloth to be prepared were specified and the migrants came or sent their apprentices to collect them at the appointed date. To make the trip more profi­ table, imported goods were taken from the coastal towns to be sold at home. As the trade expanded, traders started to form partnerships. It was necessity that made them come together for trading purposes. On their occasional visits home, migrants used to take all their savings and capital with them. If they found heavy financial commitments at home they would spend all they brought with the result that they had to start afresh when they returned to their places of migration. To prevent occurrences such as these, migrants started leaving part of their capital with friends who continued trading with it until they returned. The profits were shared equitably between the owner of the capital and its care­ taker. Later after confidence had been built up, the two parties would agree not to share the profit but to merge their bxisiness into one big concern. A large-scale business can also be achieved without cooperation. More often than not, the petty traders ploughed back some of their UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 71 profits into their business until it became a large-scale concern. The more successful traders soon started to operate transport. Some of the fleet of vehicles operated within the country to which they had migrated. Others plied between the migrants’ home of origin and their place of destination. Although the majority of the migrants followed the pattern described above in order to become successful businessmen, a few started at stages other than that of labourers. About 5 per cent brought their capital from home or from a former place of migration while about 25 per cent branched out from being appren­ tice or assistant to a relative or friend. By 1968, Oshun people dominated the distributive trade in Ghana and the Ivory Coast.^ In every important trading centre, in isolated stations, in remote districts of Ghana and Ivory Coast, the Oshun men were to be found as traders. Mining Mining in Ghana became a major pre-occupation of people from northeast Oshun* Over 80 per cent of the first group of people to work in the mines were fire-wood cutters; the rest were labourers working for the mining companies. While the labourers earned wages, the wood cutters worked for themselves, supplying the wood that was used as fuel in the mines in the early decades of this century. 1 "New Ghana Decree May put Nigerians out of Business", Daily Times, February 3 and k, 1969* 7 and 10. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY n The income from wood-cutting made many Oyan people prefer it to working as labourers. A wood-cutter earned between 7s. 6d. and 15s a day as against Is. to a day earned as a labourer in the mines. The fortune of the wood-cutters, however, depended equally on the mines. When in the 1920's the mines had labour difficulties owing to the wage attraction of the rapidly expanding cocoa industry and the construction of Takoradi harbour, demand for fire-wood declined.'1' The problem of wood-cutters was further aggravated in the 1930*s when other fuels began to replace firewood. Some of the migrants were thus forced to look for other employment. Fortunately, gold mining had already given rise to the creation of new towns and the expansion of old ones with the resqlt that commerce developed. A few of the displaced gold mine workers took to trading but in the 19^0*s a large majority of them turned to digging diamond which had been discovered in 1919- A new-comer to the diamond field usually started as a ’labourer’• A ’labourer’ worked on the concession of a digger although he owed no specific loyalty to the digger except that he paid a monthly fee of £1 for working on his field. The ’labourer’ could work by himself but he usually worked in company of others. He dug the mud flats and the mud was then washed, shaken, sieved and sorted out to find whether the material had diamonds in it. The find, if 1. Boateng, E.A., ’’The Tarkwa Gold Mining Industry”, Bulletin of the Gold Coast Geographical Association. 2, 1, 1957* 7. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY any, was brought to the digger or concessionaire for sale. The 'labourer* was not compelled to sell his diamond to the digger; he could hawk his find round the offices of private dealers to see who offered the best price* His income depended on the amount of diamonds he won. There might be no return for some days; but at other times the earnings might be £5 or even £50 a day. A 'labourer* could become a digger or a concessionaire whenever he acquired sufficient capital. This was a position difficult to attain although many Oyan migrants did so. The expenses which would be incurred included several payments to the chiefs and the local people, royalties, surveyor's fees, rent to the local authority, fee for a permit to examine the land and the licence fee. Before the chiefs agreed to grant the concession, they would satisfy themselves that the would-be digger was a proven wealthy man. Ownership of a vehicle was essential to the digger as he took the carat to the Accra diamond market weekly. Occasionally, he might have to travel to Europe if prices were low in Accra.1 In spite of these difficulties it was possible that with good luck and hard work a person might become a concessionaire after working as a 'labourer' for between three and five years. Diamond diggers were usually very rich and well travelled. In addition to the commission collected monthly from their 'labourers' who might number as many as 500• they made big profits which 1. After January 1, 1961, dealers were compelled to sell through the Accra markets. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY occasionally ran into thousands of pounds a month. The diggers and ’labourers* dominated the small-producer section of Ghana’s diamond trade and the people of Oyan had been in the forefront since the early days of diamond digging.1 Agriculture Migrants to other parts of Western Nigeria did so in search of cocoa land. They held the land on lease and paid the traditional Ishakole. In theory they could not be evicted as long as they paid the Ishakole. but in practice they often received orders to quit at short notices. On the other hand, migrants to Ghana did not anticipate that they would become farmers. Some of them had acquired capital and skill in other occupations before turning to farming and they started it as large-scale enterprise. Fortunately, conditions for large-scale fanning were found in Ghana and Dahomey. Land could be bought or sold. In Dahomey, for example, not only did the law of 1955 simplifier individualization of land but security to title of land was guaranteed by a deed of conveyance.^ In Ghana, the sale of fJer®’ had been recognised for a long time. 3 There was thus the incentive to acquire large 1. ’’Diggers'President”, West Africa. December 31, I960, 1^73* 2. Thompson, V, and Adloff, B., French West Africa, London, 1958, 3^5-351. 3* Hill, P., "The Migration of Southern Ghanaian Cocoa Farmers”, Bulletin of the Ghana Geographical Association. 5» 2, i960, 9-19. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY I h farms which made Oshun migrant farmers earn an average of about £200 in a year. Artisans Of the 1,396 adult migrants in the Division, 272 (19.5 per cent) were artisans and 90 (6A per cent) were engaged in miscellaneous occupations. It will be seen from Table 15 that the artisans were almost evenly distributed between the three zones but the ratio to other occupations within each zone varied considerably. While the 10^ artisans in the south represented kS per cent of all the migrants from the zone, the 88 artisans in the northeast represented Ik per cent of the migrants from that zone. The high proportion of artisans in the south is due to the fact that out-migration here is recent and rarely involves long­ distance movement. Within the zone itself, the district whose inhabitants migrated to distant places and for relatively longer period had fewer artisans and more traders. 33*8 per cent of the migrants from Oluponna aa?e artisans whereas from Odeyinka they represente469.2 per cent of adult male migrants. The period of migration gave scope for migrants to change their occupations to more lucrative ones. While a barber could barely earn £10 a month, a cocoa farmer, or a trader or a mining "labourer" could earn several times that amount. Most of the people who moved far afield therefore took up jobs other than those of artisans. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 7 b On the other hand, most of the migrants from the south especially in Aiyedade and Egbedore areas moved from the rural district to the nearest town to learn a trade or to attend school# It is important to point out that the occupation which a migrant held in his home of origin before migrating might influence his decision to be an artisan. The butchers from Iwo district continued their occupation in places of their migration. Today, in Lagos, the Ivory Coast and Dahomey, the meat industry is dominated by migrants from Iwo. The distribution of occupation among migrants thus shows that migrants from each district in Oshun have a particular kind of occupation. Trading is the major occupation of the people of the northwest and of part of the northeast. Farming and mining are the exclusive work of the northeast people while people from the south are largely artisans. The occupations also indicate the considerable extent to which the economic welfare of the people in Oshun is linked with the prosperity of other areas both within and outside Nigeria. Because of this dependence on destination area, migrants tend to stay away from home for long periods. PERIOD OF ABSENCE FROM HOME A discussion of the duration of migration should examine the total number of years which the migrants spend away from home, the time-lag between one visit and the next, and the factors which UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 77 influenced the final return home. Information about the length of migratory career and factors of returns has been derived from all return-migrants in the families of respondents. Facts about the period of continuous absence from home are based on informa­ tion about the interval between visits of present migrants and the migratory history of return-migrants. Since migration in the south is recent, the conclusions drawn about the zone must be tentative. However, the conclusions will be useful in indicating possible trends if large-scale out-migration from this zone were to take place in future. Length of Migratory Career Table 16 records the number and proportion of people who spent various number of years as migrants. It will be seen that while there is a marked areal difference between the south and other zones there is little or no difference between the northeast and the northwest. Of the twenty-four return-migrants in the south, 58*3 per cent spent no more than five years as migrants but only 5 per cent of the migrants in the northern zones fall into that category. By contrast, only six people (25.0 per cent) spent over ten years as migrants in the south whereas 312 (72.2 per cent) people had a migratory career lasting over 10 years in the northeast. In the northeast and northwest people who migrated for a period lasting eleven to fifteen years constitute the largest single group. In fact the average length UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 78 of migratory career for the two zones is sixteen and seventeen years respectively as against six for the south. TABLE 16 LENGTH OF MIGJRATOHY CAREER No. of 1 Years people r Over ' 0-5 6-10 11-15 16-20 ' 20 Total South 58.3 16.7 16.7 8.3 100.0 Northeast kj2 6.0 21.8 31.0 19.9 21.3 100.0 Northwest 360 5.0 18.9 32.8 25.0 18.3 100.0 Total 816 7.1 20.3 31.^ 21.8 19.^ 100.0 1 Source: Field survey, 1968/69* An important conclusion that can be derived from these figures is that migration in the northern part of the Division is semi-permanent whereas it is still of a temporary nature in the south. Migration is no longer conceived as an exercise to relieve immediate pressing needs but as a way of life. The destination is regarded as a second home, the wealth accrued from which should be used to sustain the economic welfare of the primary home area. Several families who regulate which members will travel out were encountered at Igbaye. At a formal (or sometimes informal) meeting the family decides which of its members UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 79 will go and take charge of their ’home* and business in the place of migration. They also request their aged relatives to return home* The relatives at home receive nearly all financial support from those away* In fact, they, too, would have migrated but for similar decisions which placed them in charge of family properties at home in Oshun, Period of Continuous Absence from Home A man’s total migratory career analysed above is not usually attained in a single stretch. It is often broken by visits of varying duration* The interval between these visits also varies with different people, villages and with time. The period of continuous absence from home iseteadily becoming longer. In the early days migrants working on farm plantations at Agege spent less than one year there before returning home. Those who worked on the railway outside Nigeria were on contract for about one year and returned home after the contract was completed. Part of their wages was deferred and paid to them on their return to Nigeria. The system of deferred payment was adopted to encourage savings and to keep workers on the railway for at least one year but it also served as an incentive for the iirorkers eventually to return home. They migrated again after exhausting their money. As their wants increased, migrants stayed longer in order to earn more money until they decided to make their homes where UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 80 they had migrated. By 1968, the average length of continuous absence from home had become nine years in the northeast and eight years in the northwest. When they paid their rare visits home, they spend between two and eight weeks before returning to their place of migration. This point is further illustrated by Table 17 which shows the number of years that have elapsed since the current male migrants last visited home. Very few (134 which is 9*6 per cent) have been home within the last two years whereas 1,006 (72.1 per cent) have not visited home for five years or more. The bulk of the people who came home frequently are from the south. Two-fifths of the migrants from Oshun south had been home within the last two years and another two-fifths within the last four years. This is because migration of many people in the zone is confined to Nigeria. TABLE 17 CONTINUOUS ABSENCE OF CURRENT ADULT MALE MIGRANTS (Proportion Per cent) No. Years of men 0-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9-10 Over 10 Total South 226 40.7 37.2 12.4 8.0 1.7 V *• 100.0 Northeast 630 2.8 13.0 35.9 25.1 16.2 ' 7.0 100.0 Northwest 540 4.4 16.7 41.1 21.3 11.1 5.2 100.0 Total 1390 9*6 18.3 34.1 20.9 11.9 5.2 , 100.0 Source: Field survey, 1968/69* UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 31 On the other hand, the majority of migrants in the northeast and northwest have been away continuously for five years or more. In fact, of the seventy-two migrants who have been absent for over ten years consecutively, none is from the south. The northeast has twenty two and the northwest has fourteen in this group. The larger number for the northeast is due to the fact that they migrated to Ghana. The Ghana government's attitude towards repatriation of money made it difficult for the migrants to undertake new prpjects at home and even to obtain money to maintain themselves should they visit home.^ The lower figure for the northwest which also has migrants in Ghana is explained by the fact that the zone also has migrants in Northern Nigeria and in the Ivory Coast. The relation between migration destinations and length of continuous stay is clearly brought out in Table 18 which shows how long it is since all current migrants last visited home. Many (59 per cent) of the 478 migrants in Western Nigeria had been away for only two years consecutively whereas the correspon­ ding figures for Ivory Coast and Ghana are five and eighteen respectively. Physical distance from home partly explains this situation. The cost of transport in money, time and energy encouraged migrants in Western Nigeria to come home more often. While it 1 See Chapter 8, "Capital" UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 82 TABLE 18 TIME OF LAST VISIT HOME BY CURRENT ADULT MIGRANTS BY DESTINATION (Proportion Per cent) No, 1 Years of Migra­ nts ' 0-2 3-4 5-6 ' 7-8 19-10 Over Total 10 Ivory Coast 472 2.1 33.5 35.2 14.4 11.4 3.4 100.0 Ghana 12 0 k 3*0 26.0 31.1 21.9 13.0 5.0 100.0 Dahomey 114 17.5 38.6 26.3 12.3 3.5 1.8 100.0 Northern Nigeria 274 12.4 40.2 32.1 10.9 2.9 1.5 100.0 Western Nigeria 478 59.0 31.8 5.9 2.9 0.4 - 100.0 Others 114 61.3 21.1 10.5 1.8 3.5 1.8 100.0 Total 2656 17.0 30.2 26.2 14.8 8.6 3.2 100.0 Sources Field survey, 1968/69* takes about two days to travel from Cyan to Ghana and five days to travel from 011a to Abidjan, it takes only a few hours to travel from Oyan or 011a to Ife. The journey to Ife costs about 7s. 6d. but it costs £4.5 and £8 to travel to Accra and Abidjan respectively. It is also possible for migrants* relatives to visit, UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 8 ij send messages to, or apply other pressures on the Western Nigeria migrants to visit home. Furthermore, since some of the migrants are farmers they could afford to come home during periods of light work on the farm or for important festivals. Thus, in Western Nigeria there is a negative correlation between the number of migrants away from home and the number of years spent in places of destination. In places outside Nigeria, however, the correla­ tion is positive up to the sixth year* After that, it becomes negative. This further emphasizes the semi-permanent nature of migration: however long they are away from home, migrants do not abandon their people and they pay them visits, even if very rarely. Links with Home If migrants are not l06t to their home of origin, however prolonged their absence might be, the question then arises: how do they maintain a link with home? The contact is fostered through various communication networks. Three main channels are employed: oral messages, letters and visits. Oral message is the oldest and still important form of contact with home. People going to the place of migration carry most of the messages from home. Similarly, migrants returning home either on a casual visit, or on business trips or at the end of a migratory career bring back news of migrants. Such news is not difficult to corae by since migrants from the same community UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY settle in the same area and meet at different places formally and informally. People travelling home would announce, in advance, their intentions so that those who wanted to send messages could do so. Tip-offs about a potential traveller were also given to people who wanted to send a message. Lorry-drivers are important message carriers. As indicated above, lorries plying routes between their destination and their home region were often owned by the migrants themselves and in all cases driven by people from the same village or district. The drivers were therefore well-known to the migrants. Messages were sent or received at motor parks. The drivers often knew the exact whereabouts of migrants and went to their homes to pass on messages oreiren bring them a relative they had brought by them as passenger on credit. Many of the people involved in carrying messages were of proven honesty who could be entrusted even with money and goods. These message carriers also bear over 50 per cent of the letters where a Post Office exists in or near a village and all the letters where there is no Post Office. The number of letters received annually from different sources is tabulated in Table 19. Nearly half of all the 9,956 letters received in Oshun annually came from Ghana and about one-fifth from the Ivory Coast. The south which has fewer migrants but many of whom are in Western Nigeria accounts for only 10.5 per cent of all the letters whereas UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY table 19 LETTERS RECEIVED ANNUALLY No. Bet­ Proportions Per cent of ween letters village Ave­ Ghana Ivory North­ Western per rage Coast Dahomey ern Nigeria Others Total cent Nigeria South 1,021 10.3 -9.0 - 42.1 - 3.4 45.4 9.2 100.0 Oluponna 851 8.5 12.2 mm 50.5 1.4 37.1 10.9 100.0 Odeyinka 170 1.7 2.9 "" — 12.9 87.1 mm 100.0 Northeast 4,797 48.2 27.0 75.6 0.3 «■ * 5.4 14.8 3.9 100.0 Oyan 2,145 21.5 25.6 83.7 0.8 2.4 8.1 5.0 100.0 Igbaye 2,652 26.6 28.2 69.1 mm 7.8 20.2 2.9 100.0 Northwest 4,138 41.6 28.0 27.7 42.3 5.2 11.4 10.2 3.2 100.0 Olla 2,379 23-9 27.1 _ 73.7 9.0 1.7 10.1 5.5 100.0 Iwofin 1,759 17.7 29.3 65.2 ** — 24/4 10.4 ** 100.0 Total 9,956 100.0 21.8 47.8 22.1 2.2 7.7 16 .1 4.1 100.0 Source? Field survey, 1968/69. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY the northeast has **8.2 per cent and the northwest 41,6 per cent. The average number of letters received yearly is only 9 in the south as against 27 and 28 in the northeast and northwest respectively. These letters supplement the migrants' visits home. Reasons for these visits need to be stressed and are given in Table 20 for a five year period. Although the casual visits are the most numerous in every zone, accounting for over 80 per cent of the 6,993 visits, the other two types of visits help to invigorate the village economy. For example, a building project provides work for various categories of people in the village for as long as the project lasts. The ceremony that accompanies a wedding brings income to the entertainers, sellers of food-stuffs, condiments and textiles as well as to tailors. Within the last five years, 273 and 659 visits were paid for building and weddings respectively. The few such visits in the south were confined to Oluponna. It is either that the migrants in Odeyinka have not yet acquired sufficient money to build or marry because of the recency of their migratory career or that they have built or taken wives where they are now working. It will be seen that villages which have migrants in Ghana have a smaller proportion of visits for these purposes. The problem associated with repatriation of money from that country is responsible for this and will be discussed later. It may be added, however, that such projects as building houses or getting UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 87 married can be undertaken without migrant visiting home at all or when he has decided to return home to settle finally. TABLE 20 PUBPOSE OF VISITS PAID (QUIN QUENNIALLY) ___________________________(Proportions Per cent) No. of , Buil- , Wed- , Visits ding ding Casual Total South 1290 0.9 3.3 95.7 100.0 Oluponna 930 1.2 4.6 94.2 100.0 Odeyinka 360 - mm 100.0 100.0 Northeast 3311 9.5 86.0 100.0 Oyan 1324 5.2 10.2 84.6 100.0 Igbaye 1987 3.9 9.2 86.9 100.0 Northwest 3397 if .8 12.5 82.7 100.0 011a 1274 5.9 11.7 82.4 100.0 Iwofin 1123 3.7 13.4 82.9 100.0 Total 6998 3.9 9.4 86.7 100.0 Source; Field Survey, 1968/69. Factors of Permanent Beturn The specific reasons that induced the individuals to return home are numerous and diverse. However, it is possible to group UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 88 the reasons into economic and non-econoraic factors. These reasons are shown in Table 21. It will be seen that the major factor influencing return is economic. This is not surprising as the important reason for migrating was also economic. Having achieved their aim, the people returned to settle at home. Many of them came back after they had built a house, married at least one wife and had acquired sufficient capital to help them take up a trade. Not all return migrants settle back in their villages of origin. The new skill they had acquired and the scale of their trade might not be useful in their village. Since they have in effect re-migrated they are considered as current-migrants and not as return migrants. TABLE 21 FACTORS OF PERMANENT RETURN OF RETURN-MIGRANTS Economic Non-eeonomic Total No. % No. % No. ! % South 16 66.7 8 33.3 2k 100.0 Northeast 305 70.8 127 29.2 kj>2 100.0 Northwest 239 66.1 121 33.9 360 100.0 Total 560 68.6 256 31.^ 816 100.0 Source: Field survey, 1968/69 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY One finds that the noa-economic factor represents over 30 per cent of all the reasons for return in all zones* Pressure from people at home is important here* Some sons insisted that their parents should return home probably because of old age while some old parents at home threaten to curse their sons if they did not return. In Cyan an informant claimed that he invoked the power of juju on his son to force him to return* Furthermore, as headship of family, house, compound or community jf I fell on migrants they returned in response to the call of their people* There are also people who regard their last days as a time of rest. They leave their business abroad to their children or brother© and return home to operate as absentes "directors”* Still others return home in old age or when taken ill because they wished to die among their own people* Such a desire is in accordance with Toruba tradition which places emphasis on the proverb, "East or West, hose is the best"* Finally, a fsw people complained of nostalgia, maintaining that they were tired of a migratory life* CONCLUSION Perhaps the most important question suggested by this type of semi-permanent international migration is the effect which the present alien policy of some West African governments is UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 90 likely to have on the nature and extent of migration in the Division. It may be that migration of Oshun people will change its essential features to meet the challenge of the new situation. Oshun migrants may move to other destinations within or outside Nigeria where the alien policy is still liberal so that there may not be any reduction in the number of people moving out of the Division. On the other hand, it is not impossible to imagine that some of the people sent out of other countries will return to Oshun Division. Because of the return of these people, population density in the Division will increase. The increased pressure on land may lead to either intensive methods of cultivation or the use of marginal lands. Such a development will affect the in-flow of in-migrants who now make use of part of the marginal zone. The distribution and characteristics of these in-migrants are examined in the next Chapter. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY CHAPTER k IN-MIGRATION INTO OSHUN DIVISION The contention of this thesis so far is that Oshun Division, particularly its northern part, is an area that favours out-raigration. The reasons for the movement of people out of the northern zone of the Division lie chiefly in the lack of a resource base in the area* Paradoxically, what is regarded as a poor or an inadequate resource base by the Oshun people is seen as a good or an adequate one by other groups of people* The Division has been thought so desirable that people differing as widely as the Hausa, Ibo, Igbira, Urhobo, Fulani, Tiv, Ilorin, to mention only a few, converge upon it. These in-migrants may be temporary or semi-permanent. The latter, with whom this thesis is concerned, can be divided into three main classes. The first are those who take up land and become peasant cultivators. These are, very often, Igbira and Ilorin from Kwara State. The second group are those who combine farming with the job of money-lenders to the native farmers. They will be referred to as creditor-farmers. They include different people from areas east of the Western State - Ibo, Urhobo, Edo and Ibibio. The third group are those who work in non-farm business. They may be Hausa or Ibo traders or the Fulani cattle tenders. THE PEASANT CULTIVATORS The first class is by far the largest of the three groups. The attraction of Oshun Division to them is that it is essentially a UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY region of peasant agriculture. Conditions of tenure allow anybody to rise from the status of a labourer to a customary tenant farmer. An in-migrant entering the Division for the first time can easily work for wages as a labourer on the farms of the natives. In fact, nearly all the earliest Ilorin and Igbira farmers who moved south to Oshun from their homes in the north started as wage labourers before they struck out on their own. Mabogunjje, in his illuminating article, has traced the histo­ rical origin of labour movement from northern savanna of West Africa to the forested south. 1 He emphasizes that the replacement of slave trade with legitimate trade in the early twentieth century gave the southern part of West Africa an economic advantage over the north. There were more export crops in the south than in the north. The pattern of transport that later developed also favoured the south. The farmer in the north therefore received low prices for his agricultural produce because of the extra transport cost needed to evacuate it to the ports. To correct this disadvantage many people from the north migrated periodically to the south to augment their low income during the slack season. One may add that what made the movement possible was the disruption of the traditional supply of labour to farms in the south. 1. Mabogunje, Akin L., Regional Mobility and Resource Development in West Africa. Keith Callard Lectures^ Series 6>, McGill University, 1968, 51-59. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY la former times the farmers used their wives, children, slaves and pawns on farms.^ Slavery and the pawn systems have disappeared while migration and free primary education have reduced the number of the members of the family who are available for farm work. By about the early 19^0, wage labour was already becoming a normal feature of Oshun life. The movement was first to the prosperous cocoa farms of the south. A step-wise movement of in-migrants is noticeable. The heavy demand for labour in Oshun south had some repercussion in Oshun north. Much of the local labour in Oshun north was attracted to the south where high wage rates were offered. In fact the development of cocoa industry in Iwo district is attributed to the labour migrants from Oshogbo district, particularly Okinni. The gaps thus left in Oshun north were filled up by migrants from Ilorin and Offa. Some of the Ilorin and Offa migrants were later attracted to Oshun south and their place was taken by people of Middle Belt origin, namely, the Tiv, the Agatu and others. In the 194-0’s tree crop cultivation was expanding rapidly while the source of traditional labour was decreasing. The labour situation became problematic. Labourers were attracted not only by high wages but also by the provision of free accommodation and meals. In spite of these inducements, the labourers were available only on a seasonal basis. It was not until the late 19^0*s that the Ilorin and Igbira labourers started to settle semi-permanently 1. See Chapter 7 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 94 in Oshun Division. At first, they increased their length of stay to about two years especially when they wanted to acquire sore money than they could earn in a year. After a year or two the migrant might decide that he wished to work for himself and to have his own farm. Under the system of tenure described in Chapter 6, he was usually able to obtain a plot. Initially, he combined his normal work as a labourer with work on his own farm. Be would progressively spend more time and money on his own farm until his farm was fully established. Once established, he was not only self-supporting but was able to sell his surplus crop in the ever-expanding market of Western Nigeria. His former work as a labourer was now done by other migrant groups*, mostly Agatu and temporary Xlorin migrants. that made such final settlement easy to contemplate for most of the people was the fact that their familiarity with Oshun Division afforded them an opportunity of comparing ecological conditions of their home area with that of their new settlement. Their awareness of the differences between Oshun Division and Kwara State is crucial to their decision to settle in Oshun Division. To be able to appreciate the pattern and characteristic of the settle* sent, the differences between the two areas must be examined. Geographical Background to Ia-aigration Conditions of soil and climate in many parts of Oshun Division aro better than those of the home-villages of migrants. The soils of Oshun Division have already been shown to be relatively of good UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY physical quality except for those soils of its central areas and the skeletal soils on top of the residual hills in its northern part* Even though the soils of the central areas are unsuitable for tree crops, they can support arable crops* From Higgins* account of the soils of Ilorin and Kabba provinces, one finds that most of the soils in the areas have poor nutrient status, low organic matter content and therefore are a very poor medium for plant growth*^ The few pockets that offer the best possibilities for agriculture have been so heavily leached that a large quantity of their plant nutrients has been lost. Further­ more, the remaining quantities of nutrients have been used up by the intense farming of the people who concentrate in Igbira division in large numbers.2 Apart from soil, climate, particularly the rainfall regime, is also responsible for the differences in crop yield in Oshun Division and Kwara State. The amount of water available for plant use ids greater in Oshun Division than in Kwara State. Garnier*s map of moisture availability for plant growth in West Africa shows that the mean annual potential evapotranspiration, measured in millimetres, is below 1,^00 in Oshun Division (the bulk of the 1* Higgins, G.M., "Soils", in A Report on the CD.imate, Soils and Vegetation of the Niger Trough, ed. by Higgins, G.M., Ramsay, D.M. and Fullan, R.A., i 960, ll-*2. 2. Clayton, W.D., Derived Savanna in Kabba Province* Nigeria* Samaru Research Bulletin, 15, Zaria, 19^2, 600. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Division in fact falls below 1,300) while it is greater than 1,^00 every where in Kwara State. On the other hand, the mean annual water surplus in over 250 in Oshun Division as against about 200 in Kwara State. The effect of these contrasting physical conditions of both Oshun Division and Kwara State is seen in the crop yield per acre. Since the field work for this thesis did not cover the Kwara State, there 1t« no direct data from which to make a realistic comparison of the crop yields in both zones. However, there are crop yield data for Ibadan and Ilorin Provinces as well as for Western and Northern Nigeria. Each of the two areas which are being compared is located in each of the Provinces and old Regions. The data can therefore be used as a surrogate. As revealed in Table 22> the yield of cassava and maize per acre in Ibadan Provinces nearly trebles that of Ilorin Province. The crop yields in the West are also higher than the crop yields in the North except when beans are planted as a 3ole crop. It should not, therefore, be a surprise that in-migrant3 flock into Oshun Division to do the s^me type of occupation which they abandoned at home because of poor returns. A few of the in-raigrant cultivators, particularly the Ilorin, were not influenced by the factors discussed above. Rather, they 1 . Garnier, B.J., "Maps of the Water Balance in West Africa", Bulletin de l'Inst. Fr. Afr. Nord., 22, A., i960, 709-722. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 9? TABLE 22 YIELD PER ACRE OF THE MAIN FOOD CROPS IN IBADAN AND ILORIN PROVINCES (lbs. per acre) Planting Ibadan Ilorin Northern Western Crop Method Province^- Province^ Nigeria^ Nigeria* Yam Sole 6,230 5,573 10,406 11,663 Mixed - - 9,536 8,073 Maize Sole - - 789 1,036 Mixed - - 757 790 Cassava Sole 9,28^ 3,098 8,319 10,580 Mixed mm - 5,666 10,287 Beans Sole kk7 195 *07 373 Mixed - mm 210 386 i i Sources 1. Report on the Sample Census of Agriculture, 1950-51* Department of Statistics, Lagos. 2. Rural Economic Survey, 1963/6^: Federal Office of Statistics, Lagos, 1966. were goaded by the Native Authority Tax which was imposed on every male who had reached the age of puberty. In 1923* the amount was twelve shillings in Ilorin whereas it was only six shillings in Ogbomosho area. The difference in the incidence of taxation 1, Nigeria, National Archives, Oyo-Ilorin Boundary, Oshun Division File 1/2, OS 70, vol. 1, 113* UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY encouraged some Ilorin farmers to move into Ogbomosho area. At least five Ilorin settlements (Ahoyaya, Awole, Shakka, lyate, Kainde, Owoloko) were abandoned and their inhabitants migrated into Ogbomosho district to found new settlements.^ Such settlements would increase the number of taxable adults, and also the amount of tax that could be collected in Ogbomosho district. Thus the Bale of Ogbomosho and his chiefs readily gave their permission for the Ilorin to settle because their own income depended on the amount of tax they could collect. By the late 1920's the Native Authority Tax had ceased to be an important factor in the movement out of Ilorin Province. The British authorities took very stern measures to check such movements. Any Ilorin who migrated to Ogbomosho was to pay the same tax to the Ogbomosho authorities as he would have paid if he had stayed at home. Moreover, if he had a house in Ilorin he would pay the Ilorin Native Authority some tax as well. The gradual increase in tax in Oshun Division also made the incidence of taxation become a still less important factor. A comparison of the amount payable as tax and rates by the farmers of Western and Northern Nigeria between 1957 and 1962 has been made by Orewa. 2 The tax payer on an income of £50 per annum paid a total tax of £3.0 in the West and £5*5 in the North. When, however, 1. Ibid., part 1. Nigeria, National Archives, Ogbomosho Matters, Oshun Division File 1/2, OS 70, vol. 1, 113- 2. Orewa, G.O., Report on the Problems of Local Government Finance in Western Nigeria, Ibadan, 1963. l42~l46>. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY the income of the tax payer was £150 or £250, the Western Nigerian farmer paid £9.37 or £15.63 respectively as against £6.0 or £9.0 respectively paid by his counterpart in the North. OTHER IN-MIGRANT GROUPS A certain number of in-migrants either do not farm at all or combine farming with some other job. As pointed out above, people from areas east of Western Nigeria fall into this latter category. They started their movement into Oshun Division in the early 19^0's. Some of them came as labourers but the majority came to work on the palm tree plantations. In Oshun Division, it is usual to entrust into the care of in-migrants, the harvesting of palm trees on a purely share-cropping basis which generally gives the in-migrant half of the harvest yields. Although palm-oil production was the earliest economic activity of these in-migrant creditor-farmers, the occupation was not sufficient to keep them fully employed throughout the year. The harvesting of palm fruits has a seasonal peak: March to May. If the in-migrants were engaged in palm oil production only, they would have little or nothing to do for the greater part of the year. In order to avoid the concomittant idleness that this situation portends, they borrowed plots of land for the cultivation of food crops. It is not clear when they started to combine farming with the harvesting of the oil palm. The practice appears to have been coeval with their arrival in the Division. By the late UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 100 19^0's, they had added the granting of credit to their occupation. They were able to provide the loan from the savings which they had accumulated from their former occupation. The non-farming in-migrants are the Hausa and the Fulani, The date of their arrival in Oshun Division varies from village to village. In Oshun north, it is difficult to say precisely when they arrived as the local people cannot distinguish between those who crossed the border recently and those who had come into the area immediately after the 1893 peace. However, one thing that is certain is that their numbers became large enough to be noticed only when the occupation in which they were engaged became important. The date of the coming of the cattle-dealers may therefore be put at about the beginning of the century when the restoration of peace must have promoted trade between the two zones. The kolanut traders whose activities affect the rural areas directly were not considered important until the 1930's. In Odo-Otin district they settled permanently in the 19^0's when the kola trade began to boom. The Fulani were attracted into Ejigbo district in 19^1 by the return-migrants who wanted to keep cattle. The first group went to 011a where, at their own request, a separate settlement was built for them. Such Fulani settlements are called Qaa. Other villages followed 011a's example so that before long a distinguishing feature of Oshun north was (and still is) the existence of a group of huts outside some villages, occupied by Fulani who tend cattle UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY for the rural capitalists* Having seen the factors which influenced the movement of in-migrants into the Division, it is worthwhile considering in more detail the distribution and demographic characteristics of the in-migrants* Such an analysis is necessary to be able to evaluate properly, their roles in the development of the Division. THE EXTENT* DISTRIBUTION AND OCCUPATION OF IN-MIGRANTS No official records are available about the numbers of in­ migrants coming to Oshun Division. However, it can be assumed that those ethnic groups who are not Yoruba in the 1952 census are in-migrants to Oshun Division. This assumption will make it impossible to distinguish Yoruba in-migrants such as the Ilorin and Offa people. In spite of these limitations, the data from the census are instructive enough to justify their use. Extent The relevant data from the 1952 census are summarized in Table 23 where the actual numbers of in-migrants are given and are also expressed as the percentage of the total number of people in Oshun Division. It is clear from the Table that 0.80 per cent of the people who were living in the Division in 1952 were non- Yoruba in-migrants. The people of Northern Nigeria origin consti­ tuted the largest group. They accounted for 0.^1 per cent of the total population whereas the people of Eastern and Mid-Western Nigeria origin formed only 0.27 per cent of the population. About UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 102 TABLE 23 NUMBER OF IN-MIGRANTS IN OSHUN DIVISION. 1952 ir------------- Easter Far- Groupl Northern Others^ Total Group^ No. < %oA No. ' No. * %k < No. » %k South 653 0.08 1212 0.14 481 0.06 2346 0.26 Northeast 1529 0.18 1196 0.l4 450 0.05 3175 0.37 Northwest 150 0.02 1095 0.13 93 0.01 1338 0.19 Total 2332 0.27 3503 0.41 1024 0.12 6859 0.80 1 i 1. This group includes Ibo, Urhobo, Ibibio and Edo* 2. This group includes Hausa, Kanuri and Fulani 3. This group includes Igbira, Tiv, Nupe and other Nigerian tribes. 4. Percentage of total population of Oehun Division. Source: Population Census of the Western Region of Nigeria, 1952, Bulletin No. 7. half of all the in-migrant population were in Oshun northeast as against one-quarter in its northwest. The proportion of the in- migrants to the indigenous people was therefore very small. There are no data which can be used to compare the numbers of in-migrants in Oshun Division in 1952 with those of the present time in order to see whether an increase or a decrease has taken place in UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 103 1952 with those of the present time in order to see whether an increase or a decrease has taken place in the intervening years. The reports of Administrative Officers, however, give ground for supposing that there has been a great increase. In 1935* it was reported that there was only one Ilorin settlement in the whole of Odo-Otin d i s t r i c t T h e settlement was inhabited by eight farmers, their wives and children. The size of an average Ilorin family today has been found to be nine. If it is assumed that the size of the family in 1935 was seven, then the population of the settlement would have been 56. In 1968, there were five separate Ilorin settlements; Alapata, Igbotele, Odu, Reke and Idiroko, with a population totalling 6lO. This figure does not include the Ilorin people who lived among the local inhabitants in the villages. Another example can be cited. Aba Igbira in Egbedore area of Oshun south had a population of ten when it was founded in 19^5» By 1968 the population had risen to 255* } Distribution of In-migrants The distribution of the in-migrants is shown in Fig. 10 and Table 24. It will be seen that the distribution is closely related to the three geographical regions of Oshun Division. Cultivators such as the Igbira (and Ilorin) went mainly to the tree-growing zones of the South and the northeast. For example, about 47 per cent of the 1,024 'other Nigerians' were found in 1. Schofield, I.F.W., Intelligence Report on Okuku Area.Nov Dec.. 1935. Ibadan, 19351 U . UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Fig. 10- DISTRIBUTION OF IN-MIGRANTS, 1952 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 104 TABLE 24 DISTRIBUTION OF IN-MIGRANTS IN OSHUN DIVISION, 1952 Eastern Far- Group Northern Others Total Group No. % 1 No. * % No. % No. % Aiyedade 590 16.7 489 14.0 210 20.5 1089 15.8 Egbedore 84 3.6 288 8.2 72 7.0 444 6.5 Iwo 179 7.7 435 12.4 199 19.4 813 11.9 South 653 28.0 1212 34.6 481 46.9 2546 34.2 Ede 483 20.7 207 5.9 71 6.9 761 11.1 Oehogbo 891 38.2 4l6 11.9 I89 18.5 1496 21.8 Ifelodun 97 4.2 323 9.2 151 14.7 571 8.3 Odo-Otin 58 2.5 250 7.1 39 3.8 347 5.1 Northeast 1529 65.6 1196 34.1 450 43.9 3175 46.5 Ejigbo 11 0.5 245 7.0 12 1.2 268 3.9 Ogbomosho 139 5.9 850 24,5 18 7.9 1070 15.6 Northwest 150 6.4 1095 31.3 93 9.1 1338 19.5 All Oshun 2332 100.0 3503 100.0 1024 100.0 6859 100.0 Source: Population Census of the Western Region of Nigeria, 1952, Bulletin No. 7. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 105 Oshun south while about hk per cent of them were located in the northeast. In these two zones, tree crop cultivation had led to the neglect of food crop production by the indigenes. Any in-migrant who wanted to grow food crops was therefore welcome. Land was available for the in-migrant in the derived savanna patches of the zones. Some of these savanna patches were the former Oko-etile (near farm). They had been so intensively farmed by the 'slash and burn' method in the past that the forest cover, if there had been any, had given way to grass. Such an expansive savannaland surrounds some villages in the forested south. This is the case, for instance, in Oluponna, Gbongan and Ode-Omu.^ The intensive cultivation of the "near-farm" without the application of fertilizer to it must have caused some soil exhaustion. The indigenous farmers therefore found it necessary to move farther afield. Furthermore, when tree crops were introduced the farmers discovered that their "near-farms" were unsuitable for the crops. They moved farther away from their villages - to areas which might be as far away as twelve miles. These new farms are called oko iwa.ju (distant farms). Because of the distance to the village, farmers were forced once every while 1, The names given to the areas reflect the degree of savanaiza- tion of the forest zone. For example, the land on which the Igbira in Egbedore district settled is called Odan-nla. which means literally "an expansive savannaland". UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 106 to spend at least a week in the new farmstead. The absence from home was in part responsible for the gradual abandonment of the "near farm". Other factors influenced the farmers in their decision to give up the cultivation of the near farms. It was possible to plant food crops among the young tree crops. The farmers thought it would be a dissipation of much needed energy which has already been fully taxed by the exhausting work on the tree crops, if they continued planting other food crops in the "near-farms". However, instead of allowing the "near-farms" to lie unproductive, they gave them to the in-migrants to farm. The Table also reveals that the people of far-Horthern Nigeria origin were to be found in equal proportion in the three zones. The Fulani pastoralists form the bulk of the group in the north­ west. They came to tend the herd of cattle owned by the natives. The Hausa, on the other hand, are to be found mostly in the north­ east and the south. Their presence in the northeast reflects the kola economy as well as the trading opportunity in that zone. The kola trade is usually dominated by the Hausa. They therefore flocked into the northeast when the area became an important kola- producing district. The large number of Hausa in the south can be explained in terms of the month when the 1952 census was taken. It was conducted in December when the Hausa temporary migrants usually come to Western Nigeria to do various jobs on the cocoa farm. Moreover, it is in December that mud houses are built. Since UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 107 1952 was one of the years when the farmers received large income from their cocoa, there were extensive house building projects in which the Hausa must have taken part as labourers. Many of the Hausa migrants were therefore likely to be temporary migrants. Another interesting feature of the Table is the distribution of the Ibo, Urhobo and Ibibio population. Those of them, particu­ larly the Ibo, who wanted to trade went to the commercial centres such as Oshogbo and Ede for it was these areas that offered them the opportunity to trade. Thus, there seems to be a correlation between the distribution of these people and the degree of urbaniza­ tion of the place in which they settled. About 59 per cent of them (1,37*0 migrated to Ede and Oshogbo areas. In fact, some of the important shops at the Central Business District in Oshogbo were owned by the Ibo in-migrants before 1966. On the other hand, some Ibo and a majority of the Urhobo settled in the rural areas of Oshun Division. The Urhobo palm harvesters chose to settle in the south where there were palm trees. About 28 per cent of the members of the eastern group settled in the south. The northwest which had few palm trees and no important commercial centre had only 6,k per cent of the migrants from the eastern part of Western Nigeria. In-migrants* Occupation The Table also reveals that the source area of the in-migrant influenced him in choosing the region in which he settled. The UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 108 migrant is nurtured and shaped by the environment and the economic activities of his home region* His skill is carried With him and dictates the role he plays in the host region. The migrant therefore quite naturally seeks that region where his skill is best utilized. Thus, the food crop cultivators settled where they could carry on their food crop farming* Their home Provinces, Kabba and Ilorin, are noted for food-crop production.^ The Hausa are people among whom there has been a long tradition of trading and urbanization. Their trading ven tu-re e-omennfL SeSss is reflected in their concentration in the northeast which is both urbanized and has an important article of trade, kola. The large number of the Ibo in the northeast shows that trading has become an important occupation among them. However, their home environment must have influenced those of them who preferred to go to the rural areas of the south. Here, they provide the vitally needed hired labour for the harvesting of oil palm, the chief crop of their home region. Apart from harvesting palm, they also operate as creditors to the native farmers. The position of the Urhobo is similar to that of the Ibo as both of them come from not too dissimilar an environment. They stand out very clearly as palm oil producers and creditor-farmers among the inhabitants of the south. 1. Baldwin, K.D.S., Movement of Local Foodstuffs. Kaduna, 1957, 18-20. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 109 AGE DISTRIBUTION AND SEX COMPOSITION The census figures used in the above discussion do not have a breakdown to reflect the demographic characteristics of in-migrants. Nothing can therefore be said about their age distribution and sex composition. The relevant statistics in regard to thsse demographic aspects are derived from the survey conducted among five in-migrant groups and summarized in the Tables 25 and 26. It should be emphasized that the figures relate only to the dominant ethnic group found in a district. They do not give the information about all the in-migrants in the area. Except in Odeyinka, all the in-migrants who were enumerated were those who lived in their own separate settlements. The figures do not, therefore, include the in-raigrants who lived with the local inhabitants in the villages. In Odeyinka, and indeed in the whole of Aiyedade district, the in-migrants were forced to live with the local people by the orders of the District Council.^ It was alleged that their isolation gave them the opportunity for conspiring to carry out mischievious activities. The approximate age distribution of the in-migrants is shown in Table 25. The figures show, as one would expect, that there is a definite tendency for younger rather than older people to migrate extensively. Probably the most important reason for the low proportion of old people in the districts of the south compared 1. Aiyedade District Council, Urhobo Community: Matters Affecting File No. 8/2, 1959* 80. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 110 TABLE 25 AGE DISTRIBUTION OF IN-MIGRANTS IN OSHUN DIVISION (Prorportion Per cent) No* of 0-15 16-50 Over 50 Total people Odeyinka 223 46.6 48.0 5.4 100.0 Egbedore District 357 44.2 51.0 4.8 100.0 South 580 45.2 49.8 5.0 100.0 Odo-Otin Diet. 610 43.1 47.4 9.5 100.0 Inisha 386 36.5 56.2 7.3 100.0 Northeast 996 40.6 50.8 8.6 100.0 Gambari 541 45.7 44.7 9.6 100.0 Northwest 541 45.7 44.7 9*6 100.0 Total 211? 43.1 49.0 7.9 100.0 In-migrants involved in each village or district are as follows: Odeyinka - Eastern group; Egbedore - Igbira; Odo-Otin - Ilorin; Inisha - Hausa; Gambari - Ilorin* Source: Field survey, 1968/69* UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY I l l with the other districts is the attachment of the in-migrants in the south to their home-villages. The in-migrants here return home when they are getting old, even if they had been away continuously for over ten years. The proportion of old men is appreciably high among the in-migrants of the northern villages. It is highest among the Ilorin of Gambari and Odo-Otin district. It may be noted in this connection that the home base of the Ilorin is closer to Oshun north than the home of other in­ migrant groups. The figures thus suggest that the in-migrants came in much more with the idea of setting permanently and probably dying in Oshun Division. Further light is thrown upon the nature of in-migration by Table 26 which indicates the proportion of adult males to females in the villages. There is a clear preponderance of females over males except among the Hausa of Inisha. This indicates a population of semi-permanent migrants many of whom had brought in their own families or married locally and settled down. Such settlement takes place in areas where the in-migrants are either full-time or part-time farmers. Inisha shows a higher proportion of males to females. This indicates that there is a sizeable proportion of Hausa who are unmarried or who do not have their families with them. Many of the Hausa who help the kola bulking agents or the kola magnates in packing kola nuts fall into this category. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 112 TABLE 26 SEX COMPOSITION OF THE ADULT IN-MIGRANTS IN OSHUN DIVISION 1 Male Female Total No, ' % No. « % < No. ' % Odeyinka 57 k8.6 62 51.^ 119 100.0 Egbedore Dist. 98 k9 .2 101 50.8 199 100.0 South 155 k&.7 163 51.3 318 100.0 Odo-Otin Dist. 171 k9.3 176 50.7 3^7 100.0 Inisha 137 55.9 108 kk.l 2k5 100.0 Northeast 308 52.0 28^ if8.0 592 100.0 Gambari 1^5 ^9.3 50.7 29^ 100.0 Northwest 1^5 ^9,3 lk9 50.7 29k 100.0 Total 608 50.5 596 ^9*5 120k 100.0 1 Source: Field survey, 1968/69• UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 113 CONCLUSION The movements of in-migrants have helped to prevent a substantial decrease in the population density of the Division. Rather, they may be the cause of increased pressure on marginal lands, tracts already regarded as •useless’ by the natives. The •marginal* zone appears to be better than the home environment of the in-migrants in terms of the soil composition and rainfall effectiveness. There is the additional advantage of ready market for their produce which encourages more in-migrants to come. However, the degree of their impact on the economy of Oshun Division depends on whether the activities in which they engage are complementary to, or competitive with, those of the local people. When it is the former, the in-migrants are given every opportunity to perform their role effectively although some social barriers such as the land tenure system may affect the degree of their effectiveness. When the migrant's role starts to compete with that of the indigenes, he faces stern opposition. For example, when the in-migrants in Odeyinka were engaged in oil-palm production they did not face any opposition from the natives because their roles were complementary. They were even encouraged to come and by 1959* there were sixty-two villages with in-migrant satellite settlements in Aiyedade district. 1 As soon as 1. Ibid.. 10^-106. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY the in-migrants started to take part in the natives' cocoa business, trouble started and various requests were made by the natives for the repatriation of the in-migrants.1 In 193^* the Hausa were driven out of Ogbomosho when the native cow- dealers could not compete successfully with the Hausa cow- dealers.2 These are extreme cases but it cannot be said that such attitudes have entirely disappeared. However, the return-migrants have done much to educate their people on the value of the in­ migrants. The ways in which the return-migrants protect the interest of the in-migrant are discussed in a later chapter. To judge from sheer number, there has been a substantial increase in the number of in-migrants in spite of the minor obstacles still placed in their way. The expansion of the in-migrant population may therefore be expected to continue to the advantage of both the natives and the in-migrants. The analysis of migration given in this part of the thesis has highlighted one interesting phenomenon that merits emphasis. This is, that the movement took place slowly but steadily over the years without pressure or assistance from the government but through a network of kinship ties. Migration extending over such 1. Ibid. See also Chapter 9» 2. Ogbomosho District Council, Ogbomosho Matters, Oshun Division File 1/2, OS 70, 257-271. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 115 a long period and affecting so large a number of people must have considerable impact on the rural economy of the exporting area. It is bound to affect all the factors of agricultural production - land, labour, capital and entrepreneurship. It will also affect the rural life of the inhabitants in general. The effects of migration on each of these factors are examined in details in the next part of the thesis. Chapter 5 provides a theoretical framework for the discussion that follows in subsequent chapters. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY PAST II IMPACT OF MIGRATION ON RURAL ECONOMY FACTORS OF PRODUCTION UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 116 CHAPTER 5 THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK Although there is an ever-growing literature on migration, few attempts have thus far been made to use the enormous wealth of information available on the subject at constructing a general theory of migration. The first attempt was made by Ravenstein * who, in his Laws of Migration, related the various factors of migration in a systematic manner.1 2*5 Since the time of Ravenstein, however, only two theoretical issues have received the attention of scholars, namely, how far people move and why people move. The theoretical foundation of how far people move was laid in 1924 by Young. 2 His theory relates migratio' n to two independent variables namely, force of attraction in the receiving area and distance. » Subsequent writers have dealt extensively with the subject advancing several mathematical or statistical formulations. 1. Ravenstein, E.G., ’'The Laws of Migration", Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. 48, 2, 1885, 167-277} and 52, 241-501 2. Young, E.--C.*, "The Movement of Farm Population", Cornell Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin. 426, 1924, 44. 3* Perhaps the best known of these theories are Zipf's 'Principle of Least Effort' and Stouffer's 'Intervening Opportunities'. See Zipf, G.K., "The PIP2/D Hypothesis: On the Intercity Movement of Persons", American Sociological Review. 11, 1946, 677-686} Stouffer, S.A., "Intervening Opportunities: A Theory Relating Mobility and Distance", American Sociological Review, 5, 1940, 845-67 and "Intervening Opportunities and Competing Migrants", Journal of Regional Science. 2, i960, 1-26. For a summary of the models of migration-distance relationship, see Morrill, R.L., "Migration and the Spread and Growth of Urban Settlement", 14nd Studies in Geography, Ser. B. 26, 1965» Olsson, G., Distance and Human Interaction, Philadelphia, 1965. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 117 As for the motivation for migration, the "push and pull" model has been formulated and elaborated on in various ways to take account of all types of movements. Using this model, the reason for migration is analysed in terms of some factors that push or pull a potential migrant. The push factor stresses the deteriorating socio-economic conditions in an area which force people to move out of the place.3' The pull factor emphasizes the attractions offered by the opportunities and prosperity in a place. The attractions are sufficiently powerful to hold people I within the area or draw people to it. 2 The model thus recognises *7 1* For ’push* factors in migration, see Gerger, T., "Vastervik: A Migration Study", Geografisk Annaler. 5 8, 2, 1966, 78-111. Heberle, R., "The Causes of Rural-Urban Migration; A Survey of German Theories", American Journal of Sociology. 53, 6, 1938, 932-950. Dixon, G.I.J., "Land and Human Migration", American Journal of Economics and Sociology. 9» 2, 1950, 223-235. Fischlowitz, E., "Driving Forces in Internal Migration in Brazil", Migration News. 15, 6, 1965* 1-9* Price, D.O., "Some Socio-Economic Factors in Internal Migration Social Forces. 29, 1951, 509-515. Masuka, E.C., "Motivations for Migration of South-Born Notables Social Forces. 29, 3, 1951, 290-295. Roy, P., "Factors Related to Leaving Farming", Journal of Farm Economics, 53, 3, 1961, 666-675. 2* Pull factors are discussed in Phillip, G.D.t "Rural-Urban Migration in Iraq", Economic Development and Cultural Change, 7, 5, 1959, k Q & V A . Splegelglas, S., "The Role of Industrial Development as a } Factor Influencing Migration to and from Wisconsin Countries, 1950-50", Journal of Farm Economics, 53* 1, 1961, 128-137. Pearson, J.E., "The Significance of Urban Housing in Rural- Urban Migration", Land Economics. 39, 3, 1963, 231-239.* Fischlowitz, E., "Driving Forces in Internal Migration", Migration News. 15, 1, 1966, 10-13. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY that migration does not take place in vacuo; by definition it constitutes movement from one place, the origin, to another place, the destination, over a given period of time.1 2 It therefore takes into account factors in the areas of origin and destination as well as intervening obstacles between them. The factors are represented schematically by Lee and the diagram is shown in Fig. 11. 2 The 'puli' and 'push' factors are shown in the diagram as + and - signs respectively. Other factors to which people are indifferent are shown as Os. Lee recognises that some of the factors affect most people in much the same way while others affect different people in different ways. In other words, the set of +s and -s at origin and destination is differently defined for every migrant or prospective migrant at any point in time. The intervening obstacles are not also the same for everybody. To some people, the obstacles will be slight whereas to others they will be insurmountable. These obstacles may be physical barriers such as distance or cultural barriers such as 1. For the definition of migration, see the Introduction. 2. Lee, S.S., "A Theory of Migration", Migration, ed. Jackson, J.A. Cambridge, 1969, 282-297. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Fig.11. Af ter E. S. Lee UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY linguistic and ideological differences or even socio-psychological barriers.1 The effects of migration have been explained in terms of two models; the equilibrium and disequilibrium models. 2 The former, which is also known as the neo-classical theory, regards migration V||as relf-correcting and therefore economically efficient. It stresses that migration from a place reduces the number of employable people in that place. The movement will eventually cause wages to increase. High wages will in turn stop or even reverse the tendency to migrate. Such a movement from a rural area will definitely invigorate the economy of the area. The disequilibrium model implies that migration from a place makes business there to be less profitable. Employment opportunities and wages will be reduced and migration will continue at an even greater rate. Such a situation will lead to the deterioration of rural areas. 1. Some of the obstaclos are non-economic causes of migration. For these causes, see Groves, E.R., "Psychic Causes of Rural , Migration", American Journal of Sociology. 21, 5, 1916, 623-627. Baali, F., "Social Factors in Iraq Rural Migration", American journal of Economics and Sociology. 15, 1966, 359-354* Wolpert, J., "Behavioral Aspects of the Decision to Migrate", Papers and Proceedings of the Regional Science Association. 15, 1965, I59-I69. Illsley, R., Finlayson, A, and Thompson, B., "The Motivation and Characteristics of Internal Migrants", Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly, *fl, 2 & 3» 1963, 115-lH & 217-243. 2% Lindf H#f "Internal Migration in Britain", in Jackson, y 77• UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 120 The point which is being emphasized is clear. This is that at any given time, a population-resource balance is established in a community.The ‘best’ balance is that of economic equilibrium in which the population is adequate to utilize to the maximum the available resources. If the population does not reach this level, the community concerned is under-populated; if it exceeds, the community is over-populated. Thus, at a given state of technology, there is a certain threshold of population in a community. The effect which migration will have will depend on whether or not this threshold has been exceeded. Migration which is caused by over-population will have an effect that is illustrated by the classical model whereas the disequilibrium model illustrates migration that results from or takes place under conditions of under-population. These models have at least two important weaknesses. Firstly, they assume that migratio^n flows are determined by employment or I wage levels and thus devalue the role of a number of other variables in the migratory process. A more realistic explanation of migration should take into account other economic variables such as congestion or the state of infrastructure in an area, • 1 1. Ackerman, E.A., "Population and Natural Resources", The Study of Population, ed. Hauser, P.M. and Dunc^i, O.D., Chicago, 1959* 621-^S. The word "resources" has been defined by * Meier as "an opportunity in the environment that has been identified and appraised by a population of potential users". See Meier, R.L., "Planning, Socials Resource Planning", International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, ed. , Sills, D.I., 12, 19^8, 157. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 121 geographic factors such as the distance to the nearest major * population centre, or a welcoming environment and psychological factors, such as pioneer spirit, or the ’image' of an area. In the second place, the models assume that the migrants • intend to abandon the place from where they have moved and that they do not care about its economic conditions. In most under­ developed countries, very few of the people who migrate from a community abandon that community. The parents, children and other close relatives of the migrants remain at home. The presence of these people suggests that the migrants have not abandoned their homes. The intention of a majority of them is to transform the former home into a better place to return to periodically or at the end of their migratory career. It is therefore essential to pay attention to the migrant as a person and see him as an agent of change, if one is to have a proper perspective of the effect of migration in a place. A model which emphasizes the migrant* as an agent of change was proposed recently by Mabogunje.^ The basic element of this model has been adapted and modified in constructing the present framework. 1 1. Mabogunje, Akin L.,"Regional Mobility and Resource Develop- , ment in West AfricE?', Keith Calla.rd Lectures, Series 6, McGill University, 1968. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 122 TH E MIGRANT AS AW AGENT OF CHANGE Barnett, the American anthropologist, has insisted that all cultural changes are initiated by individuals.1 There are two words in this statement which call for special emphasis. The first is "change” and the second is "individual". Barnett used the word 'change' and innovation almost synonymously. He defines an innovation as "any thought, behaviour or thing that is new because it is qualitatively different from existing forms".2 i He emphasises reorganisation rather than quantitative variation as the criterion of innovativeness. Innovation does not result from the addition or subtraction of parts. It takes place only where there is a recombination of them. Barnett places emphasis on individuals as originators of innovations. According to him, the stimulus for a new idea or a new behaviour is consequently always specific to a given indivi- dual.-' Conditions which are external to the individual have a« marked effect upon his innovative potential. Barnett suggests nine such conditions. Two of these, namely, the accumulation and concentration of ideas, and the conjunction of differences, bear importance to this conceptual framework. 1. Barnett, H.G., Innovation: The Basis of Cultural Change. New York, 1953, 39. 2. Ibid., 7* 3. Ibid., 39. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Accumulation of ideas implies that new ideas are built on old ones. The newly added ideas may be an imitation or an * adaptation of the ideas of another society. Such an imitation, because it inevitably produces a modification of the prototype even though the copyist tries to be faithful to the model, is an innovation. For this framework, the important thing is that the new idea may be communicated by a migrant. Before a person migrates, his cultural inventory is limited to those things which belong to his own community. When he moves out he carries with him some of the cultural traits of his home origin. He finds in his new environment, cultures and artefacts which are quite different from his own. The conjunction of these differences, according to Teggart, provokes comparison and critical discussion of the differences.* The migrant adopts a part of the culture of his host while the latter in turn adopts part of the culture of the migrant. One can add that the degree to which a person adopts the culture of another person will depend on the level of the culture of the person who communicates it. It can be expected that the rural-urban migrant will adopt more of the culture of his host whereas the host of an urban-rural migrant is likely to adopt more 1 Teggart, F.J., The Process of History. New Havens, 1918, 112 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY of the culture of his guest. The rural-urban migrant is now exposed to Western civilization to an extent which is not possible 1 in his village. On the streets and in several houses he comes across material artefacts which are far more advanced than those » he knew in his village. He interacts with people and exchanges views on their domestic and social life. The migrant is likely to embrace much in the way of this cultural innovation and thus he becomes "transformed” when he returns home. On his return he brings with him all the experiences which he had acquired. On the strength of the foregoing discussion, it is possible to make a distinction between migrants and non-migrants in terms of their perceptual horizon. A n migrants, may they be out- or in-raigrants, have the same characteristics, ^heir array of new experiences is likely to modify their mode of behaviour, thought,’ and attitude to life. They are prepared to take calculated risks in economic adventures. For example, they introduce innovations into rural areas and they are the first to experiment with any , innovation that is introduced by extension service workers. Their experiences also influence their desired standard of living and felt needs. Some migrants may, for example, own those articles such as radio sets which are regarded as luxury goods by a majority of non-migrants. They may, in addition, demand a high level of education for their children. Finally, migrants tend to show a greater leadership qualities, the period of their migration having served as a period of training. All these characteristics differed UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 125 tiate migrants from non-migrants and make them qualify as agents of change. The real problem that need3 be further examined, therefore, concerns the nature of the change that is effected by migrants. THE NATURE OF CHAN5E Sorokin, in defining the word "mobility", lays emphasis not only on the individuals who move but also on the cultural objects, values, traits and institutions that are being circulated through them.'*' It is possible to see how a migrant can bring about changes in these attributes of culture. These changes can be most clearly illustrated in terras of the four main factors of production, ‘ namely, land, labour, capital and entrepreneurship. In most underdeveloped countries, the traditional land tenure system is that of communal ownership. A distinction is made between the use (or usufruct) and the ownership of land. The right to use a piece of land rests in the individual who may own the improvements on the land. If he vacates the land, he still retains his usufructuary rights over it. Although he can transfer this right, he is not allowed to transfer the land itself. On the other hand, the ownership of land resides permanently in a body of persons and the rights to alienate it are for the most part held by the body rather than by the individual. Translated into 1* Sorokin, P.A., "Mobility, Social", Encyclopaedia of the , Social Sciences, ed. Seligman, E.R.A., 9, 1949, UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY transfer of land, this will mean that there is no free disposal of land by members of those groups who have more than they need to the members of those groups who do not have enough. In the past, such a system had little or no effect on produc­ tion because new areas of land could be appropriated or granted to the needy members of the community by the chief. The increase in population coupled with the rules of inheritance which encourage a constant subdivision and fragmentation of holding have led to the decline in the extent of land which is available to each farmer. It is therefore desirable that a farmer who wishes to increase his holding and land should be able to acquire the land which has been vacated by a migrant even if the farmer is not a member of the land-owning group. What is needed is not just a transfer of usufruct but of ownership because it is such a tenure that guarantees security for the farmer and encourages him to make the best use of the land. In other words, sale of farm land should be allowed by the society. Such modification of land tenure system cannot be effected over-night. It is possible to have three theoretical stages in the transition of tenure from inflexible to flexible. The inflexible tenure system is exemplified by a custom which forbids transfer of land. In such a situation, the non-migrant may not be able to increase his holding and the land which is left by migrants will revert to bush. Migrants may achieve the breaking down of this institutional barrier. A migrant who has travelled UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 127 to an area where free exchange of farm land is practised returns home with the aim of effecting a change in the old system. He may do this by his own personal example or by educating his people on the advantage of free exchange of land. The old system gradually alters and the tenure becomes fairly flexible. The non-migrants may now be allowed to take over the holding left by other migrants. They can, however, plant only those crops which the migrants wish and these may or may not be the most profitable crops or those desired by the user of the land. From fairly flexible, the tenure becomes flexible. A farmer who wants to add agreater acreage to his land or a new entrant who wants to cultivate land will find it easy to do so because individuals are allowed to own and sell land. Land that is left by migrants can thus be acquired and put to maximum use. The non-migrants are able to adjust themselves to the situation created by migration. They bring themselves into a new relationship to the circumstances of the environment by re-coordinating the factors of production, the ratio of which must have been altered by the movement away of people. The acreage which is now cultivated by the individual non-migrant will increase. In effect, therefore, land has been substituted for the labour of those who have migrated. Per capita production therefore rises and in such a case, the adjustment to migration has been positive. The supply of land affects mainly the farmers. The supply and use of labour affect both agricultural and non-agricultural UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY workers. In the old days, farmers in most underdeveloped countries relied on family labour. In heavy work, some farmers supplemented family labour with mutual aid from friends. In addition to all these sources of labour, some communities used slave and pawn labour. From the beginning of the present century, these traditional sources of labour supply have been declining in importance whereas the demand for farm labour has been increasing. Slavery and pawning were illegalized by the turn of the century. Schools were established by the colonial administrations of the under­ developed countries and some children had to be withdrawn from the farms. Some farm labour also drifted to the newly developing commercial and industrial enterprises and to the expanding towns. Some others found employment on the railway or in various public works. Yet, during the period, agriculture has been commercialized and larger amount of labour was needed on the farm. In order to meet the situation, there were significant changes in the domestic organisation of labour supply. Additional hands were obtained from outside the main export-crop producing areas to perform those tasks for which the members of the household were no longer available. The supply of hired labour in the rural areas has been ensured by the fact that migrants, in some respect, embarked on their career in stages. New migrants may be attracted to a place UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY from where others are leaving because the same place may present i different images to different people in terms of opportunities. This is the principle behind one of Ravenstein's Laws, namely, migration by stages.1 2 Although Ravenstein's position on this law has been criticized, the basic element of his theory is accepted. 2 This is that most movements indicate some underlying desire to increase the migrants* earning and social status. They therefore move to a place that has better opportunities than those in their home. This does not preclude a man from the remotest corner or poorest part of a country jumping over all stages and moving directly to the most civilized or richest part of the country. From the foregoing discussion, it would appear that out­ migration would have little effect on the supply of labour. The problem now lies in the financing of payments to hired labour. Some of these payments are met by remittances from migrants. Many farmers in underdeveloped countries look to their children abroad for support, while the children themselves consider it their duty to help. They contribute a lot to their fathers' cash income 1. Ravenstein, E.G., op.cit., 1885, l8j. 2. Hagerstrand, T., "Migration and Area", Migrations in Sweden, ed. Hannerberg, D., Hagerstrand, T. and Odeving, B. Lund, 1957* 27-158. VSfendel, B., "A Migration Schemas Theories and Observations", Lund Studies in Geography, Ser. B. 9, 1953. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY ! 30 from which labourers are paid. In effect, therefore, family labour shortage is made good by the remittances from those members of the family who would have supplied the labour if they had not migrated. Furthermore, those return-migrants who go back to the farm meet their labour expenses from part of the earnings which they saved when they were away from home. The provision of labour in non-agricultural activity is different. Skills of a particular trade were traditionally monopolized by particular families. Only members of the family could learn and practise the trade and the society supported these monopoly rights by social sanctions. Nowadays, this practice is giving place to non-particularistic apprenticeship system no j longer involving only kinsmen or people from the same ethnic groups. One important factor that has brought about this change is the introduction of new crafts such as tailoring, bricklaying and bicycle-repairing. Some of these new crafts have replaced the traditional ones while others exist side by side with them. The new crafts and their tools were introduced by people who did not recognise the monopolistic tendencies of the traditional system. Since the crafts were initially set up in a few centres, people who wanted to learn the trade moved to these centres. Apprentices were recruited from different ethnic groups and the number of people who learnt the skills was greater than the number who ever learnt the traditional skills. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 131 These apprentices experienced relative freedom of another culture. Their tribal institutions no longer affected them directly and they were free to learn whatever craft they could. At the end of their apprenticeship they come back with their new experience. They insist on contractual agreements between them­ selves as masters, and their prospective apprentices. These agreements define the length and scope of training as well as • the obligation of the two parties. In the same way, the migrants who move into a new place are released from the authoritative controls of their home origin. They can, therefore, recruit apprentices from members of a different family or ethnic group. There are also changes in the supply of capital to production units. There were formerly two main sources of capital: the individual or his kinsmen and the institution of rotating credit groups whose members consisted of closely related individuals. The saver of capital or his relative was also the user of capital. Such savings were small and production units were, in effect, small. The role of kinsmen is still very important in the provision of capital but the source and size of the capital are changing. ? A sizeable part of the capital which is now used in some places comes from other areas in form of remittances by migrants. < Investments in agricultural and non-agricultural occupations as well as in social overhead capitals such as roads, bridges and * water-supply, are either remitted from destination of migrants or UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY are brought home by the migrants themselves on their return. Some of the unremitted savings may be used in a way that benefits a large number of unrelated individuals in the destination. It is also possible for a migrant trader to bring capital from his home origin and grant it as credit or advance to people who are unrelated to him. It is perhaps in the supply of innovative entrepreneurship that migrants have been very important as agents of change. Thek migrants have the opportunity of comparing their own type, quality and style of goods with those of the community amongst whom they settle. It may be discovered that a particular type of cultural object or idea does not exist in a place or that there is a better variety of the object in another place. The migrants may introduce such new or better variety of object into the area where it is not found. They may even stimulate trade in such objects. If it is a craft that is being transferred, its technical know- t how is also transferred with it. Much the same is true of business whether agricultural or non-agricultural, the organizational element being also transferred. A distinction needs to be made between return- and in-migrants Basically, both of them are exposed to the same influence as migrants. Both have entrepreneurial and innovative attributes but while the return-migrants now operate in their home, the « in-migrants still operate in a foreign land where they are regarded UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 133 as strangers and where they may be discriminated against. There tends, however, to be no discrimination against migrants as long as their activities are complementary to those of their hosts. Discrimination starts only when their activities become competitive. In such circumstances, various obstacles are placed in the way of the migrants, '̂ heir hosts may embark on policies which limit the acreage of land that migrants can own or the type of business in which they may participate. This type of policy limits the changes that can be affected in entrepreneurship by the in- raigrants and has effect on the general impact of migration. THE NATURE OF MIGRANTS' IMPACT ON A PLACE From what has been said so far, it will be seen that migration of people across West Africa has been the occasion for a variety, of cultural contact situations. Through it, the culture of a place is brought in apposition to that of another place. Such a presentation of contrasts, Teggart maintains, is essential fort the genesis of new ideas. Only in this way can there be the "break-up of crystallized systems of organization and thought" < that is necessary for real cultural advance. It is possible to conceptualise the life of a place starting from when there is "crystallized systems of organization and thought" to the period when the systems are broken up to give way for cultural advance. Such conceptualization will give rise to five theoretical situations. These ares UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 1. a pre-migration stafce; 2. incipient growth of out-migration; 3. full-blow out-migratibn; k , incipient in-migration; and 5. fully mobile societal stage. The first situation occurs when there is no movement from or into a place. This situation is exemplified by a primitive society, the members of which live in aggressive isolation. such a society is characterised by conditions which Paul Streeten lists as the main features of under-development.1 At this juncture, it is necessary to examine these features very briefly in order to relate the impact of migpafciOB to ttl6 development of a place. According to Streeten, the most important characteristic of under-development is the low output per worker 1 and the consequent low income per head, poverty and indebtedness. The low per capita output has been caused partly by the* structure of the economy and partly by the direction and low intensity of economic activities. All these are themselves the second characterise tic of under-development. There is little or no manufacturing industry, the economy being geared mainly to primary production. Technique of production is neither based on scientific knowledge nor on the use of mechanical, chemical or power driven equipment 1. Streeten, P., "Obstacles to Development”, Studies on . Developing Countries, 11, 1967, 34*l8. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 135 \ nor on organizational and intellectual aid. Little capital is used per worker and the ratio of savings to income is low. In addition, there is a large measure of under-employment in the economy. The third feature is the low level of living. The aspects i of low level of living include among others, badly balanced diet, poor housing, medical, hygienic and educational conditions. The result is that there is low level of literacy, skills and health. The fourth feature is the people's attitudes to life and work. . Superstition interferes with rational conduct. There is aparthy and a reluctance or inability to plan ahead and to be alert, adaptable, ambitious, enterprising and experimental. Moreover, birth rate is high although life expectancy at birth is low. The last feature is institutional. They include political, administrative and social institutions. Among the latter are land tenure systems which can prevent agricultural development, absence or narrowness of markets, of channels of communication and of credit facilities. Streeten emphasizes that some of these features are directly related to one another. The gradual elimination of these five features will imply gradual economic development. auch elimination will start when the isolation of the primitive society is broken and the society moves into the second theoretical stage listed above. At this stage, some members of the society move out even though the society UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY itself has not opened its door to in-migrants. The new surroundings will influence the mind of the out-migrants. Having acquired new modes of thought, they will become dissatisfied with and will gradually drift away from the old order of things. In their messages homes, they are likely to describe their new experiences. Such messages may not be sufficient to wean the non-migrant members of the society away from the life to which they are accustomed. They may have to see, and not only hear, the signi­ ficance of the changes which the migrants preach. The occasional visits which the migrants pay home may afford the non-migrants some opportunity of seeing the marvels of other culture since the migrants display the new cultural objects and ideas which they have now acquired. A full opportunity for the non-migrants to see the new culture will be provided when the migrants return home to settle permanently. This is the third and perhaps the most important stage in the evolution of the society. The return-migrants will start to practise some of the cultural innovations which they have* brought back. They may start planting new crops, employing new production techniques, erecting different types of buildings and even encouraging education. In this way, they constitute themselves into a progressive section of the society which spearhead different kinds of innovations UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Their impact may be felt in three wqys. Firstly, by their own « personal example, they can raise the aspiration of the members of the society. In many under-developed countries, rank is positively correlated with wealth, but local ecological conditions restrict the number of people who can attain favoured ranks. Migration has, however, given scope for individual enterprise in the acquisition of wealth. Most of the return-migrants might have belonged to the poorer and socially inferior sections of the community before they migrated. On their return, they are often better off materially and are accorded a new status because of their wealth and experience. The non-migrants who wish to acquire the favoured status can therefore follow the example of the return-migrants and leave home in search of economic opportunities. Secondly, the return-migrants can break the social rigidity, which is incompatible with economic development. Given their wealth, they now form the middle class of the society and, therefore, they provide a vital rung in the ladder of vertical or social mobility. such a ladder is crucial to economic development. Hoselitz has made the point very succinctly when he said, In discussing economic development, emphasis has often been placed on the presence or absence of certain social groups, exhibiting particular attitudes (e.g. venturesomeness) or performing special roles (e.g. bureaucracy, "middle class") ... One of the pre­ requisites of economic and technical advancement is a high degree of social mobility. If, for whatever reasons, social advancement of people in less priviledged ranks in society is made difficult, or if the cleavages UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY in status, power, and wealth between different social groups is great, an impediment to economic development of considerable magnitude is thereby in existence.! In the third place, the direct activities of the return- f migrants affect the economy. New production units, such as large farms, rural industries and commercial concerns may have to be established and new techniques and implements may be introduced to work these units. The proceeds from the new units contribute to the cash income of the society. The new houses which are built make use of the local raw materials and provide employment for the local people. By embarking on these new projects the return-migrants have brought cultural contrasts to the attention of the non-migrants and thus afford the latter the opportunity of comparing their own with the new culture. Some of the non­ migrants are likely to imitate some of the operations which have been introduced by return-migrants. The imitation will bring about new ideas and transform both the non-migrant and the economy. In the fourth hypothetical situation, in-migrants move into a society that has never experienced any out-migration. Again, there is a conjunction of differences as well as the opportunity to innovate. The in-migrants, however, may be suspected and their 1 Hoselits, B.F., HNon-economic Barriers to Economic Development Economic Development and Cultural Change, 1, 1, 1952, 10. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY ideas rejected by their hosts. When the society has some of its members in a foreign land the suspicion will decrease. Any suspicious action of the in-migrant may be referred to the out- migrant for advice. The latter, because of his own experience in his place of migration, may encourage the non-migrants to accommodate the in-migrants. The accommodation, if given, will encourage the in-migrants to contribute fully to the economic development of the society. The contributions will be somewhat close to those made by the return-migrants. Finally, there is the fifth situation in which both the return- migrants, the in-migrants, and the non-migrants coexist in a place. The place will have the benefit of several cultural experiences and innovations. The various roles which have been discussed in connection with return- and in-migrants will be displayed and this will encourage economic development. In real life, the stages discussed above may not follow in the sequence in which they have been listed. In fact, not all the five stages are necessarily identifiable. For example, it is possible, as shown by Fig. 12 , to omit stages two and four. The Figure indicates that a society may reach the final stage in three ways. It is possible to go through the second and third stages on the one hand, or through the fourth stage on the other. In either case, the starting point is the first stage. All societies UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY u 146 must have existed in isolation even if in the remote past. The fifth situation is the final stage* irrespective of the route which has been taken* This situation can be said to characterize most parts of Nigeria today and provides an opportunity for assessing the impact of migration on the economy of any part of the country. Fife.. 12 Stages by which a place is populated by Migrants* (For explanation* see the text). CONCLUSION It has been shown that in studies that deal with the impact of migration emphasis should be placed on the migrant as an agent of change. Because of their experience and enlarged mental horizon, migrants are equipped to and do bring about development i in areas where they settle* The number of migrants or the rate of migration in a place is, therefore, positively correlated with the level of economic development in that place. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY It is within this broad framework that the impact of migration can be evaluated in the study area* Is the rural economy of the area deteriorating or is it being invigorated by migration from or into the area? What are the changes and adjustments taking place? What are the crucial mechanisms that bring about the changes and the adjustments? How do these operate and what encourage or discourage their operation? These are some of the basic questions to which the thesis tries to find answers. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY I m CHAPTER 6 l a m d a n d l a t ®-holdihg One important factor which can bring about a relief of pressure on land is out-migration, provided that there is a reallocation of resources, particularly land vacated by migrants. Furthermore, \ the impact of migration on people’s attitude to resource development often leads to changes in land use and land tenure. It is thus not unusual to find that the greater the number of return-migrants in an area the greater the flexibility of land tenure and the amount of land cultivated by them. LAND TENURE The term ’Land tenure’ refers to the system of rights and obligations governing the holding, acquisition and disposal of arable land. It is thus at the same time an important factor governing the present use of arable land and a major instrument for initiating programmes of land reforms.1 2 The customary form of land ownership in Yorubaland is communal, the user of a piece of land having only its usufruct. ? In Oshun 1. Lyttleton, 0. "Forward", Journal of African Administration, Special Supplement, 1952, 1. 2. For details about Yoruba Land Tenure system, see Lloyd, P.C., Yoruba-Speaking Peoples of South-Western Nigeria. London, 1962. Galletti, R., Baldwin, K.D.S. and Dina, 1.0. Nigerian Cocoa Farmers. London, 1956, 107-151 Meek, C.K. Land Law and Custom in the Colonies. London, 19^9» 160-167. Fadipe, M.A., Sociology of the Yoruba. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, University of London, 19^0, 522-73^» UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Division, this system is now undergoing changes in the face of the ever-changing economic and social situation. The extent of the change is not uniform, however, and different tenurial stages can therefore be recognized in the Division. Firstly, some areas have reached a highly flexible stage when the sale of land is allowed and leasing of land takes place unconditionally. All types of tree crops can be planted when the land is leased out. Secondly, in some other areas while sale of land is not allowed, leasing can be entertained with little or no conditions attached. All types of tree crops can be planted on the leased land except, perhaps, palm trees which symbolise ownership. Thirdly, there are areas where not only is sale of land disallowed but leasing or pledging takes place with stringent conditions attached. The degree of flexibility of tenure will now be examined in each of the zones. The South Inspite of the development of cocoa farming in the south, tenure is rather inflexible. Cocoa cultivation undoubtedly has greatly affected land rights by encouraging private ownership of land but it has not affected the flexibility of tenure. Individually- owned land can be bequeathed without the consent of the lineage or family but it cannot be sold. This point is clearly illustrated in Table 27 which shows the amount of land held under different rights. It is only in the South (zone with a low rate of out-migration), that UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY V 144 land sales are not reported by any of the farmers. Although land owned and used constitutes about 6? per cent of all the land cultivated in the zone, all the land v#as acquired either by inheritance or through a grant by the village or family head. However, land can be leased. When land is leased, the lessee is not allo-wed to plant any tree crops on it except in very rare cases and even then, palm trees cannot be planted. Improvements on the land, particularly of tree crops can be transferred only temporarily by pledging. In its simplest form, the pledgee loans out money to the pledgor who gives his tree crops as security and as a source of interest for the loan. All the proceeds from the farm serve as interest to the pledgee and the pledge is perpetually redeemable. The pledgee can, therefore, never become the owner of the land. From the Table, it can be seen that the practice of pledging is found only in the south. This may be due to the fact that the zone has cocoa trees which can be used as security whereas in other zones unsuitable environmental conditions have reduced cocoa yields such that they do not attract any investment from a potential pledgee. The kola trees of the north-east are probably not considered worthy of being used as security for loans. It may be that the absence of a migrant group such as the Urhobo who can initiate the practice of pledging has prevented its development in the kola region. Land pledged out by respondents in the south is about a fifth of all the land under cultivation whereas only about 2 per cent is pledged to them by other farmers. The proportion pledged out is high UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY TABLE 27 LAND PSSD WITH VARIOUS RIGHTS Acreages » Proportion Per cent Owned add Used Used but not ' Owned but not 1 Total Owned and Used but Owned but owned used Acreage used not owned not used Total Cultivate*l Family- Pur­ Pledged Leased Pledged Leased * Farail Fami­ Pur­ Ple­ Lea­ Pled­ Lea­ land chased ly chase. dg­ sed ged sedland ed South 1*51.99 - ll*.l*5 6.71* 126.32 76.27 675.77 66.9 * 2.1 1.0 18.7 11.3 100.0 Northeast 266.1*2 86.32 - 57.06 - 139.75 51*9.55 1*8.5 15.7 10.1* - 25.1* 100.0 Northwest 1*16.87 63.1*3 - 5^.60 «■» 252.91* 787.81* 52.9 8.1 am 6.9 - 32.1 100.0 Total 1135.28 11*9.75 li*.l*5 1 1 8 .1*0 126.32 1*68.96 2,013.57 <56.6 7.1* 0.8 • 5.9 6.3 23.2 100.0 - Sourcei Field Surreyv 1968/69* Based on two villages from each sons* UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY since the present phase of pledging started about the early 1960's. Another important feature of the Table is the proportion of total land leased out. While only 1 per cent of the total land used is leased, about 11 per cent is leased out. Leasing of land is not common because land is still relatively plentiful. Small acreage is often leased by those whose plots are far from the village, for the convenience of raising food crops. By contrast, land leased out is usually to in-migrant Igbira and Urhobo. All lessee* are expected to raise only food crops and not to exploit the palm trees. Unlike those in the northeast, none of the lessor planted a permanent crop on the land leased out. The Northeast In the northeast resistance to the idea of sale of land is weakening under the influence of return-migrants. They introduce to the community not only the idea of selling land but also of leasing without any condition attached. Their action has been influenced both by the shortage of land and by the practice of cultivating tree crops, firstly cocoa and later kola. During the period of cocoa experimentation, it was thought that the cocoa could only grow well on land that could support forest vegetation. Such areas are limited and only a few households have their plots in these areas. Fortunately, there were several tracts of forest land which were used for defensive purposes during the Yoruba wars or that were regarded as sacrosanct from UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY farming or other productive uses. The defensive forests, as Ojo noted elsewhere, have outlived their military usefulness.^ The sacred groves which include forests reserved for the burial of Obas or condemned men are no more used for such purposes. The conversion of these groves to productive use was initiated by return-migrants who persuaded the village heads to sell these sacred groves to individuals or households who wished to plant cocoa Once started, the practice of selling land gradually extended to individual or household land. People who are left behind at home thus increase their acreage through purchases. As shown in the Table, about 16 per cent of the land in the zone was purchased. This proportion is highly significant since it forms about one quarter of the land currently owned and used. Compared with other zones, the proportion is also large since it accounts for over 55 per cent of the land purchased in the Division. The Table also reveals that about 10 per cent of the land used is not owned by the user while 25 per cent is owned but not used. Compared with other zones the northeast has the highest proportion of land used but not owned. The relative scarcity of land may be a contributory factor to this system as many of the lessees have little or no land. Farmers have thus been able to maintain their holdings over the years in this over-populated region through a system which makes it possible for them to use land left by migrants as well as to acquire land from those who have1 1. Ojo, G.J.A, Yoruba Culture, London, 1966, 1*0. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY On the leased land, any crop can be planted by natives and non-natives alike provided tbs Ishakole, which varies from two to four baskets of yams, is paid, £ven the Iljrin in-migrants who were formerly food-farmers now plant tree crops. Because of the flexibility of tenure, their request is usually granted and part of the land recorded as owned but not used are those granted to the Ilorin settlers. Nonetheless, there are some people who constitute an obstacle to greater flexibility of tenure. These are people who are the hardest pressed for land for kola cultivation. Although they accept the idea cf allowing people to plant any crops on leased land, they are opposed to Ilorin lessees being allowed to grow kola. This is to ensure adequate supply of labour for weeding their own kola farms. Ilorin lessees react by abandoning the land of such landlords and taking up plots from landlords who would allow them to plant kola trees. This aspect of the process of change is best illustrated by an episode in Ijabg. In the early 1960*s, the Ilorin approached the Onljabe (the village head) for permission to plant tree crops but he refused. When some of them started to leave the village area for other places, pressure was put on him by some people, mainly return-migrants. They urged him to allow the Ilgrin to plant whatever they wanted. Permission was eventually given by the 0? l.jabe as well as by seme landlords on whose land the Iljrin were farming. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 149 Thus| the trend towards flexible tenure is bound to continue as long as the migration which called it into being still exists. The Northwest The type of land rights found here presents some interesting contrasty It is midway between what is found in the south and in the northeast. While there are migrants to preach the idea of changing the system of tenure and a large body of people ready to accept the change as in the northeast, there is a relative abundance of land and no cash crop suitable for most parts of the zone. Indeed, migration itself is in a way contributing to abundance of land because movement away creates new areas for the use of those left behind. This is clearly brought out by the acreage cultivated per man. There is a clear distinction between Iwofin where there is sufficient land and 011a where the land is not sufficient. Whereas a farmer in Iwofin cultivates an average of k . 2 2 acres, he cultivates only 3»20 acres in 011a. Of the total amount of land in use in 011a, 16.1 per cent is purchased as against 1.1 per cent in Iwofin. Land used but not owned claims only 1.9 per cent of Iwofin land compared to 12.7 per cent in 011a. Further­ more, respondents in Iwofin have 39.8 per cent of their land used by other people, mostly in-migrants, whereas 011a people have only 23*5 per cent as land owned but not used. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 150 The case of Iwofin and most of the rural settlements of the northwest is an example of a place where the abundance of land and lack of tree crops preclude the proper development of land ownership beyond the communal system. Even the introduction of tobacco as a cash crop has not led to substantial individua­ lization of land. Howevert lack of individualization does not affect attitudes to sale of land. The respondents do not disapprove of sale and one of them actually purchased k . k 5 acres from a family to develop a palm plantation. The consent of the family is required but rarely denied. It would appear that as long as there is sufficient arable land, there is no particular desire to change the present system. As far as transfer of land is concerned the system is adequate. In addition to sale of land, leasing is allowed and any lessee is free to decide what he plants on the plot. The lessees are mainly Iljrin in-migrants to whom nearly all the land recorded as owned but not used is granted. They are required to pay the traditional Ishakole which, in this case, is two baskets of yam during the harvest. Other parts of the zone, especially the southern-most part where Olla is located present a different picture. Because of experiments with the cultivation of tree crops, the conception of individual rights has taken root. More important, land tenure is also flexible. Sale of land is not uncommon while leasing of land UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY i5i without condition is prevalent. The contrast between Iwofin and 011a can therefore be explained in terms of relative scarcity of land and the influence of experiments with cash crops. EFFECTS OF LAND TENURE ON HOLDINGS The various degrees of flexibility of tenure noted above have implications for the security of tenure. In the south, where tenure is rather inflexible the native holder has complete security of tenure for himself and his children. Any other user of the land has very limited security in the sense that he can plant only what his landlord wants. This may or may not be financially the most rewarding. In the north where tenure Is flexible, most of the users of land, whether native or non-native, have some measure of security as they can plant what they choose. People who have clear security are thus able to put the land they lease to optimum use. As observed by Qeorge, what is necessary for the improvement of land is not its private ownership but the security of improvements,^ Because no conditions are attached to the use of the land, people with security of tenure are encouraged to invest in the land, to manage the farm more efficiently than otherwise would have been and therefore to develop it up to the economic optimum. A 1 1. George, H. Progress and Poverty. London, 1913* 283. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY farmer who is unsure of his tenure mines the land. Two examples will serve to illustrate this point. If a piece of land is pledged, the creditor has no security of tenure and therefore makes only those improvements that will ensure the return of his income. Some deterioration takes place as the pledgee is not allowed to replace aged or dead trees. As the period of redemption approaches virtually no improvements are madej the creditor believes that any improvement then will be enjoyed by the debtor. Some of the Urhobo in-migrants in the south give this as the reason for not spraying their cocoa holdings in 1968. Secondly, in places where landlords plant tree crops on the land which they leased out or where they refuse to allow their tenants to plant crops of their own choosing, the tenants are sometimes indifferent to improvement of the land. Questioned about why some farmers applied fertilizer to their own plot but did not apply it to the plots which they leased, they replied that it was not only their crops that would benefit from it but also the tree crops of the landlord. What is more, they were sure to be evicted when tha trees reached maturity. Hence yields are higher where farmers have security of tenure than where they do not. In 9yan, for example, it was found that the yield of yams per acre in 1968/69 was 8,5^1 pounds for the farmer with secured tenure and 7,993 Tor the farmer with insecure tenure. In the northeast, an UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY official once pointed out that permanent crop farms on disputed areas compared unfavourably with those in other areas because the farmers did not consider their tenure to be sufficiently secure as to warrant the maintenance of the crops.* fable 28 shows the utilization of land "used but not owned". The figures are not absolute acreages or the real amount of land cultivated. A piece of land can be planted with several crops and it is this crop acreage that has been recorded. If an acre of land is planted with yams and maizei its crop acreage is two. The Table reveals that in the south, where the migration rate is low, over 90 per cent of the respondents who use land they do not own, have insecure tenure, compared with about 10 per cent in the north. Over half of this land in the south is pledged and the remainder is leased for the cultivation of food crops. Unlike in Qdeyinka where no land is held under secure tenure, 3 « H acres of the 26.14- acres of land in Oluponna is held under secure tenure. Although only yams were planted on it at the time of the survey, the farmers proposed to plant cocoa. This development further emphasizes the need for some people to lead the crusade for destroying the institutional barriers to a change in the land tenure system. In those areas of the south where migration is taking place, there is a gradual change from the rigid land tenure system to a more flexible one. 1. Nigeria, National Archives, Iba-Okuku Boundary. Oshun Division file 2/2, 60/1923. B7 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY TABLE 28 USE OF LAND HELD UNDER VARIOUS TENURIAL RIGHTS , South , Northeast | Northwest s 1 I ► S 1' I S ' I f Cocoa 14.45 — 2.80 - 2.66 Kola - - 0.80 23.37 - - Palm - - 0.80 mm - mm Tobacco - - ■mm - mm 9.43 Groundnut - - mm - - 1.92 Cotton - - m m 0.36 - - Yams mm 3.11 17.30 20.75 - 12.42 Cassava 6.06 - 7.19 4.07 - 5.82 Maize 3.48 - 19.02 20.20 mm 18.76 Guinea corn - - 0.30 - - 9.24 Sweet potatoes - - 0.48 mm - - Beans 0.64 - 0.30 - - 9.07 Fruits 1.75 - - 1.68 mm - Vegetable - - 1.94 mm - 0.44 Tomato 5.33 - 1.68 0.98 - - Melon mm - - Wft - 5.71 Pepper - - 2.60 - mm - Total 31.71 3.11 52.41 74.21 mm 75.47 Per cent 91.1 8.9 r 41.1 58.9 100.01 • S » Secure Tenure* I : Insecure Tenure. Source: Field Survey, 1968/69 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY In the northeast the proportion of land held under secure tenure is higher than that held under insecure tenure. However, the difference is not statistically significant. The seemingly high proportion (^0 per cent) of land held under insecure tenure is explained primarily by the desire of the land-owners to plant the Olokuku kola on their plots. This is particularly true of people whose land area is small in quantity or poor in quality. However, as noted above, alternatives are available for the tenants because of the flexibility of tenure. The degree of flexibility is further evidenced by the amount of land planted under tree crops by lease-hold tenants in this zone. It consti­ tutes over a third of the land held under secure tenure and can be increased if the holders so wish. The position found in the northwest where no land is held under insecure terms in spite of poorly developed individualization of land would appear to be a reflection of the abundance of land and the agricultural economy of the area. In fact, in Iwofin, leasing of land is very rare. The small acreage was leased because the lessees' farms are too far away for the convenience of carrying out the enormous work required on tobacco field. SIZE OF HOLDING The allocation of holdings among the people in the sample villages shown in Table 29 reveals that the average land holding is only 3*11* This average does not apply to the greater part of UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 15t TABLE 29 SIZE OF LAND-HOLDING • Total Acreage 1 Acreage per man R ' N » T 1 R « N « T South 58*08 415.10 473.18 2.64 3.84 3.64 Oluponna 58.08 99.04 157.12 2.64 2.06 2.24 Odeyinka - 316.06 316.06 - 5.27 5.27 Northeast 343.24 66.56 409.80 2.56 1.51 2.30 Oyan 209*68 35.10 244.78 3.18 1.95 2.91 Igbaye 133.56 31.46 165.02 1.96 1.21 1.76 Northwest 429.88 105 .02 534.90 4.06 2.50 3.61 Olla 207.72 73.92 281.64 3.71 2.31 3.20 Iwofin 222.16 3 1 . 1 0 253.26 4.44 3.11 4.22 Total 851.20 586.68 L417.88 3.17 3.02* 3.111 t i 1 1 R = Return-migrants* N * Non-migrants* T - Total. Source; Field survey, 1968/69 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY the Division. In the more densely populated northeast, the average farm size is just about two acres. As will be seen later, this small size of holding has some bearing upon the local agricultural productivity. The average size of holding in the northwest and the south is over 3*6 acres. The most striking feature of the Table is the difference in the holdings of return-migrants and non-migrants. In every village, the average holding of the latter is much smaller than that of the former. Except in Igbaye and Odeyinka, a return- migrant cultivates over one acre more than his non-raigrant counter­ part. However, the difference is not statistically significant even at 5 per cent level of probability. Although the difference may be due to the size of sample, nevertheless, it points to the fact that return-migrants are inclined to increase their holding and cultivate larger acreage on their return. This may be due to the fact that they need more money to meet their newly acquired higher standard of living and greatly extended range of expecta­ tions. Another instance of the influence of migration on holding is provided by the acreage cultivated by in-migrants. Table 30 3hows the total and average acreage cultivated by in-migrant farmers in three villages. It will be seen that the average is higher than that for the local farmer, whether or not the latter is a return- migrant. This large farm size shows the rate of settlement of in- UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 158 TABLE 30 ACREAGE CULTIVATED BY IN-MIGRANT FARMERS 1 Total 1 Mean Igbotele 72.20 if. 81 Aba Igbira 87.27 if. 36 Gambari 80.38 if.02 Total t 239.85 if.36 Source: Field survey, 1968/69. migrants on holdings of their own. The large holding may be explained by two factors. The first is the quality of the land and the value of crops planted on it. As has been pointed out in Chapter if, in-raigrants were initially given what was regarded as waste or unwanted marginal land. They thus need large acreage to be able to produce crops adequate for their needs. Furthermore, since they were not allowed initially to cultivate the more valuable tree crops, they were constrained to cultivate more acres to food crops to earn the same amount of money as local farmers. Secondly, the labour in-put of in-raigrants is higher than that of the natives due to differences in working habits. tfith their larger holdings and greater success, in-raigrants have attracted a certain amount of hostilities which are further UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY !5& I exacerbated where there Is open competition between them and the natives. An example of such manifest antagonism will be given in another chapter. DISPOSAL OF MIGRANTS* LAND It has been possible for some of the cultivators to have as much acreage as discussed above because they are able to take over the land lately vacated by out-migrants. Not all out- migrants release their land for such a purpose. Many make other arrangements and it is possible to make a distinction between land left to relatives and those left to non-relatives. The first category is classified with "acquisition from family land" under land owned and used because the present user neither leases nor buys it. The second category is often part of land owned but not used. The following Table indicates the disposal of land that can be said to have been left by out-migrants. The first and second columns show the acreage and proportion of land in which the out- migrant and the present user, who is a relative, have joint ownership. The third and fourth columns indicate the acreage and proportion of land which is personally owned by out-raigrants although given to the relative for safe keeping. The figures for the following columns show land given out to people other than relatives. If the land is jointly owned by migrants and relatives now at home, it is regarded as family land and both of them are UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY / TABLE 51 ALLOCATION OF LAND LEFT B? 0UT-MIG3AWTS (in acres) » Land owned by out-raigrants Land owned by out-migrants but but used by the relatives used by non-relatives »Family ,% of , Indi-, % of % of total vi du­ total Family land used al used used Individual % land land by non­ rela­ tives South 37.48 8.2 33.70 7.4 56.54 90.9 5.70 9.1 Oluponna 19.94 14.2 19.12 13.6 25.23 85.5 4.27 14.5 Odeyinka 17.54 5.6 14.58 4.7 31.61 95.7 1.43 4.3 Northeast 178.63 67.0 41.15 15.4 95.73 77.7 27.51 22.3 Oyan 112.61 69.3 25.44 15.7 59.58 79.6 15.24 20.4 Igbaye 66.02 63.6 15.71 15.1 36.15 74.7 12.27 25.3 Northwest 375.73 90.1 18.19 4.4 131.49 92.0 11.46 8.0 Olla 143.02 81.2 14.81 8.4 6418 84.8 11.46 15.2 Iwofin 1 232.71 • 96.7 t 3.38 • ~t 1.4 r167.31 100.0 1 1 Sourcei Field survey, 1968/69 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY responsible for giving out the land. If it is personally owned, the migrants give it out on contract, the terms of which vary with time and from person to person. An interesting feature of the Table is that in a majority of cases, out-migrants prefer close relatives to take over their land. Applying the Student’s t test to see whether there is any significant difference between the land left to relatives and that left to non-relatives, it is found that the observe t value of 3.9 is significant at 1 per cent probability level. This is to be expected where the land is not individualized before the out- migrants moved or where they moved in response to a request from the family. Even where individualization has taken place, the eventual disposal of out-migrants' land may be undertaken by relatives acting on bis advice. The Table also reveals that in the north a large proportion of the land left to either relatives or non-relatives is family land whereas it is not so in the south. The explanation lies in the degree of individualization achieved and in the availability of land. It would appear that the degree of individualization achieved depends on the period of introduction of tree crops. In the south where cocoa was introduced earlier than in any other part of the Division, individualization has reached an advanced stage. Even though there had been experiments with cocoa in the northeast, it was not until the late 19^0's when kola cultivation became profitable UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY that individualisation began gradually to gain ground. In the northwest, areas such as 011a which had early experiments with cocoa and had relatively less land, had 80 per cent of its land as family land as against 96.7 par cent for Iwofin. The care of such family land is a joint responsibility of the out-migrants and the non-migrants. While the aigrants provide both financial and moral support as well as information about new technological developments, the non-migrants manage the farm. For this, they use both their own and hired labour. In spite of the money sent, out-aigrants do not expect to receive any of the income from the land. This may be due either to their being relatively more prosperous than the non-migrants or to the fact that they may have dependants at home whose maintenance is the responsibility of the non-migrants. Land loft as personal property is entrusted both to relatives and non-relatives. For the relatives, it is found that the land- scarce northeast has the largest proportion of 15.V por cent compared with 7*0 per cent for the south. One would have expected that the south which has a smaller proportion of family land would have a large proportion of individual land loft behind. The reason for this not being so is* first, the presence of fewer migrants is the southf a»d second, most land are disposed of by pledging rather than left in custody. In the northeast, land left with non­ relatives form the largest proportion (22.3 per cent) in the Division while in the northwest, the village of Iwofin records no such occurrence. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY The purpose of leaving personal land to caretakers is two* fold. If no tree crop has been planted on the plot, it is necessary to guard against unscrupulous neighbours who sight extend the boundary of their own plots at the expense of the out-migrants' land. Where tree crops hare been plantedt it is essential that they are eared for. If the trees are young, the care-taker ean use the land to plant various food crops. In such a situation, the out-migrant does not have to pay for the cost of clearing and weeding.1 When the tree erops are mature, it becomes impossible to continue to grow food crops. A new fora of arrangement is entered into in which half of the income goes to the care of the faro, a quarter is taken as reward by the care-taker, especially if he is not a close relative, and the remainder is sither given to the migrant's dependants or kept for him until his return. CONCLUSION The principal feature which emerges from tho fore-going pages is ths important role of migration, operating either singly or in conjuction with two other factors, the cash economy and soarolty of land in modifying land tenure and land held by individuals. As far as tenure is concerned, the emergence of individual rights 1, This arrangement also applies to land given out by some non-migrants* UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY has been associated with the cultivation of perennial cash crops such as cocoa and kola* The fact that the tree crops were Introduced by return-migrants makes it possible to attribute this aspect of change in tenure to migration*1 Stress is often laid upon the emergence of individual rights as the best incentive for improving agricultural productivity.2* The evidence here shows that individualisation is just one stage in the process of complete liberalisation of land tenure* One essential stage is the possibility of alienating land preferably by sale* It is only when this stage Is reached that individualisation is an incentive to development* If it is not reached, alternatives to the transfer of land are sought and if these are found in a system of pledging, the consequences are not always beneficial* In the evolution of a flexible tenure system, therefore, there must be some people to preach the idea* Where this group is present, flexibility has been attained even without tree crops or the Individual holding associated with them* In other words, the cultivation of tree crops le not per se« the important influence changing the nature of land tenure* It is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for bringing about the complete transformation of traditional land tenure* 1* See Chapter 8* 2* Hailey, L* "The Land Tenure Problem in Africa”, Journal of African Administration. Special Supplement, 1952, 7* UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 185 Finally, it is found that scarcity of land brings about changes in land tenure. Such a situation is needed to inculcate the conception of the economic value of land. In some parts of the northwest, man-land ratio is so low that it may be necessary to stimulate an artificial scarcity of land either through a rapid increase in in-migration, or introduction of tree crops and other plantations which can appropriate large areas still used on an extensive basis. Such large landholdings have the advantage of making mechanisation an economic proposition and so helping to lessen the effects of labour shortage which has been brought about by out-migration. How the problem of labour has been tackled will be the major concern of the next chapter. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY CHAPTER 7 LABOUR The loss of manpower through migration which ha3 reached such high proportions is likely to be considerable since the majority of those involved are in the economically active age groups. Farmers in Oshun Division are concerned about decline in the supply of traditional labour despite the fact that population growth has been rapid, density of (population is high and under-employment is rife* The consequences of the absence of such a large number of migrants on the supply of labour are examined in this chapter. Some idea about traditional sources of labour is given to provide the necessary background for the discussion that follows. SOURCES OF LABOUR The traditional agricultural labour force in Oshun Division, as in other parts of Nigeria, is provided by a man, his wife (or wives) and unmarried children and any other person such as his mother or younger brothers who work on his farm and for whose welfare he is directly responsible.^ It is a common practice to supplement this family labour with additional help from outside the family. In the old days, slaves were an Important additional source of 1 1. Forde, Daryll. The Yoruba Speaking Peoples of Southwestern Nigeria. London, 1951* 10. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 18? labour. In Yorubaland, there was, besides, labour provided through the Iwofa system. The word Iwofa is usually translated as ’pawn' in English, An Iwofa is a debtor (or his representative) who agrees to perform a certain amount of work at regular intervals for his creditor until he could pay his cash loan.^- The services constituted the interest on the loan. Once the loan has been paid, the Iwofa was not under any obligation to serve his erstwhile creditor. Organised group farming was also an important source of labour. It was used when heavy work such as clearing the land for planting, heap-making and weeding farm plots was necessary. This cooperative system may take the form of Aaro or Owe. 2 The former comprises the association of close relatives, farm-mates or members of the same age group who may call on each other for help in their farm work at various times. The operations performed in the farm of each member need not be the same and this is why the assistance is reckoned in terras of the number of days which are worked on the participants* farms. A distinguishing characteristic of the system is that the aid is reciprocal. It is obligatory for a member of 12 1. See Berry, S.S. Cocoa Growing in Western Nigeria, 1890-19*K) i A Study of an Innovation in a Developing Country. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Michigan, 1967, 112, 116. 2. For detailed discussion, see Ojo, G.J.A. "The Changing Patterns of Traditional Group Farming in Ekiti, Northeast Yoruba Country", Nigerian Geographical Journal, 6, 1, 1963* 31-38. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY the group to repay the task which has been done on his faro. There can be no excuse on grounds of engagement elsewhere for any member not repaying the aid when he is required to do so. If he is sick, he would have to request someone else, notably his brother, to take his place or he may postpone (but he cannot cancel) the repayment. Owe is performed by a community working party which consists of close relatives, friends and in-laws. The party is usually large, its members varying between twenty and a hundred people. The system is non-recurrent but the members who take part foregather after the work has been completed to feast at the expense of the person to whom help has been given. Some of these traditional sources of labour have disappeared entirely; some are gradually becoming a thing of the past, while others have been modified to meet the rapidly changing social and economic conditions. From 1893 when peace was concluded among the warring Yoruba kingdoms, the use of slave labour declined because the principal supply of slaves, that is, captive people, was cut off. In 1901, slave trade was made illegal by the British Administration and by the 1920's domestic slavery had been eradica­ ted.^- The use of Iwofa continued until the early 1930's when it was made illegal. 2 By the late 1930's, the system had already declined. 12 1. Nigerian National Archives, Oyo Province Annual Reports, cso 26/06027. 2. Galletti, R., Baldwin, K.D.S. and Dina, 1.0. Nigerian Cocoa Farmers, London, 1956, 508. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY As a result of the disappearance of both slavery and the Iwofa system, group farming system became the most important source of farm labour in Oshun Division for a period. Today, however, it is also declining very fast. Oluwasanmi suggests four chief factors responsible for the disintegration of the system.^ These are the loosening of tribal ties, the development of’commercial agriculture as well as the expansion of non-agricultural economy, the spread of education and migration. It is the last of the four, that is migration, which is at present of crucial importance to this discussion. THE NATURE OF MIGRANT'S IMPACT OK LABOUR The Cooperative System Many young people who used to constitute members of co­ operative groups have migrated in search of economic opportunity elsewhere. Their departure greatly reduced the number of people available for co-operative work and deprived the stayers at home the services of their friends. Migration probably explains why neither owe nor aaro form of labour is now used in the northern zones where the rate of migration is high. Of the k $ 6 respondents only eight mentioned the use of owe or aaro system and all these were found in the south. 1 1. Oluwasanmi, H.A. Agriculture and Nigerian Economic Develop­ ment. London, 1966, 7^-7$» UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 170 However, the system has been reorganised and the new form of co-operative system is gradually becoming important in the Division. Farmers now organise themselves into groups, each group sometimes involving 10 to 100 or more people. The group system was initiated at first, not by return-migrants, but by the Government. The aim was to train farmers in agricultural practices based on mechaniza­ tion.1 Provision was made for the hire of tractors to the farmers at subsidised rates. These experimental groups were established at Ikonifin in 1950, Asejire in 1951* Iragberi in 195^, Ikire lie in 1955 and later at Ede, Ikoyi and Iwo. 2 Attention was concentrated on the cultivation of two main crops: rice and maize. For example, the group at Iragberi acquired over 150 acres of swampy land in 195^ and planted 25 acres with rice. The acreage was increased to 93 in 1963. All operations, such as weeding, drilling, cutting and threshing were carried out by machine. These early experiments, though based on a village unit in order to make every family in the community participate in the scheme, did not achieve a large measure of success. The impact of return-migrants lies in bringing interested farmers in a village, and not just every member of the village, into the scheme. There are now groups of such interested farmers, 12 1. Ojo, G.J.A., ’’Trends Towards Mechanized Agriculture in Yorubaland”, Nigerian Geographical Journal. 6, 2, 1963* 116-129. 2. Nigerian National Archives, Annual Reports of Oshun Division. 1951, 51-132; 1953, 52-55. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY mainly return-migrants who cultivate large farms. They are found in all the sample villages except Odeyinka. Although some of these groups do not register with the government, they seek and obtain the advice of the extension service workers in the provision of improved seeds and the use of machinery. While the farmers in Iwofin and 011a plant maize and tobacco, the farmers in Oluponna are experimenting with cashew nuts. By 1969* some farmers in Ogboraosho and Oyan aVreas, at the instance of return-migrants from Ghana, have been contributing money towards the purchase of their own tractors and the ancillary equipment. The new co-operative groups achieve a more economic use of labour in two ways. Firstly, the consolidation of farms which the system brings about has reduced the time which the farmers spend when they move from one plot to the other. Such consolidation has led to the creation of large units of land either from former commonland or from the amalgamation of the plots of some families. In Ikonifin about eighty acres of land were first brought under crop. In Ollasbout thirty acres of land were planted with maize and tobacco in 1967 while in Iwofin about twenty-five acres were brought under cotton. In Oke-Irun, over 200 acres of land were brought under cultivation in 1969. The effect of the group farms is to change the farmscape of the areas where they are found. Secondly, the use of machinery enables several operations to be performed more quickly than is possible when they are done with hoe and cutlass. However, mechanization does not, at present, do UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY away with the need for all labour. Equipment only exists for the clearing and ridging of land and for other operations which are connected with rice and maize cultivation. As yet there is nothing for the performance of farm operations for other crops. However, the individual holdings of the farmers are still small and scattered because of fractionation caused by the system of Inheritanc These small holdings cannot mechanise profitably and they still depend on family labour for their operation. The Family Labour An obvious consequence of migration is that the adult labour force of the family declines. This is shown in Table 32 which compares the adult labour force of the family in the sample villages in 1958 and 1968. Although it has been shown in Chapter 1 that there has been a very considerable growth in the population of the Division, there is a decline in the adult labour force available in each village. The Table reveals that in 1968 there were 470 fewer adult workers than in 1958. The number of adult people in an average farm household in the Division has thus diminished from 4.27 in 1958 to 3«24 in 1968. The greatest decrease occurred in the northeast where the average number of adult family members decreased from 4.23 to 2.94 in the same period. The least decrease from 4.48 to 3«90 occurred in the south while in the northwest, there was a decrease from 4.14 to 3*08. The smallest absolute decline is found in Odeyinka where there was a drop from 248 to 226 while the largest decline occurred in Igbaye where the number dropped from 394 to 270. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY TABLE 32 THE FAMILY LABOUR FORCE. 1958 AND 1968 ' 1958/59 1968/69 Difference Male Female,Total Male, Female 1 Total Male , % Female , % Total, % South 321 262 583 260 2k? 507 • 6l 19.0 - 15 3.7 - 76 13.0 Oluponna 182 153 335 1**5 136 281 - 37 20.3 - 17 1 1 . 1 - 5** 16 .1 Odeyinka 139 109 2**8 115 1 1 1 226 - 2k 17*3 12 1.8 - 22 8.9 Northeast 373 380 753 2k0 285 525 -133 35*7 - 95 25.0 -228 30.3 Oyan 172 187 359 1 1** 1**1 255 - 58 33.7 - k6 2**.6 -10** 29.0 Igbaye 201 193 39** 126 Ikk 270 - 78 37.3 - k9 25.** -12** 31.5 Northwest 332 282 6l** 228 220 kk8 -10** 31.3 - 62 22.0 -166 27.0 Olla 193 175 368 132 13k 266 — 6l 31.6 - k1 23.** -102 27.7 Iwofin 139 107 2**6 96 86 182 - **3 30.9 - 21 19.6 - 6** 26.0 Total « 1026 « 92k 1950 728 752 2A 80 -298 29.0 **172 18.6 » 2**.lt 1 9 1 Source: Field Survey* 1968/69* UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY The decline is due mainly to the very important increases in the annual migration of people especially in the northern mones in the past ten years. The out-migrants consist primarily of adults of working age and it is therefore to be expected that the volume of the labour force would be affected by large numbers of out-raigrants. As pointed out in Chapter 2, out-migration which had been an important factor of population growth in the Division increased appreciably in i960 when cocoa prices started to decline. The increased number of out-migrants also explains the difference in the sex ratio of adult labour force between 1958 and 1968, for among out-migrants, in general, there is a preponderance of males. The number of females is important to the agricultural economy since both men and women share in the farm work. The woman not only helps with routine farm chores in the village, but also with most field operations. Since no wage is paid to her, the addition of a woman to a farmer's family means a net contribution to the family labour while the subtraction means a great loss. This is particularly serious when several women are lost in a relatively short period. As the Table shows, the female labour force did not decline so significantly; it fell from 92^ in 1958 to 753 in 1968, a decline of 172. The rate of decline is high in the villages of the northern zone but in the south, Odeyinka has, not a decrease, but an increase of two women. On the other hand, the male labour force which is, of course, larger than the female in 1958 declined importantly from 1026 to 728. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY A recent development that is affecting the composition and size of the family labour force is the increasing amount of part-time farming in the Division. Of the k^6 respondents, about 60 per cent are engaged in full-time farming and about kO per cent engage in occupations other than farming. Over 30 per cent devote more time to jobs outside the farms while about 10 per cent devote more time to farm work. About 90 per cent of these multiple job-holders are return-migrants who are desirous of making use of their newly acquired skills. A detailed discussion of these jobs will be given later; suffice it to stress here that a large proportion of the multiple job-holders engage in trading activities particularly in their own farm produce while others operate, for instance, as tailors and carpenters. The figures which have been analysed above relate to the natives of the Division. There is no decline in the proportion of in-migrant labour force who also have available to them the full use of the labour of their children. The high store set on education by Oshun natives as well as the consequent almost universal primary school attendance which follows free primary education scheme means that many children are absent at school. For example, the enrolment of primary school children in Ibadan Province which includes Oshun Division rose by 110 per cent from 6^,100 in 195^ to 13^*695 in 1955# the year in which the scheme was launched. By 1968, the children in primary school in Oshun Division alone were UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 90,424.^ On the other hard, school attendance is not high among the children of the in-migrants. In 1968, only about 20 per cent of Urhobo children were attending school in Odeyinka whilst only 5 per cent of Ilorin children and 2 per cent of Igbira children in the sample villages were in school. Another advantage which the in-migrants have as far as labour supply is concerned is the large size of their family unit. The average size of a family is nine compared with between five and seven for the natives. Although an intensive study of the family unit of in-migrants was not carried out, the general impression is that their fertility rate is considerably higher than that of the natives. Oshun farmers are thus much concerned about the shortage of labour. Farmers working over three acres naturally feel the need for extra labour most keenly. Given the high density of population in the Division, farmers* complaints about labour shortage should be surprising. Indeed, one may ask why the farmers cannot make more efficient use of family labour by working longer hours. They certainly work strenuously and for long hours during the peak requirement of labour on farms. The normal working day on the farm is about seven hours and it is, therefore, longer than is common in some parts of Africa where climate is even more stimulating.2 1. Western Nigeria, Ministry of Economic Planning and Community Development, Statistics Division, Annual Abstracts of Education Statistics. 8, 1968. 2. The Ganda, for example, works for about four hours in a day. See, Richards, A.I. "The Problem for Buganda", in Economic Development and Tribal Change, ed. Richards Audrey I., 204. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Apart from leisure which is usually forced on the farmers by weather conditions, the normal leisure hours start at about half past six when it is dark to work on the farms. The labour shortage about which the fanners complain occur during peak periods in agriculture and as Galletti has observed, labour "is a 'scarce* factor largely because it is needed at particular times not so much because the hours which can be worked over the whole year fall short of the total required on the farms". 1 Nevertheless, there is a difference, though insignificant* between the hours worked by the non-migrants, the return-migrants and the in-migrants. The return-migrants work longer hours (eight to nine hours) than the non-migrants (about seven hours) and the in- raigrants work the longest hours (about ten hours) of them. The number of days in which the farmers work is also higher for the return, and in-migrants. While the non-migrants work for about 250 days on the average, the return-migrants work for 280 days and the in-migrants 310 days. The differences may be explained by the fact that the habit of industry which the return-migrants had acquired while they were away from home persisted in some of them when they returned. Although the daily normal routine and the nature of the tasks performed by the non-migrants and return-migrants remain virtually the same, the latter have longer working hours on the farm by reducing the time 1. Galletti, R., Baldwin, K.D.S. and Dina, I.O., op.cit.. 30k, UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY which they spend on journeying to and from their farms. Most of the return-migrants possess either a bicycle or an autocycle which aid their movement and reduce the time-distance of their farm by between 50 , an« "d * 80 per cent. Furthermore, the return-m- igra} nts appear to have given up a little leisure in favour of longer days of work as very few of them now spend several days on festivities and visits. Some of them, it must be admitted, spend a lot of money on festivities as a mark of their newly acquired status. The in-migrants work for longer hours because they have shorter breaks in the afternoon. While the natives have a break of between two and three hours in the afternoon when the temperature is high, the in-migrants may have a break of one and a half hour. Some of the in-migrants have farmsteads and therefore do not have to waste any time journeying to and from the farm. They also work for the most part of the year because they have fewer social duties to which to attend. Some Igbira, for example, observe no sabbath while some Ilorin take just a few hours off on Fridays and both of them spend fewer days than the natives on festivals and visits. Even when the in-migrants have settled for quite a long time, they do not reduce drastically their hours or days of work. Thus the in-migrants have earned a reputation for devotion to duty. The indigenes themselves are ready to admit, though ruefully, that the in-migrants work harder and steadier than they, the natives, do. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY i l b However, in spite of the decline in the family labour force occasioned by migration, the indigenes have not significantly reduced the acreage cultivated. As will be shown in Chapter 9, the acreage cultivated in the sample villages increased from 1,^0^ in 1958 to 1,^18 in 1968. Oshun farmers have been able to maintain as large an acreage as when their children were at home because they now supplement family labour with hired labour. Today the bulk of the labour employed on farms is supplied by hired workers, many of whom come from other parts of the country. It would appear that the fortunes of Oshun farmers depend today largely on the availability of hired labour. Hired Labour Table 53 sets out the number of people who employed labour, the number of labourers they employed and the payment made to the labourers. It will be seen that the return-migrants employ a great deal of hired labour compared with the non-migrants. Farmers who cultivate relatively large acreage demand hired labour in great number and since return-migrants cultivate larger acreages than their non-migrant counterparty they tend to employ higher number of labourers. While the return-migrants employ on the average, 89.3 man-days, his non-migrant counterpart employ 5^*0 man-days. The distribution of labour employed also depends on the acreage cultivated* In Igbaye where the average acreage per farmer is 1.8, it seems as if farmers need less outside help. The farmers in that UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY TABLE 35 LABOUR HIRED BY RETURN- AND NON-MIGRANTS IN THE SAMPLE VILLAGES No. of Farmers No. of Man-days , Payment to Labour (in (£)) Total ' Employing Total Average ' Total 'Average labour per far­ per mer farmer Oluponna R 22 21 2489 113.1 674 30.6 N 48 39 25^0 52.9 716 14.9 T 70 60 5029 71.8 1390 19.9 Odeyinka R «•» «■» «• — m m N 60 3k 5748 95.8 1218 20.3 T 60 3k 5748 95.8 1218 20.3 Oyan R 66 61 7672 116.2 2015 30.5 N 18 11 782 43.4 246 13.7 T 84 72 8454 100.6 2261 26.9 Igbaye R 68 53 3152 46.3 823 12.1 N 26 14 143 5.5 37 1.4 T 94 67 3295 35.0 860 9.1 Olla R 56 47 5376 96.0 1402 25.0 N 32 19 938 29.3 284 8.9 T 88 66 6314 71.8 1686 19.1 Iwofin R 50 44 4696 93.9 1174 23.5 N 10 7 321 32.1 79 7.9 T 60 51 5017 83.6 1253 20.9 Total R 262 226 23385 89.3 6088 23.2N 194 144 10472 5^.0 2580 13.3 T 456 t 370 33857 7^.2 8668 19.01 ' s' 1 R « Return-migrants; N = Non-migrants; T » Total. Source: Field Survey, 1968/69 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY village employ an average of 35*0 man-days per head. At the other end of the scale, the farmers in Oyan who have large holdings need more outside help. Irrespective of the size of farm, it is clear from the Table that in every village where return-migrants are found, they, in addition to their longer hours and days of work, employ more labour than the non-migrants. They also appear to be getting very good quality of work from their labour not only because they feed the labourers well but also because of their better supervision. For example, a few farmers, mainly return-migrants, organise their labour force in a way different from the traditional organisation. By a system called ise odun, meaning working for a year, the farmers give regular employment to their labourers. Under this system, a farmer employs a number of labourers at the beginning of the year. He accommodates them in what can be regarded as a dormitory and provides them with food. The labourers work for an unspecified number of hours on the farm depending on the work needed on the farm and on the weather. The labourers are thoroughly supervised by the farmer himself especially when he works with them. In addition to the farm work the labourers do some occasional chores in the house. At the end of the year, they receive between £25 and £100 as wages depending on the wealth of their employer and the work they do. In Igbaye and Iwofin, a few farmers have evolved a monthly wage system for their labourers. Some of the labourers in Igbaye UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY work Clfc a fish pond, those in Iwofin in a piggery and others are employed on the farm. The labourers receive regular wages and in return they do six hours’ work from eight in the morning to two in the afternoon. In two cases, the farmers employ one of them in a supervisory capacity. Most of the labourers appear to prefer the system because they get guaranteed monthly wages varying from £5.0 to £10.0 instead of the chance of casual employment and are able to spend the evenings on their own plot. Some of these employers keep "job cards" in which they enter details as to the operation performed by individual labourers, the length of time spent and the wages due to them. These employers had had experience as foremen on estates in Ghana and the Ivory Coast. Their organisa­ tion cf labour must, however, be regarded as rather exceptional because developments in this line are new and rare. They point, nevertheless, to what can be expected in the very near future. Apart from those labourers who work regularly for their employers, there are labourers who work by piece or time rate. The former work for fixed tasks for which they are paid on completion. The piece of work is shown to the labourer who, after inspecting it, bargains with the employer for a fair price. For some work there is a fixed rate reckoned per 200 heaps, but when there are peculiarities such as when the bush is very thick, an ad- hoc agreement is necessary. After the agreement has been reached the labourer completes the work at his convenience. Those labourers who wcrk on the basis of time rate are employed on a per diem basis and are paid their wages at the end of each day. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY m There have been significant changes in the wages paid to labourers over the years. The changes reflect variations in the prices of crops or wages paid in Government concerns. Until 1953 an agricultural labourer earned about 2.5 shillings a day with food but only 1.5 shillings were paid per day by the government.In 195^« the minimum wage paid to government workers was increased to five shillings a day and the wage of the farm labourers rose to five shillings* 2 As far as the cocoa industry is concerned, there is a strong positive correlation between prices of cocoa and wages of labour. At the present time a labourer earns between five and ten shillings per day on many farms depen­ ding on the volume of work which he does. The increasing rise in the cost of labour probably explains the last two columns in Table 33 where the wages paid for labour are recorded. Farmers now pay an average of £19. a year for labour. As should be expected the return-migrants pay much more than the non-migrants. It would appear that the cost of hired labour is becoming too high for the poorer farmers. Fortunately, however, the source of the funds from which labourers are paid before crops are harvested and sold is not always restricted to earnings from farm crops. The bulk of the labour payments is met from remittances from out-migrants and will be examined in full in the next chapter* 1, Aiyedade District Council, Touring Notes 30th May - 3rd June. 19^9« Oshun Division File 1/1, 137* 63. 2* The Nigerian Tribute. October 28, 195^» !• UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 184 Qd CONCLUSION This chapter emphasizes the substitution of traditional labour with hired labour, a situation which has arisen as a result of significant declines in the supply of traditional labour. The increasing dependence of Oshun farmers on hired labour makes their position precarious. In seasons when supply of labour cannot meet the demand for it, some farm operations have been left undone with consequent reduction in the harvest. Yet the system by which in-migrant labourers take up land and cultivate themselves is one of the important causes of labour shortage. When these in-migrants become tenant farmers, they too start to compete for labour. They are at an advantage in the recruitment of labour, because their kith and kin who come to Oshun as labourers settle with them when they arrive. Mechanization may well be the solution to the problem of labour but this is still a thing of the future. The new system of organising labour now practised in some villages in the north may make for maximum use of labour and may already be pointing to the need for a more institutionalised system for agricultural labour in the area. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY CD CHAPTER 8 CAPITAL Economists have defined the word 'capital* in different ways.3* 1- Some apply the word to physical properties, others apply it to liquid assets and yet others apply it to investment in training. It will be used here to cover the stock of means of production such as implements, buildings, mills, vehicles and money. THE FLOW OF CAPITAL INTO OSHUN DIVISION Capital Brought Back by Return-Migrants The savings accumulated by most migrants abroad are either sent home or brought back on their return. Table 3^ summarizes the number of return-migrants who either remitted capital home or brought it back with them. It will be observed from the Table that only four people returned without any cash or good3. Most migrants brought goods which vary from clothing to motor vehicles. Some of these articles, particularly clothing, were intended not only for the return-migrants themselves but also for members of their families. The Table also shows that the largest number of people (33) brought goods to the value of between £21 and £30 while a few of the respondents brought back substantial amounts of money. The 1. For details about various definitions of 'capital', see Aboyade, 0., Foundations of an African Economy. New York, i960, 33-5^1 Schumpeter, J.A., The Theory of Economic Development. Cambridge, 1961, 120-122 and Schultz, T.W., Transforming Traditional Agriculture. Yale, 196^, Chapter 10. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY cP TABLE 34 VALUE OF CAPITAL BROUGHT BACK BY RETURN-MIGRANTS (In monetary value £) (a)___________________________________ (b) Amount 1 No. of { Pax return Per cent Value Migrant migrant* H ) No cash or goods 4 1.5 South 652 Less than £10 11 4.2 Oluponna 652 29.6 11 - 20 33 12.6 Odeyinka - - 2 1 - 3 0 24 9.2 3 1 - 4 o 41 15.7 Northeast 11365 41 - 50 32 12.2 Oyan 5971 90.5 51 - 60 25 9.5 Igbaye 5394 79.3 61 - 70 23 8.8 71 - 80 20 7.6 Northwest 8460 81 - 90 18 6.9 011a 4542 8 1.1 91 - 100 17 6.5 Iwofin 3918 78.4 Over 100 14 5.3 Total 262 100.0 20,477 78.2 1 f Source: Field survey, 1968/69 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY median of £71 - 80 was brought back by 7*6 per cent of the return- migrants. More light is thrown on the above analysis by section (b) of the Table which records the total capital that was brought back by the return-migrants: the average of this is £78.2 per head. There are, however, differences between the villages. These reflect both the occupation in the place of migration and the extent of migration. For example, the people of Oyan some of whom were diamond dealers, each brought back an average of £90.5. Most of this capital was brought especially in the 1950's when the diamond trade was booming. In Oluponna, where out-migration was just becoming extensive, the return-migrants brought back on the average, £30. Nearly all the return-migrants also sent money home while they were still away. Part of the money was intended for investment in capital projects which would be of benefit to the migrants on their return. The erection or repair of personal buildings was usually given first priority. Next to building, migrants consider the purchase of a mill or a vehicle as most important. They could also invest in agriculture or in business ventures. For example, one of the return-migrants established a fish pond in Igbaye on his return home at a cost of £1,000. Remittances From Current Out-migrants Those migrants who are still absent send money home to their dependants. It is possible to send remittances either by post or by hand. From the information available at the Post Office at present, UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY ! 8 8 there is no means of determining how much money reaches any particular village at a given time and from where the money has been sent. Remittances by Post Table 35 shows the monthly postal business which was transacted at Igbaye in 1950. Of particular interest in the Table are the remittances which were made monthly. If it is assumed that the migrants made the remittances regularly, a total sura of £12,240 would have been sent to Igbaye from the Gold Coast in that year. TABLE 35 ! . AVERAGE MONTHLY POSTAL BUSINESS AT IGBAYE IN 1950 Particulars No. or value 1. Postal packets 60 2* Postal parcels 10 5. Telegram 16 4. Ordinary letters 1,287 5. Letters abroad 1,350 6. Stamp sales £13* 17s. 2%d. 7. Postal orders from Gold Coast £1,020: «s. -d. 8. Postal orders for our use here £18: =s. =d. 9. Registration here 30 Source; Igbaye Postal Agency, Oshun Division File, 1/1, 784/27, 12. Nigeria, National Archives, Ibadan. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY The per caput remittance was therefore £38.7* a figure considerably higher than the average cash receipt (£29»7) of a standard family in the cocoa-growing area in 1952.*' The figures of remittances for Igbaye appear to be broadly typical of remittances made to the people of Oshun north. The respondents in other villages maintained that they used to receive large sums of money from abfoad in the 1950 Table 36 which shows the value of the Postal and Money Orders that were cashed in Oshun Division in 1967 also gives an indication of the influx of money into the Division. It will be noticed first, that the largest volume of Postal and Money Orders, £127*000 was sent to the people of the northeast. In the northwest, £41,000 were cashed by the people while about £28,000 were sent to the inhabitants of Oshun south. The per caput remittance was £0.34, £0.18 and £0 .11 for the northeast, the northwest and the south respectively. (Fig. 1 3 ). It can be assumed that the Nigerian Postal and Money Orders were remittances made from other parts of the country. Although the sources of these were not documented, field experience, backed by local opinion pointed to the fact that most of the money which came to the northern part of the Division was from Northern Nigeria. This was sent by both the out-migrants and the Hausa in-migrants. On the other hand, a large proportion of the remittances to the south were sent mainly from Lagos and other parts of Western Nigeria. 1 Galletti, R., Baldwin, K.D.S. and Dina, 1.0. Nigerian Cocoa Farmers. Oxford, 1956, 703. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY F i g .13 • VALUE OF PO STA L AND MONEY ORDERS SENT TO OSHUN D IV IS IO N , 196 7UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 190 TABLE 36 VALUE OF POSTAL AND MONEY ORDERS CASHED IN OSHUN DIVISION, JANUARY - DECEMBER. 1967 (To the nearest £)• Postal Orders « Money British * Nigerian ' Orders * Total 1 % South 3,514 18,442 5,893 27,849 14.16 Northeast 9,739 77,199 40,478 127,416 64.81 Northwest 3,384 24,535 13,425 41,344 21.03 Total 16,637 i 120,176 i 59,796 196,609 100.01 N.B. Money Order value for August is not available-. Source; Federal Ministry of Communications, Lagos. It is not unlikely that a large proportion of the British Postal Orders was remitted from Ghana, the most important Common­ wealth country to which Oshun people used to migrate. The largest proportion of British Postal Orders was sent to the northeast which had the highest numbers of migrants in Ghana. The value of British Postal Orders sent to those villages which had migrants in the French-speaking countries was relatively small. Thus, in the north­ west, only about £600 were cashed in Ejigbo compared with £2,800 in Ogbomosho. This is explained by the fact that nearly all the remittances UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 131 from the French-speaking countries are sent through individuals. For example, in 011a, there was no single respondent who claimed to have received money from a migrant by post. fiemittances by Hand The commonest method of sending money to all parts of the Division is through drivers and traders or friends who are returning home. In other cases, a relative takes the money back after visiting the respondent, perhaps with the particular objec­ tive of collecting some gift. Before the details of the remittances made by hand are considered, certain facts call for special comment. In the first place, it appears that despite the apparent uncertainty in sending money by hand, since the carrier may not deliver it, there seems to be very little loss. The migrants have some measure of confidence in the carrier and the money sent is usually delivered to the people for whom it is meant. Secondly, the money has to be changed into Nigerian currency before its delivery. This is usually done by the carrier either in the place of migration or in Lagos. Most of the money is changed in the black market especially after the introduction of stringent exchange control measures by the government of Ghana. There are several foreign-exchange dealers who work illegally and secretly. Most of these dealers are known to the drivers and the traders and a few of them are people of Oshun origin. The exchange rate in the black market is very unstable and it is usually lower than the official exchange rate. For example in 1968, the 011a migrants UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY exchanged 1,000 CPA francs for only 20 shillings Nigerian currency on the black market whereas the official exchange rate was approximately 29 shillings. Moreover, the currency dealers always exploit various situa­ tions to their advantage. For example, when a decimal system of money was introduced in Ghana in 1965* the cedi was valued at 8.3 shillings Nigerian money? but the dealers exchanged one cedi for between *f.Q and 5*0 shillings. In February, 1967, a new cedi was issued at a value less 30 per cent of the old cedi. The dealers also changed their rate to between 3*0 and ^.0 shillings. Despite their extortionate tendencies, however, the dealers play an important role in providing channels for the flow of money from the places of migration to Oshun Division. Even if it were possible to make all the remittances by post, there are several villages either in Oshun Division or in the place of migration which do not have postal facilities. A number of technical and economic factors make the services of these dealers therefore invaluable to the migrants. The technicality and time spent in filling several forms in the normal process of money transfer have helped to enhance the role of the dealers. The remittances made to the sample villages between 1956 and 1965 are set out in Table 37* The largest amount of £35*000 was sent to the northeast while the least amount of £3*000 was sent to the south* This should be expected since migrants from the northeast engage in lucrative business, particularly diamond digging. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY TABLE 37 REMITTANCES FBOM CURRENT MIGRANTS. 1956 - 1965 (In £) ♦Maintenance ' Education 'Building 'Marriage Others Total Value % ’ Value % Value % 'Value % Valud' % Value % South 4029 78.2 • - 950 18.4 100 1.9 70 1.5 5149 100• 0 Oluponna 2609 70,0 - * 950 25.5 100 2.7 70 1.8 3729 100.0 Odeyinka 1420 100.0 - - - mm - - - 1420 100.0 Northeast 95^3 27.4 7200 20.7 15585 44.8 2129 6.1 350 1.0 34807 100.0 Oyan 2678 20.9 2650 20.7 6765 52.9 547 4.3 150 1.2 12790 100.0 Igbaye 6865 31.2 4550 20.7 8820 40.0 1582 7.2 200 0.9 22017 100.0 Northwest 4989 21.3 6120 26.1 10619 45.4 1280 5.5 405 1.7 23413 100.0 Oils 3263 21.3 3396 22.2 7645 49.9 710 4.6 305 2.0 15319 100.0 Iwofin 1726 21.4 272b 33.7 -2974 36.6 570 7.0 100 1.3 8094 100.0 Total 18561 29.3 13520 21.0 2?15V 42.8 3509 5.5 825 1.4 63368 • 100.0t * t -t Source: Field survey, 1968/69 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 194 A more important factor that influences the amount of money sent home is the presence or absence of a family or even relatives at home. The migrants who have these dependants send money home for their maintenance and as the Table shows such money accounted for 29 per cent of all the €62,368 which were sent home during the period. Remittances for the maintenance of relatives are regarded by migrants as essential for the continuance of the extended family. They expect their relatives to take care of their buildings, farms, and other projects during their absence. They also expect the relatives to negotiate for new wives for them and to cater for any child they may send home. For all these services, the relatives need to be maintained. The use of the remittances varied according to the persons to whom they were sent but in general, part of the money was usually spent on the hire of labourers, part on the feeding and clothing of members of the family, part on health and part on other incidentals such as the payment of tax. The Table also shows that the proportion of the remittances that were made for marriage was only 5*5 per cent. It does not, perhaps* reflect the attitude of the migrants to marriage. They attach much importance to it and it is their practice to seek for their wives from home. Money is sent for the payment of the bride- price and other miscellaneous expenses. Once the wife joins them and the couple begin to produce children, the volume of remittances decreases. If the migrants want their children to have formal UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 195 education in their home country* they send them back and their remittances begin to rise once again. Most of the migrants desire sound education for their children and as the Table shows, 20 per cent of the remittances were made for the training of children. By far the greatest amount of money was remitted for erecting buildings and repairing old ones. While the people in each of the villages in the northern zones except Iwofin received about £7,000 for building projects, only £950 was received by the people of the southern villages for the same purpose. Remittances which were made to Iwofin for building purposes might not be used for erecting houses at Iwofin. This is due to the fact that the migrants prefer to build a house first at Ogbomosho before they build another one in Iwofin, for, as pointed out in Chapter 1, Iwofin is a daughter village to Ogbomosho. The large investment in buildings is reflected in the modern and decent types of houses that adorn those villages which have high rates of migration. The Present Trend in the Flow of Remittances from Out-migrants There has been a significant change in the amount of money that comes from migrants in Ghana in recent years. A comparison of the remittances made to respondents in 011a and Oyan for the ten year period, 1956 to 1965* is given in Table 38. It is safe to assume that most of the remittances made to 011a and Oyan came from the Ivory Coast and Shana respectively since each village had its largest number of migrants in each of the countries. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 196 TABLE 38 REMITTANCES MASS TO OLLA AND OYAN RESPONDENTS (In £) * 1956’ 1957’ 1958’ 1959’ I960* 1961* 1962’ 1963’ 1964’ 1965’fotal Olla 351 468 616 1705 1804 1918 1973 2111 2235 2137 L5.318 Oyant 2256 t?506 V2153 » 1881 f 1456 • 841 • 619 • 556 1 388 1 333 t12,789 Sources Field Survey, 1968/69. The outstanding feature of the comparison is the steady decrease in the remittances from the Ivory Coast and a steady increase in those from Ghana. The first decline occurred in 1958 and can probably be explained by the replacement of the old West African Currency with the new Ghanla-n currency. The change necessitated the conversion of the new currency to the currency of the West African Currency Board which was still in use in Nigeria and, as noted above, the rate of change in the black market put the migrants at a disadvantage. There is a sharp decline in the remittances made in 1961. This was due to the new Exchange Control Law which made it necessary for non-Ghanaians to obtain permission before they could remit money home.'*' The provisions of the new law affected the remittances made by Oshun migrants in at least three ways. !• West Africa. September 2, 1961, 979. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY In the first place, many Oshun people were ignorant of the provisions of the law and they did not often know the channels through which the permission could be sought. Those of them who wanted to remit money had to do so through a currency dealer who, as noted above, exploited the migrants. They found that any remittance that they made depreciated by half its value before it was received in Nigeria. Such a situation discouraged them from remitting money home. Secondly, the difficulties and administrative delays involved in obtaining the permits made the exercise less attractive to some of the people who know the provisions of the law. Thirdly, the new control put restrictions on the sale of British Postal Orders. This means that those people who had been remitting money home in the form of British Postal Orders found it increasingly difficult to do so. However, the migrants found some ways of by­ passing some of the provisions of the law. In 1965, the government admitted that the control had been ineffective because there was no change in the flow of money out of Ghana.1 Another important factor that has influenced the amount of money which is now sent home from Ghana seems to be the fact that the Oshun migrants have been barred from some important occupations. The Oshun diamond diggers were dispossessed of their licence when it was decreed by the Ghana government that only Ghanaian diggers 1 West Africa. October 9, 1965, 1123 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY could have licences.^- Nonetheless, the Oshun people used Ghanaians as a front to continue their diamond business. They were the financiers who paid for the licence and the rent although they had to find a Ghanaian to be the licensee. Thus, they continued to dig but they could not officially present their diamonds for sale. They therefore resorted to smuggling the minerals out of Ghana. The rate of smuggling was so high that the government was said to be losing as much as £3 million a year. 2 Since migrants were believed to be responsible for the smuggling, the Aliens Act 1963 (Amendment) Decree No. 259 was promulgated in 1968. The decree barred aliens from entering all mining areas, thus depriving the Oyan diggers of their means of income. The worst was yet to come. In December 1968, the "Promotions of Ghanaian Enterprises Decree" was promulgated. It barred aliens from certain businesses including retail trading, taxi service operation and representation of overseas manufacturers. 3 Hence­ forth, there was to be very small, if any, remittances from Ghana. The Decree had been a great blow to the people of the northern part of Oshun Division. The members of the migrants’ families have come to regard the flow of money from abroad as indispensable to their own existence. The extent to which the non-migrants depended 123 1. West Africa. February 17, 1968, l8l. 2. Ibid. 3. In November 1969, all aliens without resident permits were ordered out of Ghana. See West Africa, November 29, 1969, 1^29 - 1^31 and December 20, 1969, 1533 - 1535. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY on the capital flows from migrants is seen in the active interest which they (the non-migrants) took in the welfare of their migrant relatives. They used to express concern about what could strain the relationship between the authorities of the places to which their relatives had migrated and the authorities at home. Any strained relationship, they believed, was bound to have serious repercussions on the migrants and on the flow of money from them. Thus in 1957* the Ogbomosho District Council addressed a protest letter to the Prime Minister of Nigeria about what it considered an incitement of the Ghanaian authorities against the Ogbomosho migrants by Mr. Abiodun Aloba.^ The latter had, in an article, blamed the "prosperous Ogbomosho emigrants" (estimated at nearly 15*000 in Kumasi) for meddling in Ghana's politics by giving the opposition party £5*000 to fight an election. 2 An even more emphatic appreciation of the benefits of migration was given by several District Officers. In 1955* for example, one of them wrote: "In Ifelodun district (in the northeast) there is little cocoa or kola and only limited land for farming; but the richest places in all the area are those drawing subsidies from inhabitants working abroad". 1. Ogbomosho District Council, File No. 188, p. 35. 2# Sunday Times. October 6, 1957* 1-2. 3. Nigeria, National Archives, Annual Reports of Oshun Division 1955, 83. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 2fit i Capital Brought by In-migrants Money is also brought into Oshun Division by in-migrants, especially by the Hausa traders who are either cattle or kola dealers. Table 39 shows that eighteen of the twenty Hausa respondents brought their working capital from Northern Nigeria. The total amount of money that was brought by all the Hausa in Inisha stood at tA00,000 in 1969.^ The funds were spent on such operations as the purchase and the processing of kola, labour and transportation costs. TA3LS 39 CAPITAL B30UGHT BY HAUSA KOLA TRADERS Amount in £ « Number of People Less than £10 3 10 - 30 k 31 - 50 3 5 1 - 100 2 Over 100 « 6 Sources Field survey, 1968/69 1* The calculation was based on the quantity of kola purchased in Inisha in 1969* See Chapter 10. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY OUT-FLOW OF CAPITAL I1'ROM OSHUN DIVISION There is a counter-current of flow of capital out of Cshun Division. School fees and pocket money are remitted to school children at regular intervals. Traders, civil servants and other clerical or professional workers send money to other parts of the country. Some of the farmers send some materials to their relatives who are away from home, not necessarily because the migrants ask for them but simply as a mark of the sender's goodwill. Some of the in-migrants also make some remittances home and attention will here be directed towards those remittances. Remittances Made Home by In-migrants Table 4-0 sets out the declared 'savings' of, and the remittances made by Oshun in-migrant farmers between 1956 and 1965. It will be observed that each migrant had remitted £1^0 during the ten- year period while in each year the total sum of money which had been sent out of Oshun Division is over £1,000. Most of the remittances are made from past savings. It would appear that the in-migrants find it easy to save a large proportion of their earnings. An in-migrant farmer earns on the average, about £75 in a year. Of this, he spends between 30 and 50 per cent on tax, labour and minor essential articles such as matches. He produces himself, a substantial part of the food which he and his family eat. The frequency with which remittances are made depends on a number of factors. The whereabouts of dependants have much more effect on the amount remitted than the amount of a man's income. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY TABLE kO REMITTANCES HOMS BY THE IN-MIGRANTS IN OSHUN DIVISION, 1956 - 1965 Total Remittan- ' Per cent of earning savings ces remitted Aba Igbira M 5 0 2,295 5* Odsyinka 8,067 3,953 Gambari 5,^57 2,565 *f7 Igbotele 1,688 38 Total 22,216 10,501 if7 Mean 296 140 m•i Source: Field survey, 1956-1965* It seems that the Ilorin of Igbotale and Gambari had more of their dependants in Oshun than do other in-migrants groups. About ^3 per cent of their savings was remitted home compared with about 50 per cent by the Urhobo and the Igbira. The second factor that influences remittances is whether or not the migrants were under­ taking some projects either in Oshun or at home. The relatively large proportion of remittances chat were made by the Urhobo and the Igbira was explained by the building projects which the two groups reported that they were currently undertaking at home. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY A close examination of the Table will also show that there are differences between the proportions of remittances that are made by the migrants in the villages which are in the same zone. In the northern zones, Igbotele migrants remitted less than migrants in Gambari; and in the south, Odeyinka migrants remitted less than their Aba Igbira counterparts. The explanation lies in the fact that the in-migrants in Igbotele and Odeyinka invest on tree crop cultivation. Cocoa trees are pledged to the Urhobo by the natives of Odeyinka while the Ilorin in Igbotele are now given permission to plant kola trees. They therefore invest some of their earnings on labour needed for various operations on their farms. A comparison of the money that flows in and out of Oshun Division will show that the money remitted by the in-migrants seems triffling. While £63*000 were remitted to Oshun Division by the out-migrants between 1956 and 1965* only £10,000 were sent out by the in-migrants in the same period. These figures do not include the money brought by the Hausa traders. On purely monetary terms, therefore, migration is of direct benefit to the people of Oshun Division. CREDIT FACILITIES In some cases, loans are required to bridge the gap between the expenditure and the income of farmers. There is a number of sources from which loans can be obtained.'1' Host farmers depend on 1. For sources of loans, see Galletti, R., Baldwin, K.D.S. and Dina, I.O., op.cit., 525-535* UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY relatives and friends who are only able to provide a small amount of capital. The granting of government loan is influenced by politics and the facility is enjoyed by a very insignificant number of farmers. For example, only about 10 of all the ^56 respondents had taken such a loan at one time or another. Many of them made applications for loans but the applications were turned down. The Esusu system is an important source of credit but it can be used only by the members of the group running the system.1 Commercial banks are generally not used much in the area not only because the distance between the bank and the village is considerable but also because the farmers cannot meet security requirements as these usually involve the possession of registered title for their lands. Migration has affected these sources in a number of ways. For example, the savings which were acquired in the places of migration would affect a return-migrant's ability to grant loan or they might even increase his own credit-worthiness if he sought credit from a commercial bank. The absence from, or the presence at home of migrants may affect the number of people who can participate in the traditional esusu group. In some cases the return-migrants have even modified the system by enlarging it into Cooperative and Thrift Societies. The societies are able to negotiate for 1, For details about the .Esusu system, see Bascom, W.fi. "The Esusu* A credit institution of the Yoruba", Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute. 82, 1, 1952, 63-^9* UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY loans from either the government or other credit-giving organisa­ tions. In 1970, five such societies had a capital of £1,500 but secured a loan of £20,000 from the government.^- The in- migrants also grant credit to the local farmer and the facility thus provided by the in-migrants will now be examined in some detail. Credit Granted by the In-migrants In the Aiyedade, Egbedore and Ago-Owu districts of Oshun south, the people of Midwestern and Eastern States origin, popularly referred to as the ’Urhobo*, provide a substantial portion of the credit used by the farmers. Majority of them, 90 per cent of the thirty respondents, accumulated the funds from which they granted credits in their place of migration. The main source of these funds wa3 the savings from the sale of farm produce, particularly the food crops and palm oil. About 83 per cent of the respondents obtained their loanable funds from farm produce. Less than 7 per cent of them acquired their funds from earnings from off-farm work. Once an Urhobo becomes a creditor-farmer his income rises at a phenomenal rate. This is because the terms of the agreement is usually in his favour. The Urhobo usually have some of their members as letter-writers (typists) in the rural districts and they insist that the agreements between them and their would-be 1 1. Western Nigeria, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Commission Files, Ibadan, 1970. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 206 debtors must be prepared by these letter-writters. There are sometimes cases of foul play^ in the preparation of the documents. The amount stated in the agreement may be more than the actual credit which the farmer received. In order to protect the natives, the Aiyedade District Council directed in 1959 that all documents should bear its official stamp.^ The usual security which is required is a cocoa farm, the harvests from which form the interests on the loan. There is con­ siderable flexibility in the duration of the loan provided the creditor is not prevented from harvesting the crops. It is usually not less than one year in order to enable the creditor to reap some interest. 2' The way in which both the terms of the interest and the duration of the loan favour the creditor is illustrated more specifically in the following few cases taken from Aiyedade District Council files (a) Mr. Ambaliyu Adekunle, Sagba's Compound, Ikere. I pledged our father's cocoa farm, 12,000 heaps to Gabriel Omoni for G32 on 10/4/55* The agreement expired on 10/4/59 and yet Omoni refused to leave our farm despite the fact that I wanted to pay his money (50/9/59)* (b) Mr. Daniel Qjo: I borrowed £100 from Mr. Peter Ogedegbeh in December, 1952, The agreement expired on 24th June, 1956 but up till now (6/11/58) the cocoa land has not been given to me. 123 1. Aiyedade District Council, Urhobo Community: Matters Affecting. File No. 8/2, 105. 2. Adegboye, R.O., "Procuring Loan through Pledging of cocoa trees", The Nigerian Geographical Journal, 12, 2, Dec., 1969, 65 - 76. 3. Aiyedade District Council, Urhobo Community: Matters Affecting. File No. 8/2, 58, 71, 99* UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 287 The first example shows the financial loss which is usually sustained by the debtor because of the apparently high interest charges. The acreage of the farm was four. The average yields of cocoa per acre as recorded by Galletti in 1951 were 0.21*t tons.^ If it is assumed that the yields per acre were the same in 1955 as they were in 1951* then 0.856 tons of cocoa would have been harvested from the farm every year. It is not certain whether the cocoa was in grade one or two. The mean of the two prices (grades one and two) was therefore used. The farm thus brought an income of £9^1*5 in five years or £156.9 in one year. If it is assumed that £56.9 was spent on weeding, harvesting and other farm operations, a yearly interest of £100 was paid on £32. The example also shows that "family" land can be pledged provided the consent of other members of the family is sought. The second case shows that in some instances, the credit may be as large as £100 or even more. However, in the majority of cases, the credit is between £30 and £50. The case also illustrates the reluctance of the creditor to foreclose the agreement when the pledgor wanted and when it was time to redeem the pledge. Repossession may be denied the pledgor if the creditor has cleared the farm and sprayed the trees but has not harvested the cocoa that year. Since the main crops are harvested between October and December, it is unlikely that the creditor will relinguish the farm at this period of the year. The creditor may also feel that 1. Galletti, R., op.cit., 6^8. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY he has not made sufficient profit from operating the farm especially if he has made some improvements in the farm or if by his own neglect he has been having poor harvests. There are instances when the debtor decides to redeem the plot when they discover that the improvement that has been made on the farm is likely to increase yields. Conversely, the debtor may want to redeem the farm prematurely if he notices that the creditor does not take proper care of the trees or the creditor challenges the owner’s reserved rights by harvesting palm fruits. On the other hand, there are also case3 when the debtor is unable to pay the debt at the stipulated time even when the creditor needs his capital for investment on a better farm. This will happen especially when the debtor gives out all his cocoa farm, the main source of his income. Since the most productive part of the land is planted with cocoa, the debtor will have to cultivate the 'marginal' land. The yields from the land may be relatively poor and the monetary returns may be inadequate especially if field crops are planted. Even if new cocoa trees are planted, the debtor has to wait for the five-year gestation period before any harvest can be forthcoming. The debtor thus becomes poorer and finds it increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to redeem his plot. Instances like those quoted above are not confined to Aiyedade district but occur also in all the districts in the cocoa growing areas of the Division. There are differences only in the people UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY involved in pledging, the time when pledging started and the o<~> extent to which it has been carried jin each district. While the debtors are the indigenes and the creditors are in-migrants in Aiyedade, Ago-Owu and Egbedore areas, the majority of creditors in Iwo district are natives of the area. Whereas pledging in Aiyedade, Egbedore and Ago-Owu areas dates back to about 1950, it would appear that in Iwo district pledging started in about i960 if one considers the date on the first agreement.^ Probably because pledging started earlier in the former districts, the system has also assumed complex dimensions in those areas. For example, by 195^ it had become the practice for a pledgee to repledge a farm to another person without the approval of the farm owner and by 1958, the native had started pledging all tree crops: cocoa, kola and palm. The farmers who pledge all their tree crops find it increasingly difficult to make both ends meet. It is no surprise, therefore, that by I960 pledging system has become unpopular in Aiyedade district. The debtors felt that their creditors had harvested enough cocoa to cover the loans and asked the creditors to vacate the farms. The creditors refused, maintaining that all the crops they had harvested were interest on the debts owing to them. Until the debts were paid, they would not release the farms. Disturbances flared up and resulted In some matcheting and killings. The Western 1. Western Nigeria Finance Corporation, Special Farming Loans, File FC 19^8, 30. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Nigeria government had to step in and it instructed the Finance Corporation to release £20,000 to the natives to pay their debts.1 Of this sum, £19,950 were actually given out to 546 farmers. p The loan was given at the rate of £10 per acre of cultivated cocoa farm.^ This means that by December, I960, 1,995 acres of cocoa had been transferred by the natives of Aiyedade area to the Drhobo in-raigrants. In fact, in 1958 it was reported that 50 per cent of the cocoa and palm farms in Aiyedade were in Urhobos* possession. After the mass redemption in I960, some in-migrants left Aiyedade, others reverted to their farmer occupation of tenant farming. Pledging was believed to have started again almost immediately after the redemption but it was not until 1965 that it became widespread. The Use of Credits granted by In-migrants Although the discussion above implies that pledging has several disadvantages for the native farmers, the system also has its advantages. An examination of the uses to which the loans are put will throw some light on the importance of the in-migrants in providing capital for the farmers. The creditors are less concerned with the use to which loans are put. The analysis which follows, therefore, relates to thirty indigenes who received loans from the in-migrants during the survey years.1234 1. Ibid., 44-56. 2. Ibid. 3. Ibid.« p. 33 4. Aiyedade District Council, Drhobo Matters, op.cit., 52. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Table 4l gives the number of people who received credit, the value of the credit they obtained and the use to which these credits were put. It will be observed that although there is a relatively low level of borrowing for children's education, this use accounts for the largest amount of loans. This may be explained partly by the fact that a respondent may have more than one child in school and partly by the rise in secondary school fees in recent years. The school fees in Aiyedade Grammar School, Ikire rose from <£48 in i960 to £67 in 1969* TABLE 4l NUMBER, VALUE AMD USE OF LOANS BY 50 OPSYINKA FARMERS Use No. of Value of loan farmers (*) Education 6 216 Erection, repair of building 3 108 Cultivation 6 142 Non-farm occupation 3 67 Marriage 8 175 Funeral ceremony 2 35 Litigation 2 50 Total 30 793 Sourcet Field survey, 1968/69 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Loans used for meeting marriage expenses account for the largest number of loans but cover a modest proportion of the value of the total borrowing. This shows the importance which is attached to marriage ceremonies in this area. The borrowers do not see the loans as being unproductively used since they expect their wives to have children. Those who borrow to defray funeral expenses also believe that they have spent the loan to acquire prestige and goodwill from their neighbours and blessing from the dead. About 20 per cent of the people who obtained loans used them for cultivation although the amount involved was relatively small. Usually the farmers who are involved have over five acres of cocoa farm and they have pledged part of their holding to buy needed agricultural equipment such as spraying machine or to defray other farm expenses, or to develop new land. The resulting high returns from the land make it possible for such loans to pay within a relatively short time. Substantial amount of loan was also taken for the erection or repair of buildings although only three people took the loan. This type of use would have been worthwhile if the buildings were to be rented out but people hardly rent a house in rural areas like Odeyinka. It is considered a priviledge or an honour by a landlord whose house the village teachers want to use. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY A small number of borrowers used their loans for petty-trading. This loan is productive of a surplus income to meet repayments and in addition it can be converted into cash in a fairly short time if the need should arise. Two people borrowed money to prosecute farm land cases in courts. Whether or not the use of a loan in this way is justified depends on who wins the case. A considerable proportion of the credit which is advanced to some of the farmers has tended to be used for projects which do not make the loan to be self-liquidating. However, by providing credit for items such as education, agricultural improvements, non-farm occupations, the in-migrants in most rural areas of Oshun south provide a very valuable source of assistance to the native farmers. CONCLUSION The analysis of the flow of capital in Oshun Division has highlighted one important point that merits emphasis and elaboration. This is that the flow is helping to break down the old correla­ tion between physical resources and economic development and is giving importance to human factor as an engine of growth.*' The south was, and still is, the wealthiest zone in terms of natural resources; but the northern zones to which capital is regularly 1. Hodder, B.W., Economic Development in the Tropics. London, 1968, 8-9. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY sent are today better off in terms of social and economic improve­ ments. The literacy rate, for instance, is higher in the north­ east than in the south. The better physical development of each village in the north is revealed by the house types. The range of material goods possessed by people in the north is greater than those of people in the south. Many more people own transis­ tor radio sets in the north than in the south. Thus, although the north lacks natural resources, it has been able to draw upon the resources of other countries through its people who have moved out. Migration has thus broken the constraints which are usually imposed by lack of natural resources and has linked economic development more closely to the quality of the people particularly to their managerial and technical ability. A full illustration of how this ability has affected various sectors of the rural economy and life is given in the next part of the thesis. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY PART III IMPACT OF MIGRATION ON RURAL ECONOMY PRODUCTION AND SOCIAL SERVICES UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY _) ' m CHAPTER 9 Increased agricultural productivity is largely dependent upon the adoption of improved farming techniques. Those people who have had experience with modern farming in other parts of West Africa are likely to adopt and teach others such techniques. Their presence should invariably be reflected in the Improvement in production methods and the resultant high yields could favourably affect crop production and thUB neutralise any adverse effect which the absence of people from home would have had on the stan­ dard of agriculture in the Division. How migration has affected both crop and livestock production is examined in this chapter. CROP PRODUCTION OF THE SAffSflBS The comparison of acreage cultivated in 1958/59 and in 1968/69 is shown in Table *f2 which records the proportion of land planted under food, field and tree crops.1 It will be seen from the Table that there is no significant difference between the acreage cultivated in 1958/59 and that cultivated in 1968/69, despite the fact that there has been some reduction in the family labour force available for farm-work.1 22 1. Field-crops are arable but inedible; crops like tobacco and cotton are field crops. 2. See Chapter 7 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY TABLE 42 ACREAGE CULTIVATED IN SAMPLE VILLAGES, 1958/59 AND 1968/69 (Proportion per cent) 1958/59 1968/69 ! Total ' Food Field 1 Tree Total Food Field ' Tree Acreage Crops Crops Crops Acreage Crops Crops Crops South 465 63,6 2.4 34.0 473.18 46.7 ** 5 3 .3 100.0 Oluponna 150 54.7 7.3 38.0 157.12 44.3 - 55.7 100.0 Odeyinkat 315 67.9 - 32.1 316.06 47.8 - 52.2 100.0 Northeast 411 63.3 1.2 35.5 409.80 46.6 0.5 52.9 100.0 Oyan 257 62.1 0.7 37.2 244.78 46.5 0.6 52.9 100.0 Igbaye 158 65.2 1.9 32.9 165.02 46.9 0.4 52.7 100.0 Northwest 528 57.2 29.9 12.9 534.90 59.6 25.7 14.7 100.0 Olla 290 48.6 2 8 .6 22.8 281.64 54.6 24.7 20.7 100 #0 Iwo fin 238 67.7 31.5 0.8 253.26 65.1 26.8 8.1 100.0 Total ikok 9 6 1.1 12.4 26.5 ! 1417.86 51.5 99 38.6 100,0 Source: Field survey, 1968/69 A. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY The most striking feature of the Table is the distribution of land between food, field and tree crops. In 1958/59 over 50 per cent of the cultivated land in each zone was devoted to food crops. By 1968/69* emphasis placed on different crops in each zone had changed. As suggested by the Student's t test, there is a significant difference between the acreage under tree crops in 1958 and in 1968. For the food crops, the difference between the two years is not significant. However, the figures reveal that except in the northwest, the proportion of the total acreage under food crops has been reduced. This should be expected since the cocoa and kola boom of the 'fifties had encouraged the conversion of former food crop farms into cocoa plots in the south and into kola plots in the northeast. The figures discussed above cannot be fully appreciated unless they are correlated with the productive capacity of the land. Since it is difficult to apply a time-series analysis to the changes in productive capacity because of lack of reliable data for a base year with which to compare the present production, the farmers were asked the question: "Do you harvest more or less (crop) from your farm now (1968/69) than ten years ago (1958/59)?"1 Table presents the responses to the question. 1 . The problem of getting data for a time-series analysis and the inaccuracies of the few data that are available have been stressed by Oluwasanmi and Okigbo. See, Oluwasanmi, H.A., Agriculture and Nigerian Economic Development, Ibadan, 1966, 110. Okigbo, P.N.C., Nigerian National Accounts 1950-57. Lagos, i960. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY aafijia FiUiM;̂ harvesting moss or less than histore (Proportion par cent) , ''on-tree Oops Tree Crops oTfo tfaalr mNeor.s HBaorvreest Hlaersvsest Unchanged Hmaorrveest Harlevsesst Unchanged South 130 13.1 66.9 20.1 16.9 64.6 18.5 0-0 Olupoma 70 14.3 65.7 20.0 12.9 70.0 17.1 CM Odeyinka 60 11.7 68.3 20.0 21.7 58.3 20.0 Kortheast 178 28.1 56.7 15.2 70.2 12.9 16.9 Open 84 27.4 58.3 14.3 67.9 12.1 19.0 Igbaye 94 28.7 55.3 16.0 72.3 12.8 14.9 Northwest 148 91.9 2.7 5.4 3.4 95.9 0.7 011a 88 89.8 3.4 6.8 3.4 95.5 1.1 Iwofin 60 95.0 1.7 3.3 3.3 96.7 «*» .... - ................ ................... r ...................................T______ Total 456 44.5 42.1 13.4 33.3 54.6 12.1 Source? Field survey, 1968/69. 1 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 219 It will be seen that only the people of the northeast produce more tree crops now than before. The explanation lies in the fact that unlike the cocoa trees of the south, the kola trees of this zone have not been subjected to severe attacks of pest and disease. The major problem facing kola trees here is bush-burning which occasionally destroys kola farms. The Table also shows that the proportion of people who harvest more food and field crops now than before is higher in the northwest than in the other two zones. This is due, not only to the introduction and increased cultiva­ tion of improved crops such as the early maturing cassava variety, but also to the better agricultural practice of the people. Before considering these factors in detail, it is worthwhile to examine the crop production of the in-migrants. CROP PRODUCTION OF IN-MIGRANTS Table kk records the crop produced by the in-migrant farmers in Oshun Division in 1968/69. It shows that the bulk of the agricultural production of in-migrants is food crops. The tradi­ tional land tenure system which bars non-natives from planting tree crops is probably significant in explaining the concentration of in-migrants on food crop production. However, the failure of the Oshun natives to produce an adequate supply of foodstuffs to support the large population of the Division because of their concentration on tree crop economy makes the cultivation of food crops profitable for the in-migrants. Cultivation of food crops UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY TABLE LL OlOR.- PRODUCED BY IN-MIGRANT FARMERS IK SAMPLE VILLAGES (Proportion per cent) Total Odeyinka Aba Igbotele' Gambari Total weight Igbira in tons Yams 762.9 4.0 29.1 35.0 31.8 100.0 Cassava 122.3 96.4 1.0 2.3 0.3 100.0 Sweet potato 1.7 81.4 - - 18.6 100.0 Taro 15.4 71.2 28.8 - - 100.0 Maize 58.8 16.8 35.9 17.2 30.0 100.0 Guinea com 5.2 - - 37.5 62.5 100.0 Beans 4.1 32.0 - 32.0 36.0 100.0 Groundnuts 0.9 - - - 100.0 100.0 Vegetable 5.6 7.5 22.6 41.5 100.0 Pepper 2.4 - 7.0 16.5 76.5 100.0 Melon 2.1 14.0 15.2 15.2 55.5 100.0 Tobacco 0.1 - - - 100.0 100.0 Cotton 0.3 - - 100.0 - 100.0 Cocoa 2.8 67.0 27.7 5.3 - 100.0 Kola 5.5 3.3 - 96.7 100.0 J Source: Field survey, 1968/69 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 221 is also encouraged by a network of roads which has been built during the drive to encourage cocoa production and open up all parts of Western Nigeria. Previously prohibitive transport costs dwindled to relatively insignificant proportions and production for sale was no more limited to the size of the local market. Furthermore, industrial and urban development in Western Nigeria was rapid in the late 1950’s making the demand for foodstuffs to increase at an unprecedented rate. Most in-migrants were therefore able to sell their crops at a profit and there was considerable expansion in the acreage and output of food crops. Igbira and Ilorin in-migrants specialised in the production of yams while the Urhobo were responsible for 96 per cent of all cassava grown in the sample villages. This difference between the in-migrant agricultural specialisation is probably explained by the degree to which each group shows interest in tree crop production. The Urhobo are anxious to engage in tree crop produc­ tion and have acquired several cocoa farms from the natives as pledges for loans. Tree crops take up about 28 per cent of their crop area as against only 6 per cent for the Ilorin and Igbira migrants. Because the production of tree crops severely competes for labour needed on yam plots, the Urhobo concentrate on those food crops, such as cassava and cocoyam, which demand less labour. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY AGRICULTURAL PRACTICE Both the planting system and the use of fertilizer are some of the factors that have affected crop production. Planting System Table compares the planting systems which were adopted by each group of farmers. It reveals that in tree growing villages of the south and the northeast, a high proportion of the land cultivated is planted with sole crops. This is due mainly to the fact that it is not possible to plant any other crop among tree crops once they reach maturity. Judging by the arable crops alone, one finds that in the south, most of the food crops are planted as mixed crop or as mixed succession crops. The Table also reveals that in every village, the proportion of acreage that i8 planted with single crop is higher for both the in- and return- migrants than for the non-migrants. Even if, as occasionally happens, young kola trees are planted among the food crops, the density of plants is still not as high in the farms of migrants as in the farms of non-migrants. The latter, acting on purely rational basis, plant various arable crops together on the same plot in order to obtain the maximum return from the land. The result is that the plants compete with each other for the limited supplies of oxygen, food, moisture and light that are available. It is clear from Table 1*6 that the yields of maize crops which are planted as single crops are higher than those of the mixed crops. There is a highly significant difference between the UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY TABLE Z.*) CROP ACREAGE UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 224 yields of the maize crops which are planted by the four different methods. The calculated F value of 7.65 is significant at 0.1 per cent level of probability. It is certain that the fewer the plants on the land, the less will be the competition by these plants for the nutrients in the soil. The Table also shows that the yields of the first crops are higher than those of the succession crops. The explanation for this lies in the fact that most of the plant nutrients in the soil have been absorbed by the first crops especially when both the first and the succession crops are of the same type. TABLE 46 MAIZE YIELD PER ACRE ACCORDING TO METHODS OF PLANTING (Weight in lbs.) Single Mixed Succession' Mixed Succession Oluponna 897*8 590.1 561.3 457.1 Odeyinka 771.3 735.0 581.4 489.1 Oyan 1,018.4 714.1 808.1 479.3 Igbaye 973.6 640.3 857.2 535.0 011a 893.6 668.0 667.0 369.2 Iwofin 985.0 727.7 746.5 604.3 Source: Field survey, 1968/69* UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY However, there is little or no difference in the yields of the first crops and those of the succession crops if fertilisers are applied to the soil or if there is a well-chosen succession of crops. In the northern zones, there have been various attempts to introduce such a succession. In some cases, the farmers plant leguminous and cover crops on the land from which they have just harvested either maize or yams, in order to restore some fertility to the soil. In other instances, the farmers plant yams or maize on the land from which they have just harvested any crop to which fertilizers were applied. It is believed that some of the fertili­ zers applied to the first crop still remains in the soil and is therefore available for the succession crops. The fairly high yields of the succession crops in Oyan and Igbaye may be due to the careful choice of crop succession by the migrant groups. Maintenance of Soil Fertility Continuous cultivation of the land without the application of fertilizers to it, will result sooner or later, in soil deteriora­ tion. Resort to this palliative has been, however, recent in Oshun Division. The Nigerian Tobacco Company introduced fertili- zers with the introduction of tobacco cultivation in 1933* 1 In more recent years several fertilizer trials have been carried out 1. Kranendonk, H.C., Rural Changes in the Savanah Areas of the Western State of Nigeria, with Special Reference to Tobacco Production. Ibadan, 19&o, 1. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY m in Oshun Division by the Ministry of Agriculture. In 1956, a hundred such trials took place.^ However, there were very few centres and demonstrations farms and a large number of farmers could not be reached. A reassessment of the situation led the government to train fertilizer officers, the first group of whom were posted to various stations in November 1967* An effective fertilizer campaign can therefore not be said to have started until 1968. When the campaign did start, it was mainly in the northeast and the northwest (zones with a high rate of out-migration) that farmers were easily persuaded of the value of fertilizers and became willing to try them. Table ^7 shows that 99.6 tons of fertilizers were distributed by the Ministry of Agriculture in 1969/70. To this may be added the 277.5 tons of fertilizers which were distributed by the tobacco companies.2 There is a marked areal difference in the distribution of the use of fertilizers. The farmers of the northwest used over 88 per cent of all fertilizers distributed in the Division. The high incidence of the use of fertilizer in the northwest is due to tobacco cultivation there. The tobacco companies insist that all tobacco farms should be fertilized. Many years of experience in, 1. Nigeria, National Archives, Annual Reports of Oshun Division, 1956, 39. 2. Western Nigeria, Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Annual Reports, 1968/69, 17. 3*108 acres were cultivated and fertilizers were applied at the rate of 2001b. per acre. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 227 TABLE 47 FERTILIZER USED IN OSHUN DIVISION, 1968/69 AND 1969/70 (Weight in lbs.) 1 Distributed by the Distributed by 1 Ministry 1969/70 Tobacco Company 1968/69 1 Quantity 1 Per > t Quantity' Per Total cent cent South 24,808 1 1 .1 - mm 24,808 Northeast 72,660 32.6 mm - 72,660 Northwest 125,664 56.3 621,600 100 747,264 Total 225*132 100.0 621,600 100' ■ ! 844,7321 Source: Annual Reports of the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, 1968/69, IP. VII-4, 17 and 1969/70, IP. VIII-4, 510-5H. and familiarity with the use of fertilizers have proved to the farmers that they can also be applied to crops other than tobacco. It is no surprise, therefore, that the farmers of the northwest readily accepted the fertilizers when the Extension Service workers brought them in 1968. The Table also shows the distribution of the remaining 43.5 tons betvjeen the northeast and the south, the two zones unaffected by the cultivation of tobacco. It reveals that less than one quarter UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY of the remaining fertilizers was used in the south, the zone with a low rate of migration. The difference in the readiness of the farmers of the two zones to use fertilizers can hardly be explained in terms of the soils. Neither can it be attributed to the type of crops grown. Both zones grow tree as well as food crops. In fact, one would have expected farmers of the south to be more enthusiastic about the use of fertilizers. In the first place, the cash value of the resulting increase in their crop yields (cocoa) will be higher than that from the crop yields of the northeast (kola). Secondly, the Extension Service of the Ministry of Agriculture had, for a long time, been warning farmers in the zone with over-concern with problems of pests and plant diseases while neglecting the effect of poor soil on the output of cocoa trees.^ The explanation for the difference in the use of fertilizers must therefore be sought in the human factor. Table 48 indicates that it is the return-migrants who show a greater responsiveness to the use of fertilizers. They constitute the largest group (87 per cent) among the fertilizer users in all the villages. There is a high degree of positive correlation (r » +0.73) between the proportion of fertilizer users and the proportion of return- migrants in each village. Many of the return-migrants claimed to have been familiar with the use of fertilizers before 1 Aiyedade District Council, Improvement in Quality of Cocoa, File No. 72, 66. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY & hfi table 48. FERTILIZER USERS IN SAMPLE VILLAGES (Proportions per cent) Total Users Non-users No. of farmers R N R 1 N Total South 130 15.4 1.5 1.5 81.5 100.0 Qluponna 70 28.6 2.9 2.9 65.7 100.0 Odeyinka 60 - - - 100.0 100.0 Northeast 178 49.3 6.2 25.8 18.5 100.0 Ojran 84 48.8 4.8 29.7 16.7 100.0 Igbaye 94 50.0 7.4 22.3 20.2 100.0 Northwest 148 66.2 11.5 5.4 16.9 100.0 011a 88 54.5 10.2 9.1 26.1 100.0 Iwofin 60 «3.3 13.3 - 3.3 100. c Total 456 45.2 6.6 12.3 36.0 100.01 R = Return migrants N s Non-migrants. Source: Field survey, 1968/69 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 230 their introduction either by the Nigerian Tobacco Company in 1933 or by the Ministry of Agriculture. They also influenced some of the non-migrants who used fertilizers. None of the in-migrants used chemical fertilizers. The benefits of their use and the dangers of misuse are well known to the in-migrants* both having been amply demonstrated in the farms of some of their hosts. Fertilization, of course, increases yield but, by aiding the growth of weeds as well, adds to the burden of work at the period of weeding. This problem of thick and dense weeds is given by some of the in-migrants as the reason for not using fertilizers. Others are of the opinion that crops which are grown with the application of fertilizer cannot be preserved or stored for a long period. For example, they complain that yams grown on fertilized farms, though big, rot barely four weeks after their harvest. However, the majority of in-migrants do not use chemical fertilizers because they are satisfied with the yields they obtain without their use. They do not consider that the extra yields which can be obtained by the use of fertilizers are sufficient to compensate for the cost and time involved in their use. They therefore depend on simple and inexpensive methods in increasing their crop yields. One such method is the size of the mound. It is claimed by the farmers that the very big sizes of in-migrants' mounds, in part, account for the high yields of their crops. The proof of this claim may have to await agronomic research but it seems probable UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 231 that the pulverized nature of the soil in large heaps aid drainage and aeration and ease the penetration or expansion of root-crops. Although the in-migrants use green manure, it would appear that their high crop yields are due mainly to good management. The in­ migrants do not experience shortage of labour even at the harvest season since all members of their family are required to work on the farm for long hours. The extra hired labour necessary on large holdings is easily recruited from other members of their tribe. Thus in-migrants are able to perform all farm operations, particularly weeding, very thoroughly and at the correct time. Commercialization of Food Crops The increased production which results from the agricultural practices discussed above will be of little value unless it led to increased sales. This implies an expansion of the market and the provision of an improved and adequate marketing system. The growth of towns and the concentration on tree crop cultivation in certain parts of the State have led to an expansion of the market. Thus, it became essential to develop an organised marke­ ting channels which can supply consumers outside the Division. This marketing system was evolved by return-migrants and did not attain its present form until about the 1960's. The system apply to all food crops, but yams will be taken as an example. The first stage of the marketing process is the transportation of the yams from the farms to the rural periodic markets. (Fig. 1^). The quantity of yams that can be brought into the market by a o UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Fi g. 14. THE YAM DISTRIBUTION PROCESS R U R A L F o r e x p la n a t io n , See text . UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY farmer and/or his family depends partly on the means of transport available. By 1968, roads had been constructed to link most of the villages in Oshun northeast and northwest. Although these roads are motorable, no technical advice was sought before they were constructed; they therefore have poor surfaces. Hence few vehicles ply the roads and these charge exorbitant fares. For example, it costs 2.5 shillings to travel the 13 miles of untarred road between Iwofin and Ogfcomosho whereas the fare between Ogbomosho and Oko, a distance of 15 tarred miles is only 1.0 shilling. . Transport is also unreliable. A farmer may have to wait for several days for a vehicle to convey his crops to the market. During the period of waiting, his crops might be destroyed or damaged by pests or even rains if they are poorly protected. To overcome these problems some current- and return-migrants have bought individual trucks. Many of the lorries that ply the rural areas in the northeast are owned by either return- or current-migrants. For example, nearly all the lorries that ply Oshogbo-Oyan roads regularly are owned by the migrant natives of Cyan. In other places, the return-migrants have organized themselves into several village groups in order to contribute towards the purchase of a truck. At their fortnightly meetings, a member of each group contributes between 5*0 and 20.0 shillings. Already there are now six such trucks in Ogbomosho and they are purchased by the following villages; Iregba, Iresadu, Alayin, Arolu, Ahoro-Oko and Elesun. The vehicles are particularly valuable UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY at harvest time and are used to transport the produce of the group farms. They are to be run on a commercial basis but they charge a fair price which usually favours farmers in remote areas* They must ply the roads which link villages in the group with the major rural markets and the important towns every day. It can also be hired by an individual member of the group who may use it to convey his own products to major towns. A major bottleneck in the marketing of food products is thus gradually being removed. having reached the market, the crop may be bought by either the ultimate consumer or by a bulking agent or a wholesaler. There is now an increasing tendency by the farmers to by-pass either the rural market or the assembler-wholesaler. This is done in one of three ways; the farmers may sell directly to the traders without taking their crops to the rural markets; they may be members of trading ring and can, therefore, send the crops to their members in the cities; or they may themselves take the crops directly to the big towns. (Fig. Ik ). The farmers sell in lorry-loads to traders with whom they may or may not have made prior arrangements. A lorry load is christened a 'gauge* and is made up of about 80 stacks of yams. It sells for between £120 and £200, depending on the size of the yams and the season in which it is sold. In July, the price of a 'gauge* of average-sized yams is £120. The price increases gradually but steadily over the months until a ’gauge* is sold for £200 in April and Hay. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY There are two reasons for not taking the yams directly to the rural markets* In the first place, the farmer is relieved of the labour and the cost of carrying the yams to the markets. Secondly, the farmers obtain the most favourable price for q 'gauge' of yam which tends to be for particular period of the year, irrespective of the quantity of yams available for sale. In the rural markets, the prices fluctuate and the farmer's income is subject to supply and demand factors. In the majority of cases, the 'trader' for whom the yams are assembled is, usually, a member of a trading ring to which the farmer himself belongs. The trading ring consists of both current- migrants and non-migrants. The latter exchange information with the fermer about market conditions in those places where they operate. The farmer sends his crops to the migrants and acts as an agent for the ring. He uses his advantageous position to bargain for more crops from farmers who are not members of the ring. The farmer's income is derived chiefly from his sale of the yams unless he also contributes to the capital with which the ring operates its business. In this case, he has additional income from the profits of the ring, proportional to the amount of capital he has invested. The system has advantages for both the farmer and the migrants, since both sell or buy at the most favourable price. The system ensures that lorries are sent to the villages when goods are available for collection; it also guarantees a constant flow of UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 235 yams to meet the demand in the cities. In some cases, return-migrants and in-migrants market their own crops directly to the big cities especially when they have very little work to do on the farms. They hire the village truck or any other motor vehicle to convey their products to the town where they sell to contractors, retailers or consumers. This new system of distribution indicates the business acumen of the return-migrants. It affects positively the rural economy of the northeast and the northwest. In the first place, by spreading transport costs proportionately throughout the areas in which a migrant group having a truck operates, the group has subsidized producers in more remote areas. It has thus encouraged production equally in all regions whether or not they are favourably situated in respect of transport and marketing facilities. Secondly, what was formerly regarded as a subsistence crop is now a very important cash earner. One acre of yams now fetches more money (between £60 and £100) than an acre of tobacco (about £63). The difference is substantial when one considers that the cultivation requirements of tobacco are much more exacting than those of yams. THE SPREAD OF INNOVATIVE CHOPS Any new crop that brings profit to the cultivator is here regarded as an innovative crop. Very few of the important crops now grown in Nigeria are indigenous to the country. Some of the UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY m crops were introduced by government agents while others were introduced by migrants* Crons Introduced by Migrants Of the many crops introduced into Oshun Division by migrants, three have made a substantial impact on the agricultural landscape! these are cocoa, kola and cassava. Cocoa The introduction of cocoa to Yorubaland has been documented by Webster, Ayorinde and Berry.1 All the authors agreed that cocoa cultivation in Yorubaland started from the south and spread northwards and eastwards and that the crop was introduced by migrant® about 1890, In Oshun Division, it is the return-migrants who are crucial to the introduction of cocoa but it is only in Oshun south that the crop spread from south (Agege and Ibadan) to north. The first planters in Oshun north were not influenced by the south or Agege, It Is probably the case that cocoa was first brought into Oshun Division in 1889 by Mr. Josiah Omotosho, a demobilised French army officer of Oyan origin who had served in the Congo, from where he had brought the seedling. The first planters in other villages in Oshun north were invariably men who 1* Webster, J#B., "The Bible and the Plough", Journal of Historical Society of Nigeria. 2, 1963, kltt-bik. Ayorinde, J.A,, "Historical ifotee on the Introduction and Development of the Cocoa Industry in Western Nigeria", Nigeria Agricultural Journal. 3, 1» 1966, 19. Berry, S.S., Cocoa Growing in Western Nigeria, 1890-19^0; A Study of An Innovation in a Developing Economy. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation,University of Michigan, 19&?» UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY m had worked in the Gold Coast and Dahomey or who had served in the colonial army. Kola Russell has identified four types of kola, two of which are important in Oshun Division.'*’ These are the cola acuminata (abata) and the cola nitida (gbanjaj. The latter is preferred by the Hausa, the principal kola consumers and is the kola of commerce. There are two varieties of the c. nitida distinguished by their colour as white and 'coloured'. The coloured may be brown or pink. The white variety has several economic advantages over the 'coloured' variety. Unlike the coloured variety which takes about seven years to fruit, it fruits after four or five years, although it is more susceptible to diseases. Its yields are higher than those of the 'coloured' type comprising about twenty fruits per tree from which 200 nuts can be obtained. The brown variety produces about fifteen fruits per tree from which about 150 seeds may be obtained. The white variety is also valued more highly by the Hausa buyers probably because it is milder in flavour and fetches higher prices than the 'coloured' variety. 2 Although the prices of kola are very unstable, a unit measure of the brown type is sold for only half the price of the white type. 1. Russell, T.A., "The Kola of Nigeria and the Cameroons", Tropical Agriculture. 32, 1955* Zl1 2** 2. Eijnatten, C.L.M. Van. Chemical Composition, Physiological Action and Utilization of the Kolanut. Ibadan, 196(3. 7; and Distribution of various Kola Species and Location of Cultivated Kola of Research Importance, Ibadan, 19<&." UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY The cultivation of the c. nitida in Agege area is believed to have started in 1910 when the Department of Agriculture introduced the seedlings from the Gold Coast. However, it would appear that the cultivation of the c. nitida had started in Oshun Division prior to 1910. The ’coloured* type was introduced into Oshun Division as early as the late l890's from the Badagry-Porto-Novo area. The cultivation of the ’coloured' type of kola was not widespread in any part of the Division. Bather, it is the all- white variety that was widely cultivated. This variety was introduced from the Gold Coast about 1928 by Prince Moses Oyinlola of Okuku. The quality of the kola, as well as the Prince's desire to remember his association with the Gold Coast prompted him to bring the kola. Other migrants who had worked on kola plantations in various parts of the Gold Coast had also brought the kola independently of Oyinlola. In Inisha, for example, Mr. Oyewole Lakusaba of Alapo's compound was the first to plant the seedling about 1929* These first plantings were highly localized within the family of the return-migrants. The active spread of the white variety of kola started only after 193** when Oyinlola ascended to the throne of Okuku. As President of the Odo-Otin Federal Council, he was visited by people from all parts of the district. In accordance with Yoruba custom and traditional hospitality, he used to offer his guests some nuts. The 'beauty* and the sugary taste of the nuts UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY encouraged many of the recipients to ask for the seeds to plant. This is why the name ’obi olokuku* (olokuku's kola) has been given to this type of kola throughout Oshun Division and in some other areas of the Western State. Three factors aided the spread of the kola. Firstly, the environmental requirements of the kola plant are found in Odo-Otin.3, Secondly, it was introduced at a time when successive poor cocoa harvests encouraged farmers to replace the ageing or dead cocoa trees with kola trees. As early as 1955t a District Officer was already pointing to the displacement of cocoa trees by kola trees in this zone. 2 Thirdly, the coming of the Hausa in-migrants led to the expansion of the kola market and increased the cash value of the crop. 3 The crop is now given priority by the farmers. Every farmer now has or desires to have a kola plot, however small. Of the 178 informants in the northeast, only forty-four had no kola farms. The rate of increase in the planting of kola in the zone so alarmed the agricultural officer that in 1968 he predicted that "all” the land in the zone would soon be given over to the cultivation of kola. if 1* For details of the environmental requirements of kola, see Eijnatten, C.L.N. Van. Statistics on the Production of Xolanuts and the Trade in this Commodity with Special Reference to NigeriaJ Ibadan, 1964; and Russell, T.A., op.citl 2. Annual Reports, op.cit.. 1955t 15» 3. The role of the Hausa in-migrant traders is discussed in Chapter 7* k. Western Nigeria, Ministry of Agriculture, Annual Reports, 1969/70, 332. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 240 There is now a gradual spatial diffusion of the Olokuku kola from the northeast to other parts of the Division. By i960, thanks to some Odo-Otin traders and travellers, the variety had spread to the northwest where its density drew favourable comment in 1969 from the agricultural officer.*' Migrant labourers from the northeast introduced the kola to the south as early as 1958 but the people were so preoccupied with their cocoa cultiva­ tion that they did not plant it. Odo-Otin migrant farmers in Ife and Ondo have also taken the variety with them to these areas. Cassava The importance of the cassava lies in its being the basis of gari and lafun, the staple foods of many Yoruba. Of American origin, the crop was introduced into Nigeria in the l8th century but its occurrence was not widespread in West Africa until the 19th century. 2 There are several varieties of cassava and all of them were introduced by return-migrants. Those varieties introduced before i960 require between twelve and twenty-four months to mature. A new variety which usually matures at the end of the seventh month was introduced in the 1960's. The place of origin 1. Ibid.. 113 2. Jones, W.O., Manioc in Africa, Stanford, 1959, 60-80. 3. The variety, although 'heard12 3 of by officials of the Federal Department of Agricultural Research, has not been planted in the experimental stations because the seedlings are not available. Personal communication with the Officer-in-charge of cassava cultivation, Moor Plantation, March, 1970. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY and the speed with which it matures are reflected in the various names which have been given to it. In some places it is called T'Bgunde, meaning a new arrival from Bgunland, that is, Dahomey. In other places it is called Ajyenkan.iu, meaning the world is in a hurry. In spite of its early maturing, yields of the cassava are still very high. One effect of the increased production of cassava which has resulted from the high yields is that the demand for some cassava products further to the south is now partly met from the north. Since most of the cassava is processed into gari before it is marketed, an occupation has been provided for the wcaen of this zone. A common feature along the Ogbomosho - Ibadan road is the line of gari sellers. Another effect of the new cassava is that its cultivation allows fuller utilization of the land. The older type of cassava can be interplanted with other crops during the first six months but thereafter no inter-cropping is possible. The land must be left solely to cassava for the next twelve to twenty-four months. With the early-maturing cassava, another crop can be planted and harvested during its growth period. Jifjxxi&loeKcks The early-maturing cassava, however, has certain draw-backs. If it is not harvested at the end of the seventh month, the tubers become unsuitable for consumption. Its successful cultivation therefore depends on a constant supply of labour. Some expense is also required to maintain the soil fertility through the applicatic UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY of fertilizers. Moreover, the variety can be processed into only one form of food, sari. Many farmers prefer to use their cassava for the production of other food items but it neither makes good amala nor iyan. Crops Popularized by Migrants An increase in agricultural productivity is the primary aim of the Extension Service of the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources. The success of the Service depends on an appreciation of its programme by the farmers. Neither verbal exhortation nor experimental farms are in themselves sufficient to induce the farmers to appreciate the programme since they do not demonstrate in practical terms the profitability of a new venture. The majority of the Oshun farmers did not accept new crops until they saw others not only planting but also selling the crops. The first group of people to participate in the extension service programmes, thus to set an example for others, are the return-migrants. In the northeast and the northwest where they are numerous, participa­ tion in the extension service programmes is more readily accepted than in the south. One of the crops introduced by the Extension Service is a new variety of maize, NS I or ES I, This variety was introduced in 1966 because of its high yielding qualities. Over 85 per cent of the participants in the project for Oshun Division were from the northern area. Although the reason for the few participants from the south may be due to the attention given to cocoa, it was UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY V found that migration affected the farmers' attitude. Of the fourteen people who planted the crop in Oluponna, twelve were return-migrants. In the northwest, the return-migrants also constitute the majority of the participants. In 011a, for example, the farmers were so enthusiastic that they formed themselves into an organization under Mr. Okeyomi for the purpose of planting the variety. The success of the first harvest must have encouraged the villagers to respond to the innovation as evidenced by the fact that in the following year, nearly all villagers devoted some of their land to the new variety. Table 49 further indicates that the farmers in the northeast and the northwest show a greater responsiveness to the Extension Service Unit programmes than do farmers in the south. Less than one quarter of the 352.3 acres planted with Kenaf was in the south in 1969/70, although the zone is nearer the market than the other two zones. Furthermore, in spite of the decreasing income from cocoa, the farmers in the south are reluctant to plant a new crop, the value of which has not yet been proved. TABLE 49 ACREAGE PLANTED 3ITH KENAF, 1969/70 1 South ' Northeast ' Northwest 1 Total Acreage 85.0 105.3 16 2 .0 352.3 Per cent 24*1 29.9 46.0» 100 .0 Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Annual Reports, 1969/70 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION The potential of livestock is not high in Oshun Division, especially In the tsetse-infested southern part of the Division. There are herds of sheep and goats but the population is not large. A farmer may keep one or two head of sheep or goats and some fowls but he does not attempt to establish a commercial industry of these grades of livestock. However, attempts are being made by farmers, especially return-migrants to commercialize certain grades of livestock. A poultry farm and a piggery have, for example, been established at Oyan and Iwofin respectively by two return-migrants. Although such individual farms are few, a start has already been made and in some years' time the raising of pig and poultry may become an important aspects of the livestock of the Division. It is, however, the growth of the cattle industry that is now significant in the livestock development of the Division. The organisation of cattle husbandry in Oshun Division is based strictly on division of labour. The cattle owners are different from the herders. Over 95 per cent of the cattle in the sample villages are owned by the natives of Oshun Division but all the herders are Fulani who have been attracted specially to look after cattle. The Fulani were first invited by Messrs. Ejiwale and James Fasanya, two return-migrants of 011a origin, who wanted to keep cattle but who realised that the Yoruba detest the herding of cattle. From this small beginning at 0 1 1a grew the Gaa UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY cattle industry on which livestock development of Oshun farmers rests so heavily today. Although the number of cattle owners and kraals have increased, the organisation still remains the same throughout the Division, A Kraal (Gaa) consists of between five and ten round huts and accommodates a Fulani head and some related persons. The cattle within the Kraal may be over 100 and in some cases up to 500 animals. They are milked at about ten o’clock and then put to grazing late in the morning. At night they are kept in the vicinity of the Gaa. Fodder is abundant during the rainy season when the animals gain weight but scarce in the dry season when the cattle must cover some distance from the Gaa. The depletion of fodder in a place may occasion the complete shifting of a Gaa to another location. The Gaa in 011a has, for example, changed its location thrice since its establishment. The cattle in a Gaa are largely of Keteku type and are owned mostly by individual members of several villages within an area. One contributor may own up to 50 head|. He buys a calf and gives it to the herder who undertakes to rear it according to certain agreement which, though it varies from place to place, generally tends to favour the Fulani. The farmer allows the cattle to graze on the land in exchange for the manure left behind. The cattle is milked once a day but the milk is regarded as the perquisite of the herder. The calving or ill-health of the cattle must be reported UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Mb to the owner or his representative immediately. One in every three calves is given to the herder as a reward for his work. The Fulani reported that about half of the cows in a Gaa calve annually and of the newborn calves about 50 per cent survive. The low rate of growth of the animal population is reflected in the number of cattle found in the Division in 1968. Table 50 shows that there were 2,240 head of cattle in the division in 1968/69* These figures under-estimate the actual population of cattle in the Division. They are based on the number of cattle which were reported to the Extension Service workers, but not all the Gaas sent in reports. It may probably be the case that some cattle-owners do not report their cattle for fear of tax assessment. TABLE 50 CATTLE POPULATION. 1968/69 ' Kraals 1 Cattle Number 'Per cent ' Number 'Per cent South 4 13.3 288 12.9 Northeast 6 20.0 435 1 9 . k Northwest 20 66.7 1.517 67.7 Total 30 100 .0 2,240 100 .0 t f 1 » Source: Western State, Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Annual Report, I968/69* 11, 103, 143* 33^» U IVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY The inaccuracy of the Ministry’s figure is revealed by the Kraal census conducted in the northwest in 19 6 9. The census shows that there were 131 Kraals in the zone as against only 20 recorded by the Ministry. There were also an average of 100 cattle per Kraal whereas the Ministry had an average of about 70. However, the official estimate and field experience point to one important fact: that the northern part is the most important cattle centre. The distribution may be a consequence of the natural and economic conditions of the zones. The northern part undoubtedly has favourable conditions for cattle rearing but the Muturu variety has also been successfully reared on some parts of Oshun south especially on government supported ranches and farms. The distribution may also be explained by the existence of migrants who are interested in rearing cattle on a commercial scale. As the following Table shows, the majority of the cattle owners in the five selected Kraals are migrants. Heturn-migrants own about ^5 per cent of the cattle while the current-migrants own about kO per cent. The distribution of ownership of stock is probably related to the new role of cattle among the migrants. Formerly, the proprietors’ sole purpose of rearing cattle was to have animals available for slaughter at the time of festivals or celebrations such as funerals, successions and marriages. Sometimes they are slaughtered in order n UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY TABLE 51 CATTLE OWNED BY DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF PEOPLE IN SELECTED KRAALS (Proportion Per cent) Total ' R.M. 1 C.M. ' N.M. 011a 96 25.0 46.9 2 8 .1 Iwata 124 53.2 37.9 8.9 Isundunrin 69 46.4 30. ̂ 23 .2 Iwofin 135 57.8 39.3 2.9 Oyan 131 37.4 41.2 21.4 Total 555 44.9 f 39.6 t 15.5 R.M. • Return-migrants C.M, = Current-migrants N.M. = Non-migrants. Source: Field survey, 1968/69. to dispense hospitality to guests and friends. Nowadays, the cattle Its looked at as a means both of obtaining monetary wealth and as secure investment. Those migrants who find it difficult to save cash because of the numerous demands upon their pockets invest in cattle just as the migrants in the northeast invest in kola plantation. Cattle are bred not so much for the purpose of producing UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY milk as of providing substantial cash profit. They are therefore sold to either cattle dealers in the major urban centres such as Ogbomosho and Oshogbo or to villagers who want to establish or add to their own herds or to butchers who supply the local market. In the sample villages, about 10 per cent of the cattle popula­ tion was sold in 1969* The commercial exploitation of cattle has been encouraged by the high profits which accrue to the owners. The average cost of rearing a cattle head is £12 but most cattle would earn at the most, an attractive sum of between £20 and £*f0 depending on the sizes. In spite of the big profit, however, the rural cattle industry is not yet well organised. Improved pasture is not practised and there are no fences to protect the cattle. There are several reports of fraudulent practice by the Fulani. F0r example, one Fulani herder in fijigbo district absconded with about 500 head of cattle in 1962. The Fulani should be persuaded to observe a few elementary rules for good cattle management such as castra­ tion of bulls and the use of vermifuges if commercial livestock is to become a flourishing industry. CONCLUSION This chapter highlights one important phenomenon worthy of emphasis. This is, that successful endeavours have been made by UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 250 migrants to induce attitudinal changes required to increase per capita agricultural production. The wealth generated as a result of the increased production is to some extent diffused throughout the community. Farmers enriched by the increased production allot a high priority in their expenditure to the building of modern houses and to the more regular consumption of manufactured goods such as wearing apparels, bicycles and wireless sets. The execution of such projects as building, and the mainte­ nance of the newly acquired manufactured goods such as bicycle^ has led to the development of a number of non-agricultural activities which is the theme of the next chapter. \ UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY CHAPTER 10 NON-AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES In areas such as Oshun Division where agriculture is the dominant occupation, the significance of migration for the non- agricultural sectors of the economy lies chiefly in the trans­ mission of skills in craft and trading and the supply of capital to both occupations. In the olden days, the skills were hereditary in the family, a father passing on his highly valued skill to his sons or very close relatives. Nowadays, interaction of people has led to the transfer of technical and management know-how between individuals from different communities in the Division. This chapter is concerned with such transfer of skills and deals principally with crafts and trade that are carried on right in the villages. CRAFTS The acquisition of different types of skills by villagers is an important consequence of migration. Table 52 records the total number of craftsmen in each village, in addition to those who acquired their skill from outside the village. Included in the group are, among others, bricklayers, woodworkers, blacksmiths, goldsmiths, weavers, tailers, barbers, bicycle and watch repairers, cobblers, mud-builders and painters. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY TABLE 52 SOURCE OF ACQUISITION OF CRAFTSMEN’S SKILL Outside the Villagje In tfrie Village it Ff<>B From From In-migr«ints :eturn-mLgrants Non-migi'ants Total No, % No. % No. % No. % South 52 53.1 16 16 .3 10 10 .2 20 20.4 100 .0 Oluponna 19 50.0 2 5.3 5 1 3 .2 12 31.5 100 .0 Odeyinka 33 55 14 23.4 5 8.3 8 13.3 100 .0 Northeast 16 3 71.9 5 2 .2 43 18.9 16 7.0 100 .0 Oyan 89 70.7 mm - 28 22.2 9 7.1 100.0 Igbaye 74 73.3 5 5.0 15 14.9 7 6.8 100.0 Northwest 78 6 1.9 5 4.0 34 27.0 9 7.1 100.0 Olla 48 53.9 5 5.6 28 3 1 .5 8 9.0 100.0 Iwofin 30 8 1 . 1 <■* - 6 16 .2 1 2.7 100.0 Total 293 65.0 26 5.7 87 19 .3 45 10.0 100.0 i Source: Field survey, 1968/69. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY The distribution of these artisans has been affected by two main factors. The first is the nearness of a village to an urban centre. There are fewer craftsmen in Oluponna relative to its size partly because of its nearness to Iwo on which it depends for most of its services. Moreover, some of its craftsmen have moved to Iwo where they are assured of a higher number of customers. On the other hand, the relatively large number of craftsmen in Odeyinka, despite its small population, is explained by the fact that it is about fifteen miles away from the nearest urban centre, Ikire. The people in and around the village cannot afford the cost and the trouble of travelling to Ikire for such minor services as the mending of sandals and a hair cut. Secondly, the volume of activity in each zone affects the number of artisans. As will be shown in the next chapter, the buildings in the northeast and the northwest are of higher quality and their construction is proceeding faster than in the south. Thus, all the craftsmen connected with the building industry, except for mud building, constitute about kO per cent of all craftsmen in the northern villages. One notable occupation which is found in all the sample villages is corn-milling. There are seven mills in the northeast, five in the northwest and three in the south. In addition, there are some cassava processing units in the Division, two are located in Iwo, one in Ifon, one in Ogbomosho and one in Okuku. The Meduna Ready Foods Industries which processes yam into yam flour and which UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY o 3,7*+*+.01 . Source: Nigerian Hallway Station, Iniaha. Field survey, 1968/69. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Fig .15. TRENDS IN THE E X P O R T OF KOLA A N D OTHER GOODS BY RAIL IN O D O -O T IN DISTRICT 1960 -1969 U T o n sNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY railways are kola mats. The tonnage of kola nuta sent by road has been based on a traffic census which was conducted in Inisha in the last week of January* 1969* the month being within the crop season (September to February), Four of the six trucks which were loaded had capacity for eighty tons of kola and the remaining two had for fifty tons, Thus in the survey week, 130 tons of kola were transported by road. If it is assumed that the conditions remained the same during the rest of the month, 520 tons of kola would have been transported by road. In the same month, 314 tons of kola were also sent by rail, giving a total of 834 tons,1- 2 Of this total, therefore, 60 per cent had been exported by road. It can be assumed that 60 per cent of the yearly kola production are sent to the Horth by road. The proportion agrees with the estimates which the respondents gave that over half of their kola nuts are usually transported by road because of the constant shortage of coaches and the desire to avoid disappointment which they usually experience even when they have booked for coaches well In advance. It also agrees with Zevering’s estimate given for 1964,2 The Table shows that the estimated production of kola fluctuates Total production in I960 was estimated at 5*^00 tons but in 1961 only 4,142 tons of nuts were produced. Production increased yearly 1, From the files of the Nigeria Railway Station, Inisha, 2. Severing, K.H., Kola Plot Scheme in ffestern Nigeria. Ibadan, 196?, mimeographed. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY thereafter until 1968. The decline in shipment noted in 196^ and 1965 resulted from the sit-down strike of the railway men as well as the shortage of wagons. Since the estimates are partly based on the tonnage handled by the railways the volume of kola nut recorded has been affected. The low figure for 1969 is also explained by the shortage of wagons occasioned by the diversion of wagons for carrying goods connected with the war effort. Another effect of the trading activities of the in-migrant Hausa on the native economy is the provision of employment for an increasing proportion of non-farm workers. The kola-nuts have to be transported to Inisha, the chief collecting centre for Odo- Otin district. Porters are employed to bring the nuts to the main roads from where taxis or lorries convey them to Inisha. As a result of the trade, an efficient transport system has developed between the villages which grow kola in Inisha and Ikirun. Nearly all the drivers who are involved in the transportation of the kola are natives of Odo-Otin district. Local intermediaries are also sometimes needed when the kola is not bought by the Hausa agents directly from the farmer or from the surrounding markets which the Hausa traders patronize every market day. Such local intermediaries make their own profit which may be up to 20 per cent. Furthermore, the peeling of the nuts provides supplementary occupation for children and women especially during the period when there is little to do on the farm. Most of the kola nuts are bought fresh from the farmers or their wives and the unpeeled nuts have to be UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY processed* Two methods are commonly employed. One involves the burial of nuts in the ground under a cool shade for about two weeks after which they are taken out and the rotten testa washed off from the nuts. The second method requires that the nuts are soaked in water for about a week to allow the testa to rot. IVomen and children are then employed to remove testa at the rate of three shillings a steel drum. A woman can work through one drum per day. After the testa has been removed, the nuts are 'sweated' by keeping them for three days in a big basket. The nuts are then inspected. Those with insect infestation are removed whilst the rest are graded by size and colour and treated with solution to prevent further attack by insects. For these processes, native labour is sometimes employed and paid between three and five shillings a day. The Hausa labourers are, however, employed in the packing. iSach lot is packed in a container sometimes known as a bly. This is a cigar-shaped package with an outer coat of sacking bound by native rope and an inner coat of large green leaves. Some of the materials used for the packing are made by the local people. The outer and inner coats of sacking consist of, among others, baskets, ropes and fresh leaves. These materials are available in abundance and are purchased in the Division. In- migration of Hausa has thus helped to reduce under-employment and 1. Russell, T.A., "The Kola of Nigeria and the Cameroons", Tropical Agriculture, 32, 3» 1955* 225. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY to distribute income-earning opportunities more widely. CONCLUSION The important point that emerges from this chapter is that it is through migrants that new skills, goods and capital have flowed into Oshun Division. The return-migrants learnt their skill in their migration destinations. However, it is usually the case that the skills of most return-migrants may not be needed in the home village or that the scale of operation of their business may be too big for the market of their local community. Such return-migrants do not settle in their home village but in towns. Others who resettle in the villages move their centres of operation to larger centres when their business has expanded considerably. If increased agricultural production raises the spending power of farmers, there would be higher reward for craftsmen and traders and, therefore, more incentive to ebay in the village. Certainly the provision of social amenities will also encourage the craftsmen and traders to stay in the village. The mechanism for the provision of such amenities is the main concern of the next chapter. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 4 ?89 CHAPTER 11 0 SOCIAL AMENITIES Although in principle, all governments aim at promoting a balanced distribution of amenities, the demand for, as well as the supply of, social amenities is heavily concentrated in the larger cities and towns. In contrast, rural areas are characterized by poor amenities. In such areas as rural Oshun Division, the supply of social amenities owes much to the activities of migrants. Contacts of these migrants with several amenities and other aspects of material culture as well as their higher income and social level affect them so profoundly that they do not want to go back to their former style of life on their return. They carry from their places of migration, knowledge of social services and they desire almost all the amenities that are found in urban centres. In short, they want to make their villages a replica of the city. They are, therefore, in some measure responsible for the provision of social capitals such as school-buildings, health-centres, community centres, churches, mosques and private buildings. LEADERSHIP PROVIDED BY MIGRANTS FOR DEMAND FOR, AND SUPPLY OF AMENITIE One of the important roles of Oshun migrants is the enlighten­ ment of their people back home regarding their social needs. The first task which these migrants therefore set for themselves is the promotion of the demand for amenities among members of their UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY village communities. If people are to be induced to make effort to develop their villages, they must first be convinced of the need for this and be induced to show initiative. The migrants educate their people at home through two channels: ethnic unions and individual examples* Ethnic unions have arisen out of the need of migrants abroad to adapt traditional institutions on lines other than those of kinship to conditions of life in foreign territories.^ The associations are seldom found in the home areas except as deriving from the activities of those set up abroad. 2 One of their main concerns is the development of the home areas. Through the unions, the home communities are made to realise that they are part of a larger society which is fast developing. They are exhorted that to keep pace they must strive to provide for themselves a number of modern amenities and institutions. There are several examples of self-help projects carried out on the advice of these migrants. These include roads such as the Igbaye-Okuku railway-station road built in 19^5 and the Ekosin- Agbeye road which was constructed in 1952. 3 In 19^9, a District 1. Little, K., West African Urbanization. Cambridge, 1965, 51-52. 2* Mabogunje, A.L,, ’’Regional Mobility and Resources Development in West Africa”, Keith Callard Lectures. Series 6, 1968, 9*f. 5» Nigeria, National Archives, Okuku Native Court. Appointment of Court Members, Oshun Division File l/l, 970, 1957* 61* UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Officer noted that the people of Ogbomosho had constructed hundreds of mile3 of roads on their own.3- Other examples are the £600 maternity centre at Ejigbo and the Welfare Centre at Ire.2 In some villages, return-migrants have tried to improve the quality of their water supply. In Igbaye and 011a, for example, a number of them have erected water storage tanks and hydraulic presses. Water is either collected from rains when they fall or pumped from specially dug deep wells into the tanks. Some of the tanks can hold between 500 and 1,000 gallons of water. From this tank water is supplied to every part of the house through a network of distribution mains, sub-mains, laterals and faucets. Although no chemical is added to purify the water, the method of collection and the filters in the faucets make the water much purer than that from rivers. The supply is continuous throughout the year. The system also relieves the people from hours of journey to and from rivers. Some of the houses which have such ̂asystem also have shower baths and flush latrines. Although such private water systems are few, the villagers have been encouraged to demand that their villages be served with pipe-borne water. On their own they have constructed several wells. Migrants have also set examples in the building of latrines. Mo3t of the houses in the northern villages have pit latrines whereas in the southern villages, the2 1 1. Nigeria, National Archives, Touring Notes, Ogbomosho District. Oshun Division File 1/1 9/5♦ 1949*12. 2. Nigeria, National Archives, Handing Over Notes. Oshun Division File 1/1 68/2, k7. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY common practice is tc go to the bush for easing. In addition to making the people more conscious of certain basic amenities, the migrants have also been important in directing the attention of the administration to the social needs of their communities. They urge the government to provide their villages essential amenities. For example, the Ogbomosho Parapo abroad, through several letters did much to bring home to the colonial administration the need to concern itself with the welfare of its subjects by providing them amenities. 1 Some of the present-day ardneminities in Igbaye were provided as a result of the pressure put on the administration by the Egbe Atunluse Igbaye in the Gold Coast.^ In the south where the rate of migration is low, few settle­ ments undertook the initial efforts required by the colonial administration even when the latter spelt out what could be done. Despite the fact that several officers had advised the people of Iwo district to undertake self-help projects, Mr. Marsh, a District Officer, had cause to complain that the people were not showing interest in self-help. 3 It was not until the late 1950’s that many 12 1. Nigeria, National Archives, Handing Over Notes, Oshun Division File 1/1 68/2, k?. 2. Nigeria, National Archives, Oshun Division File 1/2, Os 197, 2^-25. Nigeria, National Archives, Handing Over Notes, Oshun Division File 1/1 68/2, kl. 3* Nigeria, National Archives, Handing Over Notes, Oshun Division File 1/1 68/3, 19. Nigeria, National Archives, Handing Over Notes, Oshun Division File 1/1 68/2, 51. Nigeria, National Archives, Handing Over Notes. Oshun Division File 1/1, 68/8, 19^5, 8-9. U IVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY people in the south were showing interest in self-help projects. MIGRANTS * ROLE IN INITIATING AND FINANCING SOCIAL AMENITIES Some social amenities in Oshun Division were financed through ethnic association as well as personal voluntary contributions of migrants. The ethnic unions raised the requisite funds either through regular annual contributions of members or special levies. The contributions of current-migrants from various villages to the general fund at their last annual general meeting held in 196? are shown in Table 56* The rate of contribution varies from £0.5 per adult employed male among Oluponna migrants to £2.5 among Oyan migrants. Adult employed female also contribute between £0.25 and £1.00 while economically dependent members such as apprentices are not taxed although any of them could and actually did make a voluntary contribution of £0.25» These contributions amounted to over £17,000. However, less than half was actually transferred home because of the stringent exbhange control measures which were discussed in Chapter 8. These figures given above do not relate to special levies imposed at different times on migrants for the execution of specific projects such as roads, bridges, post offices, schools and maternity homes. Roads Roads in Oshun Division, like roads in other parts of Western Nigeria, are classified into four administrative categories! Trunk UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY TABLE 56 PUBLIC CONTRIBUTIONS OF MIGRANTS, 1967 (In £) 3 Employed Employed t Male Female Others Total Oluponna 112 4l 5 158 Odeyinka - mm - - Cyan 4,465 2,000 215 7,685 Igbaye 3,589 1,085 125 4,599 Olla 2,175 905 n o 3,190 Iwofin 950 375 55 1,380 Total 11,091 4,4o6 510 1 , 17,012 Sourcest 1, Mr. Samson Unlade, Secretary, Egbe Omo 011a, Box 3176, Adjame, Abidjan. 2. Mr. S.A, Sanya, Secretary, Egbe Ifelodun Oyan, Box 2041, Ashanti New Town, Kumasi. 3. Mr. J.A, Ayodeji, ex-Secretary, Igbaye Progressive Union. 4. The Bales of Oluponna and Iwofin. Note: The Iwofin contributions sent into the general fund of Ogbomosho Parapo. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY A, Trunk B, Provincial and District Roads. 1 Trunk A roads which were built by the Federal Government form the skeleton around which the remainder of the road system is built. There are about ^0.0 miles of Trunk A roads in Oshun Division. (Fig. 16 ). They connect Ibadan and Ife through Ikire and Gbongan;and Oyo and Ilorin through Ogbomosho. Trunk B roads are constructed and maintained by the State Government. They connect state and provin­ cial capitals and other large towns with Trunk A system or with each other or with a port or a railway centre. There are about 1^5 miles of Trunk B roads in the Division. They link important towns such as I wo, Ejigbo, Oshogbo and Gbongan with each other and with Ibadan, Oyo, and Offa. Provincial and District roads are the responsibility of local authorities, although they may receive from the government a grant for their construction and maintenance. The grant varies with the local importance or standard of construc­ tion of the roads. There are 4-5 miles of provincial roads and 6̂ 0 miles of district roads in the division. Thus, district roads alone account for about 72 per cent of all the roads in the Division. This does not include unclassified roads which were estimated to represent 16 per cent of all the roads in Western Nigeria in 1959*• 2 1 . Adedeji, A., A Survey of Highway Development in the Western Region of Nigeria, Ibadan, 19^0, 1-10. UNIVERSI Y OF IBADAN LIBRARY Fig.16. C O M M U N IC A T IO N SUNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY A large proportion of the district and unclassified roads has been constructed and is still maintained by communal efforts. The density of roads can, therefore, be used as a test of the degree of self-help and thus of migrants' influence on road development in Oshun Division* Oshun south has a relatively low density of roads. The few roads are also in very bad condition especially during the rainy season. In 1969, for example, the road which links Odeyinka with Ikire could not be used from May to August while the road which connects Ikire with Iwo could not be used for the whole of the year. Although the people in this zone have fewer mileage of road to maintain, their generally poor quality results in per capita expenditure on roads being as great as in the zones with higher density. One would have expected the density of roads in this zone tto be high because of the considerable agricultural production and the need to facilitate the evacuation of the export crops so as to derive as high an income as possible. Whilst the existence of the Ago-Owu Forest Reserve may partly account for the low density, it is clear that this is also due to the heavy reliance of the people on the central and local government rather than on their own self- help to develop a road system. By contrast, the northern zones are better served by roads. The northeast has the densest road network in the Division. There are hundreds of miles of roads of varying standard and as Fig. 16 shows, there is hardly a village which cannot be reached by a motorab] UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY road, at least in the dry season. The density of road in this zone may also be high owing to its small size, its compact nature and the higher density of population which might make it easier to organise communal road buildings. However, as has been shown above, the existence of migrants is crucial to road development* * It is the migrants who usually promote the idea of and finance the building of the roads. This factor is clearly emphasized in the northwest where the population density is not as high. Table 57 shows the financing of some of the roads and bridges which were built in the sample villages through communal efforts within the past twenty years. None of the villages In the south has constructed any road through communal effort within that period. They only repaired the existing roads when there was need for such a repair. Although there has been a demand for the construction of a road that will link Oluponna hamlets further south with Ibadan and thus shorten the distance to the farmers’ main market, no TABLE 57 ROADS AND BRIDGES FINANCED BY MIGRANTS (In £) Contribution i Contribution f Percentage from from Total contributed migrants villagers Cost by migrants Oluponna mm • » — • » Odeyinka - - - • Oyan 5,900 1,400 7,300 81 Igbaye 2,300 400 2,700 011a 852,800 200 3,000 93 Iwofin j 2,000 , 250 , 2,250 , 89 Sources Field survey, 1968/69. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY initiative has been taken by the farmers and no road has been constructed. Most of the respondents in Odeyinka wanted a road to link the village with Ife district where some of them had migrated to grow cocoa but the farmers have not taken any initiative. The Table also reveals that over 80 per cent of the cost of constructing most of the roads was contributed by migrants. The money which the migrants provided was used mainly in the construction of bridges and culverts and in hiring sophisticated equipment needed for major operations on the roads. The clearing and other minor operations were performed by the non-migrants. The in­ migrants also took part in the construction if they were well settled when the roads were being constructed. It is not unlikely that some of the migrants who are transport or car owners were motivated to improve the road system in the northern zones in order to further their own interest. However, their action has been beneficial to all and sundry as the roads have served as a prelude to other developments in the areas. Postal Services All the three villages which have postal agencies in the sample are in the northern zones with their high rate of out­ migration. They are Oyan, Igbaye, and 011a. In each village, the migrants bore over 60 per cent of the cost of constructing the postal agencies. In some cases, they do maintain the service of a mail-runner* In areas other than the sample villages, the UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY role of migrants in financing post office buildings is also noticeable. Table 58, for instance, shows that there is a close relationship between out-migration rate and the number of postal institutions in each zone. It reveals that whilst the northeast has the highest number of postal institutions in the Division, the south and the northwest have the same number of postal institutions each. The northwest is, however, better served than the south where there are over 25*000 people to a postal institution as against 23*000 people in the former. (Fig. 17) TABLE 58 DISTRIBUTION OF POSTAL INSTITUTIONS IN 03HUN DIVISION Post ’Sub- ’Postal •No. of Office Post Agen­ Total people pe: Office cies % institu­ tion South 1 2 7 10 19.23 25,^76 Northeast k 2 26 32 61.5^ 12,551 Northwest 2 - 8 10 19.23 22,823 Total 7 4 52 100.00 17,012 j Source: Postal Organisation « Western Territory; as at March, 1970, Ministry of Communications, mimeographed. Three factors, in particular, determine the distribution of postal facilities: the distance to an alternative post office offering comparable facilities, the volume of postal transactions UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Fig.17. D IS T R IB U T IO N OF POSTAL FA C IL IT IES UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY in an area and the initiative of the local people. It will be financially impossible to provide each village with its own postal facility. The low level of per capita demand for some postal services such as savings and telephone means that for economic reasons, post offices with these services are only found in a limited number of places and consequently people must travel some distances to them. However, in the division, distance does not appear to influence the distribution of postal agencies which provide limited services. For example, there are postal agencies in Ile-Igbo and Ile-Igbo Hailway Station, which are located 3*5 miles away from each other. There are postal agencies in Agbeye, Gkua and Ekosin each of which is less than two miles from the other and also at Ifon, Ilobu and Erin located at less than one mile from each other. Thus, of 52 postal facilities in the area, 80 per cent are postal agencies. Where migration rate is low, few postal agencies are found. In the northern zones, the migrants provide the initiative probably because of the need to communicate with their relatives at home* Through the postal institutions,information and money can flow home from the places of migration and migrant traders can conduct their business through letters. Educational Facilities Table 59 indicates the distribution of schools in 1968. It shows that the south which has the lowest population density and UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 9A* out-migration rate has the highest number of primary schools. On the other hand, the northeast which has the highest population density and out-migration rate has the highest number of children per primary school. The northwest has the least number of schools as well as the least number of children per primary school. This distribution may be explained by the degree of urbanization. Those parts of the division which have high urhsnization indices also have high numbers of primary schools. It may also be explained by the fact that the government from 1955* undertook a primary-school-building programme generally related to the number of children in a district. The number of children and the rate of population growth are higher in the south than in any of the other two zonesj hence the programme favoured that zone. Before 1955* however, the establishment of primary schools was largely the responsibility of private organisations. 1 In many cases funds were raised locally, for instance, by the missionar; societies which pioneered in education. The communities provided substantial amount of money as well as unpaid local labour for the construction work. In Oshun division, the voluntary contribu­ tions of migrants constitute the major source of financing such buildings. In Oyan, they contributed about 75*7 per cent of the £5*150 spent on primary school buildings. Of the £1,^50 and 1 Callaway, A., and Musone, A., Financing of Education in Nigeria. 1968, Jfl. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY £1,200 spent on primary school buildings in Igbaye and 011a respectively, migrants contributed over 70 per cent in each case. TABLE 59 DISTRIBUTION OF SCHOOLS, 1968 Absolute Number 1 Percentages f, No* of chil- dren Pri­ * Mo­ •Secon­ • Pri­ ' Mo­ • Secon­ per mary dern dary mary dern dary school South 222 19 7 39.7 38.0 25.9 152 Northeast 200 22 17 35.8 Mt.O 63.O 186 Northwest? 137 9 3 2^.5 18.0 11.0 lk2 Total 559 50 27 100.0 100.0 100.0 i ft 1 t Source} Annual Digest of Education Statistics, Western Nigeria, vol. 8, 1968. The Table also reveals that there are more secondary schools in the south (7) than in the northwest (3). The number of secondary schools do not necessarily reflect scholarization among the Oshun people. A majority of students in these schools in Iwo, for example, are not natives of the town. Furthermore, the location of secondary schools in the south is influenced by religious organisations which draw their funds from a central organisation and not necessarily from the local inhabitants. Of the seven secondary schools in the south, only two are community schools and UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY vo H these two were initiated and largely financed by local authorities. On the other hand, over 65 per cent of the secondary schools in the northern zones are built through community effort. In Oyan, the initial contribution of the migrants was over £5,000* This takes no account of the £1,500 spent on training of graduate teachers. Health Facilities Table 60 which shows the distribution of medical centres, beds, patients treated and births recorded in the Division in 1967 reveals that the health situation in the south is apparently much better than in the northwest and northeast. The Table shows that in the south, there is one medical centre to 12,385 people but 1.0k beds per 1,000 people. In the northeast and the northwest one medical centre serves 9*863 and 16,^01 people respectively whereas 1,000 people share 0.90 and 1.00 beds respectively. Government action has done much to explain this situation. There was an attempt by the government to provide health facilities within a reasonable distance of the majority of consumers. The application of this principle, given the differences in urbanization index withii Oshun Division, favoured the south more than the northwest but it also meant that health facilities in the south were concentrated more in the large cities. In the northern zones, on the other hand, health facilities are distributed rather more evenly over the area. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 284 i-3 62! a w O O o Q •3 2 £ £ £ £ £ CD CD P° w CO c+ d* tJ « V* ro H JO H* O g T A- JO £ 8 B .F VTl O ' VH i SK i a D5 TJ t? p* H VO H PS - VjJ £ U g* P--33 H I E P <9 f CD H © >P• NOi ' 'O a © ® (5 O C» ca £ O ' & 3. ^ *2 * H VO vn £ © CD M » —- H & » ■ ro §vO • O ©PS P- t3 ' H •o •H •o •H a o tJ tno o © © SO O 'O O "CJ O 4 o- o o -P" H CO H O JO O ' H o O ' v * *1JO £ S a "■>3 vo o VO •oO ' U l \5 —X 13 VH JO VO 4S. 5- H* «■» s *►H ■n d -CO -a vn $ 6 V• n V•Jt 1 xD• vO VJl JO O ' ® C+- g V*) •P- ro a>* >• >• o vr» VO 0 5 - VO • vn ro ■§5 3 < ! sa £ ” r£a H PD o © Q T5 H> OCX OCX« • • • vn 'O o v « © to UNIVERSITY F IBADAN LIBRARY DISTRIBUTION 01' MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS. BEDS. PATIENTS TREATED AND BIRTHS HUCORDED IN OSHUK DIVISION. 1967. a t i e r p e r 1 0 0 0 p e o p l 1 2 377 28b A close examination of the last four columns of the Table reveals that the number of people who make use of health facili­ ties is higher in the northern zones than in the south. Admissions of patients per 1,000 of population vary from in the south, through 695*5 in the northwest to 1,004.2 in the northeast. The number of births registered per 1,000 people stands at 5*5» 8*0 and 8.9 in the south, northeast and northwest respectively. Thf\ fewer number of health centre users in the south is not a reflection of a higher level of health in that zone compared with the north. Judging from the number of days the respondents fell ill during the survey year, the people of the north are healthier than those in the south. On the average, a farmer in the north was sick for about eight days whereas his counterpart in the south was sick for about twelve. The higher number of users of health centres in the northern zones is influenced largely by the factor of accessibility. Over 75 per cent of the respondents in all the sample villages used the nearest health centre, if need be, instead of attending a centre located at a distant place. In Odeyinka, the bulk (91.0 per cent) of the patients will not attend Ikire health centre because of the distance unless the sickness is very serious. Another factor which is very crucial in explaining the demand for medical care is the knowledge of the people and their attitude to medical facilities. Return-migrants already have UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY adequate knowledge about the advantages of health facilities. They initiate and finance the construction of health centres in their villages. These locally financed health services are the precursor of government financed health centres. In Oyan, Olla, and Igbaye, for instance, not only did migrants pioneered in the building of health centres at a cost of £1 ,600, £1,000 and £1*375 respectively, they also sponsored medical attendants on courses at Health Schools in Ibadan. Many years of association of non-migrants in the northern zones with these early health facilities has proved to them the advantages of seeking medical care in health centres. On the other hand, the people in the southern villages did not have any health centre until the govern­ ment provided one. It would also appear that they do not make adequate use of these government sponsored centres because they tend to believe in native ‘doctors' and witchcraft. There has been few or no return-migrants to give them public health education by word and deed. Other Public Utilities and Services Nearly all villages have minor public utilities such as markets, religious centres, and civic centres. Table 6l shows the sources from which the buildings of these utilities are financed* It is obvious that considerable amount of money is invested in religious centres and that the migrants make substantial contributioi U IVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY V g £ f S g ^ p ^ ^ *g vn %Ut .H .09 0) v<*> ON O . .O UO> GQ> Migrants 'S O O O U O Ot 1 V OQ JJ Contribution &wM H M* VUl .M TO vH .Q . O VH % Q0 O0 O0 ^\ji n£> ui Other a0 v0»3 .O0 Contribution 03 .H HO H ■£-H .Q .O O W f o o C oO .V n NO .O Total ®£ £ 0 - 0 O Oo 03. Oo m *ci v•O 0 V•0j 0j •H0 0 N~• OJ 1 v«Nj)t % ofo n£> O U* -3 O MigrantsContribution »H »■? " I t Migrants ' ' § 1 Contribution S»H I I s § vjx vn i ! Other 15 8 8 Contribution c8+T O' 1 » —M Sv.j t I I $ >5 8 Total- ° o o «* fm- i i 8 o i i % of ON -3 O Migrants Contribution Shi- sH M i-9o s Migrants O § 1 KD §O 8O 1 O8 Contribution § mm § H a,1*oo 1 H M W V£ Othero 8 8 8 ‘ 8 Contribution q **o I H U sQ H sM | s N> Uj Total p g H £ $ 8 8 8 CO o03 1 -OO OCO V00 00 % o f•ro •O ' ♦O U• O t o > •O MigrantsContribution UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY OTHER PUBLIC UTILITIES FBL11CED BY MIGRANTS Total 5,500 Soared Field survey, 1968/69. to the investment in these centres. The financing of only major religious centre is recorded. These Include all churches, central mosques and parsonages. Of the six sample villages, four have markets every four days and the remaining two have daily markets. The markets are located just outside the residence of the village head. Except in Oyan and Igbaye the markets are incidental open spaces. In Oyan and Igbaye, however, new markets with stalls have been constructed on the pattern of Kumaai market. The migrants were instrumental in building these markets and they bore over 90 and 66 per cent of the construction cost in both places respectively. They also contributed substantially to the building of town and court halls where these exist* The town hall in Oluponna was started in 196? and migrants were said to have contributed over 80 per cent of the £2,500 already spent on the hall. The town halls serve a number of social purposes. They are used for meetings, staging drama, screening mobile movie films and staging parties. Buildings Investments in public buildings discussed above are aside from investments in private individual houses. Formerly, all the people of Oshun Division dwell in traditional buildings constructed with local material which include mud, timber, leaves, grass and straw. Such houses were easily damaged by fire and storm, and were attacked by insects. The need for durability made the choice UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY of new materials of particular importance. One of the reasons for migrating was therefore to acquire sufficient money to replace the thatched roofs with corrugated iron roofs. However, migrants found in their places of migration that not only the roofs but also the foundations and walls of the buildings could be improved* On their return, they started to use such processed and manufactured materials as cement, bricks, sawn timber, hardboards and galvanised iron and aluminium sheeting. Inevitably, three standards of building structures developed: good, fair and poor. For a building structure to be scaled 'good* its foundation must be made of concrete bed with stone, block or brick footing; its walls must be made cf stone, blocks, burnt brick or mud at least ten inches thick, and must be plastered; its roof must be reinforced with trusses and covered with galvanised iron sheets. A building structure scaled 'fair* may have as its foundation concrete bed without footings but with laterite cob; its walls may be made of unburnt mud bricks or mud and cement plastered; and its roof may be of galvanised iron sheets on palm rafters. The poor building structure has no foundation; its wall is adobe construction and is unplastered; the roof is thatched or of old galvanised iron sheet on palm pole framework. Table 62 records the house census which was conducted in three villages, one from each of the zones. It reveals that there were 859« 33^ and 2^7 dwellings in Oluponna, Igbaye and 011a respectively. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY I SSB §§£3 lj w ^ H O CJN H H M W O ^ H O V r f v O O N O W u i O ' O - ^ } U ) n O 8 g t t g 8 » S g 8 S i S £ SiJSfc M § 'jJ to C' W 3 ‘ W O y i G' 8 k k g t t s H w Ho & ! w i i i i P*£ H 1 1 H pu C O 1 VO M o<+ p 1 I I I oo K UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY DISTRIBUTION OF BUILDINGS IN THREE! VILLAGES Structural 1 No, of 1 Percentage * Percentage ’ condition of houses within among all Uncompleted Foundation building each the Buildings village villages Oluponna Good (South) Fair Poor Total 11 Igbaye Good (Northeast) Fair Poor Total 27 Olla Good (Northwest) Fair Poor Total 51 All Good Fair Poor i Total 89 Field survey, 1968/69 The structural condition of nearly three-quarters of the dwellings in Oluponna is poor, some of then being in advanced stages of dilapidation. Of the fifty-seven dwellings that could be classified as structurally good, fifty one were owned by either current or return-migrants. More than 90 per cent of the dwellings were of single floor type. By contrast, in the northern zones where the percentage of return-migrants is highest, a tradition of block housing no?/ exists. Most of the earliest block houses were planned, and the design sent from abroad. For example, the first block house in 011a was built in 1956 by a migrant, Mr, Latoyan Asalu who sent the design from the Ivory Coast. Overall, less than 50 per cent of the 580 houses in the northern villages had poor structural condition. A vast majority of the houses were built of blocks and about **5 par cent of the block houses were of two floor type. However, about *f0 per cent of the houses were not in use as their owners had migrated. Nearly all the occupied houses in the villages were owner-occupied. Most of the houses in the older part of all the villages have developed by a process of fission. The former large compounds were gradually demolished and in their places smaller houses were built until all the land in the compound was filled up. The growth was unplanned and majority of the houses have been built at random with hardly any consideration for access, light and ventilation. On the other hand, the design of the new houses which are built on UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY the outskirts of the villages is better# Local regulation has ensured their location and construction in conformity with what operates in planned towns to which the migrants have been. Often, as it happened in Oyan, the migrants request that land should be parcelled out in plots to ensure that every houses has convenient access, adequate light and ventilation and sufficient space for conveniences and recreational facilities. All these developments have led to the physical extension of the villages. In areas such as Oyan and Igbaye a stretch of wood­ land, part of the former igboile where cocoa trials were carried out, separates the new layout from the old village. In contrast to the nucleated residential area of the old village, the new rural sprawl has ribbon pattern. The favoured building sites are along the well laid, although not yet properly constructed streets. As the first builders had taken over the land very near the settlement, buildings had shifted farther away. In some cases, adjacent settlements have merged. 011a has now extended to match into neighbouring Agurodo. The competition for favoured sites has made the land-owners become aware of the value of land located close to roads. The customary method of acquiring land for building was to give out a token sum of one guinea, a bottle of gin and some kolanuts. This is now replaced by open sale of land. In Oyan, each plot cost between £25 and £30 in 1952 but the price has now risen to between £50 and £75* depending on the location* UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY m This development may lead to only migrants having houses on the favoured sites. The non-migrants are not usually able to find sufficient money even to purchase land. It is also probable that the development may put value on houses and Increase their rent value. There is an urgent need, however, for rural development control by the government to ensure a planned expansion based on technical advice so that the rural people may live in a healthy and congenial environment. CONCLUSION It has been implied in this chapter that the community approach is an important avenue for achieving the economic development of rural areas. The sense of communal obligation is no novelty in Oshun Division. The contact of some of the people with the outside world has in many cases tended to enhance this sense of communal obligation and is reflected in the construction of roads, schools, markets, health and civic centres. This is aside from other activities such as the purchase of a car for the village head as was done in Oyan; the sponsoring of the village head on a pilgrimage to Mecca as at Igbaye; the provision of electricity plants in private and public buildings and the award of scholarship to deserving students of the village origin. More recently, migrants have also subscribed to the matching grant required from local communities for the installation of utilities which require large UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY sums of money and which they cannot provide without the prior approval by the government. These include electricity and piped- water supply. All the social amenities which the migrants have initiated, planned and executed contribute in no small measure to the economic development of rural Oshun. By building primary schools, the migrants have created and are creating a literate population which may ensure the acceleration of far-reaching social and economic changes required in the development of a community. The secondary school programmes which the migrants master-minded is one of the most important factors in development. An effective health service, which the migrants pioneered, might lengthen the life of the working force, lift its vitality and contribute to a considerable increase in productivity. Good housing, although not a public utility, is likely to provide healthy and happy family and in turn improve the efficiency and productivity of workers. There is, however, the need to integrate more closely the migrants* efforts with those of the national economy. This will result in an effective expansion of the infrastructure of the Division and the raising of the general standard of health and literacy of the rural population at minimum expense to the government. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 29b CHAPTER 12 CONCLUSION The main objective of this study has been to identify what changes in the rural economy of Oshun Division are attributable to, or occur as a result of migration. In order to provide the necessary perspective, the study begins with an outline of the history, nature and extent of migration from the Division. Although these aspects form only a small part of the larger field of migration studies, the present investigation throws light on a few of the theoretical issues raised in the literature. The notion that migration is undertaken essentially in response to economic factors is the basis of the "push-pull" model. The importance of this model for the present study lies in the fact that it stresses the importance of economic factors. These factors have been found to be the major cause of migration from and into Oshun Division. With the exception of children and wives of migrants who were not decision-makers in the migration process, nearly all the migrants in the Division were directly or indirectly motivated by economic factors. However, a more important issue raised by the findings of this study is whether or not the "push-pull" model is an adequate tool for explaining factors of migration. The body of data collected »here shows up the inadequacy of the model. It shows, for example, that the distinction which is often made between "push" and "pull" UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY factors does not seem to be clear-cut or of great importance since a single factor can exert a Hpush" as well as a "puli'* effect depending on several circumstances and since a migratory movement is usually governed by both the "push" and the "pull" factors operating almost simultaneously. Furthermore, it is not so much these external and impersonal factors as their perception and the level of expectation of the people involved which result in migration. The movements identified in this study exemplify these facts. Those people who moved did so not only because their cash income was inadequate to meet their rising level of expectation but also because they were attracted by prospects of better cash income in the areas to which they went. Their decision was therefore seen in terms of a compari­ son of economic opportunities as perceived by them in their home area on the one hand and at the destination on the other. Thus migration has gone on at rates which vary as between different parts of the Division according to the opportunities in each part and the way in which people perceived them. On account of its initial advantage of favourable environmental conditions for agricultural production and proximity to Ibadan and Lagos markets, Oshun south was best placed to receive the economic benefits generated by the introduction of export crops. This cash economy offered important economic opportunities and the relatively high income from it effectively delayed the movement of southern Oshuri farmers until the early 1960’s when their income from cocoa started to diminish. This was when the balance of economic opportunities, as perceived by the people, might be said to lie with other parts of West Africa rather than with Oshun south. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY On the other hand, people of Oshun north had started their movement some sixty years earlier because by their own perception, the zone was of no great economic importance until the introduction of tobacco in 1933 and the commercialization of food crops in the early 1960's. When they did move, their place was partly taken by people of Middle Belt origin who perceived that they could obtain higher remuneration for their work in Oshun north than in their home} a phenomenon which further emphasizes the fact that the set of opportunities is differently defined for and differently perceived by different people. The fact that the ’vacuum* created by migrants from Oshun is filled by in-migrants from the belt adjoining Oshun Division seems to be consistent with Ravenstein’s hypothesis of step-wise migra­ tion.^" The Ilorin flocked into Oshun Division when they first moved but they are now migrating from Oshun further south into the cocoa growing area of Western Nigeria and their place is being taken by Igbira and Agatu. Although there is no evidence as to whether the Igbira and Agatu first settled in Ilorin before they moved to Oshun, there is a strong indication that they too will soon move further south into the cocoa area of Western Nigeria. The pattern of movement of Oshun migrants themselves also provides empirical evidence validating the step-wise migration hypothesis. 1 1. Ravenstein, E.G. ’’The Laws of Migration”, Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. 48, 2, 1885, 167-227 and 52, 1889, 241-501. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY They moved first to Lagos area where there were opportunities in farming and in the railways and then to other parts of West Africa where they are now found in larger number than in Lagos. However, the observed pattern cannot probably be regarded as •migration by stages' in the sense Ravenstein meant. For him, such a pattern results when rural inhabitants move individually and gradually towards bigger towns via smaller towns. Neither the size of the settlement nor the increasing prosperity which Ravenstein attached to this has affected the pattern. Rather, migrants moved to those areas, irrespective of their size and wealth, where they (migrants) believed that their personal fortunes would be improved. Furthermore, while migration in "stages is noticeable in the case of the first group of out-migrants, it is not evident among the subsequent movers. After about 1920 when the earliest migrants had established themselves in their places of migration, movement by stages virtually ceased. Migrants did not stay in Lagos before they leap-frogged to other destina­ tions but moved from Oshun directly to their * final' destination. Such direct movement is explained by the spread of knowledge of the areas of migration through the encouraging news given to potential migrants by the earliest migrants. Thus it can be concluded that step-wise migration disappears with time as there are improvements in the channels of communication through which migrants inform members of their home community of conditions at their destination. This phenomenon aptly illustrates Kirk's and UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Nelson's hypothesis that the volume of migration is dependent on information and not on employment opportunities alone.^ The flow of such information explains the apparent specialization in the destination of Oshun migrants. People of the northeast and Ogbomosho are found chiefly in Ghana while Ejigbo area accounts for over 70 per cent of all Oshun migrants in the Ivory Coast. The relatives of the first movers followed as they obtained information directly about conditions in the destination of migrants. What all these imply, of course, is that the early migrants maintain contact with home. This type of contact is crucial to the role of migrants in the rural economic change. At first, the contact was maintained through messages and visits the frequency of which showed a clear inverse relationship with distance from Oshun. The effect of thiB was to make Oshun people look upon the migration destination as the sources from which new pattern of living would come. Later, the arrival of return migrants on a large scale in the Division marked the beginning of the process which was to lead to changes in techniques of production and the consequent gradual elimination of the features of under-development identified in chapter 5* This return of migrants raises the issue which has been dominant in migration studies that movement of people is usually a once and 1 1. Kirk, D. Europe's Population in the Interwar Ye.ar.s. Geneva, 19^6, 73. Nelson, Phillip. "Migration, Real-income and Information", Journal of Regional Science. 1, 1959* UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 300 onee only process* It is often assumed that migrants leave their home forever and such a phenomenon is associated with some international migrations in developed countries* ft, *Majority of the trans-Atlantic migrants in the nineteenth century, for example, never returned to their homes. In Oshun Division, as in other parts of West Africa today, a significant number of international migrants return home after their migratory career. The return has been made possible partly because nearly all the migrants did not intend to remain indefinitely at their place of migration and partly because the migrants have probably become aware of opportunities at home which were not previously exploited. To what extent then has such awareness manifested itself in Oshun return-migrants? In other words, in what ways has the return been beneficial to Oshun Division? The agent-of-change concept as implied in this study is particularly relevant to the return-migrants, and indeed all migrants, who brought several innovations into the Division. To the extent that these migrants are pace-setters in various economic development programmes, they have facilitated economic development in this part of the world. They acquired at the destination new attributes such as skills and wealth which made it possible for them to return home on advantageous terms. Over 65 per cent of the sample craftsmen and about 60 per cent of traders acquired their skill outside the division while another 19 per cent learnt their trade from return-migrants. Both current and return-migrants also set up business at home and there UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY is a positive relationship between period of migration and the degree of success in business measured in terms of size of business. Thus, in contrast to the migrant labour system in southern Africa where Africans are, on racial grounds, deniad opportunities to acquire or develop skill, the migration system in Oshun gives ample scope for acquisition of technical and managerial skill. The earlier observation that agricultural production has not been adversely affected despite a reduction in family labour supply was based on the empirical evidence that return-migrants were able, through their newly acquired enterprise, to better organise not only available labour but also production and marketing processes. The result is that the acreage cultivated by a return-migrant in the northern zones where they are found in large numbers nearly doubles that cultivated by his non-migrant counterpart (^.06 acres to 2.50 areas in the northwest and 2.56 to 1 .5 1 in the northeast) while the student’s t shows that there is a significant difference between the yield per acre of yam, cassava, and maize harvested by return- and non-migrants. The fact that the surplus perishable crop distribution is organized over a large area further underlines the importance of return- migrants' entrepreneurship in local economic development. Furthermore, the return was accompanied by the transfer of sizeable amount of capital. Quite unlike remittances from labour UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY migrants in southern Africa which contribute little to local economy since they are not generative of further income, having being spent on taxes, clothing and jewellery, remittances from Oshun migrants catalyse a great deal of activities in the society. A large proportion of the economic enterprises in Oshun in the fields of transport, housing and public utilities was established with capital from migration destination. An important feature of these projects lies in their linkage effects. For example, the building projects which are at present in progress in the northern zones stimulated production of building materials in the zones. The projects give direct employment to bricklayers and carpenters and indirect employment to those people who procure or make building materials. Some of these materials are conveyed into the Division by taxis and lorries thus creating employment for drivers. In Oyan alone, almost fifty people earned their income by driving taxis or lorries and another ten earned theirs by keeping the vehicles in repair. The large number of motor vehicles has given rise to motor parks around which retailers cluster to sell their wares. The remittances also have profound effects on modernizing the techniques of agricultural production since they make it easier for farmers to meet the cost of labour, fertilizers, insecti­ cides and improved seedlings. These remittances are, no doubt, an addition to the country's national income} but the extent to which UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY they are a source of foreign currency for the whole country remains inconclusive* Neither is the value of export to migration destinations of migrants* articles of trade such as adire and woven cloth which are made in Nigeria, clearly known. Both recommend themselves for reassessment by further empirical studies. Never­ theless, these patterns of flow of wealth by and large justify the conclusion that remittances constitute a type of earnings which has helped to raise the standard of living of many people above what, at the level of local resources and technology, they (the people) could otherwise have enjoyed. Does it then mean that migration has an overall favourable effect on Oshun Division? Theories on effects of migration maintain that out-migration or in-migration by reducing or increasing the population in the long run is an essential instru­ ment for the development of an economy. Implicit in this concept is the assumption that the demographic characteristics of migrants are such as to make migration economically advantageous. Equally crucial to development, however, is the effect of migration on the future demographic characteristics of the people in the area affected by migration. According to the "substitution theory" of migration, in-migration has no effect on the size of the populatior in the long run since it is balanced by a reduction in the natural UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 304 increase of the local population.^ This is because in-migrants lower the standards of living as they restrict employment opportunities open to the local population. It is contended that the resulting lower standards of living of the indigenous population will slow down their rate of natural increase. This tendency is not in evidence in Oshun Division. Although there are no sufficient data to show whether or not the direct augumentation of the population of Oshun by in-migration exceeds the total loss due to decrease in fertility, what is known about in-migration does not validate the premise on which the theory is based. Indeed, in-migration, far from lowering the standard of living, has tended to raise it. The in-migrants provide the much needed labour to work the farms of the natives, and to produce foodcrops whose cultivation is given up by the local people whenever they turn to the cultivation of tree crops. This stepping up of food production by in-migrants has tended to lower the cost of food stuff and prevented malnutrition, low resistance to illness and disease, and consequently low productivity of manpower. 1 1. United Nations, The Determinants and Consequences of Popu­ lation Trends. New York, 1953* 136-1^0. Franklin, B. Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind, Peopling of Countries” , The Magazine of History, 63, 1918, 215-221*. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY In the particular case of Oshun Division, therefore, the chief factor affecting the contribution of the number of in­ migrants to the natural increase of Oshun population is the permanence of their stay since most of the migrants' children are thus born in the Division, This permanence is revealed by the fact that they brought their wives and the sex-composition of the in-migrants showed that ^9*5 per cent of them are females. The age composition also appears to favour a high rate of natural increase. About k9 per cent of the in-migrants are in the age-group 15-50. There is no doubt that the in-migrants carry the habit of large family into Oshun Division because the average size of their family is nine; but happily enough, it did not appear that Oshun people acquired the in-migrants' reproductive patterns. However, in-migration into Oshun to date does not seem to have been sufficiently large to have any great influence upon the growth of population. The 6,859 in-migrants in Oshun in 1952 constituted only 0.80 per cent of the population. Out- migrants have always been greater in number than in-migrants. For example, there were 2,^66 out-migrants from, as against 886 in-migrants (a net outflow of about 1,600 people) in the northern sample villages in 1969* It is the effect of out-migration on population growth that is therefore more crucial. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY On the basis of reasoning similar to that of substitution theory, Kulischer has argued that out-migration, instead of draining off population, promotes its growth.'*' If out-migration had not occurred, the argument goes, the growth of population would have been checked by a severe reduction in the level of living. The trend of movements found in the present study seems to invalidate Kulischer’s hypothesis. Out-migration has tended to reduce rate of natural increase in at least two ways. First, between 60 and 80 per cent of the migrants are in the reproductive age groups (15 to 50) who incidentally belong to the age group with the lowest death rate. This finding is perfectly in line with the hypothesis that migration is selective of age. Conven­ tionally, the heavy incidence of migrants in the age group 15-30 is believed to lead to a decline in the marriage rate because the bulk of the migrants are males. In contrast to this assumption, migration of male and female proceeds at almost the same rate in Oshun. About per cent of migrants are females, majority of whom accompanied their husbands. Thus, it is not the marriage rate but the fact that children are reared in the place of migration that is crucial to reduction in birth rate in the Division. Secondly, by inducing a higher level of living, out-migration has greatly stimulated attempts to control family size and the 1 Kulischer, E.M. Europe on the Move: War and Population Changes. 1917-^7. New York. 19^8, 2&. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 387 spread of the small family pattern. The average number of return- migrant family is five compared with seven for a non-migrant. At the zonal level, the northern areas with high rate of migration have lower birth rate than the southern ones with low rate of migration. The implication is that the dependency ratio is higher in the south than in the north. Thus, contrary to the usual belief that out-migration often leads to the depletion of economically active people, the ratio of labour force to the population is higher in the north than in the south, The proportion of people between 15 and 50 years cf age make up 34 per cent of the population in the south but about 40 per cent in the north. There is no direct evidence to explain this seeming departure from the 'normal* in terms of differential death rate but there are evidences from data collected on the use of medical facilities, standard of houses (hygiene and sanitation) and literacy to suppose that improvement in the state of health and environment of the people in the north could reduce mortaility rate among their adults. On the whole, therefore, migration mechanism is being generated and sustained in a way that makes it a major weapon for fighting the problem of population redistribution and poverty in this part of the world. However, whether migration will continue to play this role depends on the future prospects of migration in the Division. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 388 Prospects for Migration in Oshun Division Recent measures taken by the governments of some areas where Oshun migrants go is likely to influence the future pattern of flow and the characteristics of future migrants from here. Due to the balance of payment problems which are often blamed on remittances by migrants and because of the desire to provide job opportunities for the local people, some governments in West Africa have introduced 'alien laws' aimed at expelling old migrants and deterring new ones from trying to settle in the country. Even where there are no discriminatory alien laws, the attitude of the local people to the migrants is a combination of fear and envy of the superior economic position of the latter. The result is that migrants and their properties are occasional targets of attack by the indigenous population who regard the gains of the migrants as their losses. The physical attack on Oshun migrants in the Ivory Coast in March and May 1968 as well as the attack of Oshun people on Urhobo in-raigrants in 1962, provides a specific case for validating the important generalization that migrants are usually made scapegoats of economic nationalism. 1 Confronted by such hostility, most migrants now prefer to migrate to other parts of Nigeria where they can carry on their business 1. Mabogunje, A.L. “Regional Mobility and Resource Development in West Africa", Keith Callard Lectures, series 6, McGill University, i960. ’ ’ ' ’ " ' UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 389 unmolested. The tendency, therefore, is for international migration to give place to internal movement especially as from the mid-1960fs. One important characteristic of this internal migration is that it consists chiefly of school leavers whose movement is not impelled by the grim harshness of environment but by ambition to be employed in a white-collar job as well as live in the urban centres where the industrial development of the 1950’s has created employment opportunities. Such a shift in the destination and characteristics of migrants is already underway not only in Oshun but also over the whole of West Africa, The absolute and relative importance of the new movements will probably continue to increase and is bound to have somewhat different effects on the rural areas. This difference will be partly conditioned by the relation between the migrants and the rural areas. The old migrants who have re­ migrated to other parts of Nigeria after their expulsion from some West African countries can be expected to maintain their strong links with the Division and return there at a future date. If they are as successful in their business as they were when they were abroad, their remittances may rise because they do not face any exchange control problems. The same is not likely to be true of the new migrants. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 310 Given their level of education, they are likely to choose to live their lives out in the cities. The present tendency for social identification may keep them for some time in contact with the rural areas through occasional visits. But it is unlikely that many will choose to return to the village to give needed leadership and participate personally in its development. In other words, one crucial link between the rural areas and migrants will be removed. This is bound to have far-reaching consequences on both the urban and the rural areas. The urban population is likely to become more permanent than otherwise would have been. The flow of wealth to the rural areas may be reduced because the new migrants may not be inclined to build houses in the village, although they may still remit some money home for the use of their parents, A good deal of non-agricultural labour usually employed for building projects may become under­ employed and may move out of the village. The absence of return- migrants will also affect the flow of skills and ideas which has been shown in this thesis to be very crucial to the development of the rural areas. The implication of all this is that rural development may now come to depend less on return-migrants as implied in the present study than on the general economic policy of government. Such a policy may aim at achieving maximum rate of economic growth through UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 311 investing resources in urban areas where the rate of returns is likely to be highest* This will lead to a massive inflow of migrants from rural to urban areas. It will also be consistent with spatial equilibrium theory which assumes that the rural areas will ultimately benefit from the working of an automatic "trickle down" effect brought about by increased demand in the urban centres for raw materials and food stuffr. 1 However, because of a possible opposite effect of widening the gap in the standard of living, between the two areas, an alternative policy is to redistribute resources directly in such a way that development is stimulated simultaneously in the rural areas. It is clear that the problem is largely one of equitable distribution of growth. The problem is real in developing countriet where the economic policy of various governments has encouraged great regional inequality. This has engendered growing dissatis­ faction which can undermine social and political stability and jeopardize the growth process itself. It may be that a ’just* proportion of ’growth' and 'welfare' will have to be determined after due weight has been given to what is technically possible, what is economically expedient and what is socially and politically desirable. Such a challenge, in fact, remains one of the greatest and most important that face developing countries today. 1. Myrdal, G. Economic Theory and Underdeveloped Regions. London, 1957, 26-j'S. 1 4* ” K “ Hirschraan, The Strategy of Economic Development, Yale, 1958, 187-190.---------- ------------------------- UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 31* Another challenge concerns that of data collection. The present study has suffered immensely from lack of basic up-to-date official data on population characteristics and migration. Furthermore, official statistics on production are not only unreliable but they are not collected in such a way as to facilitate their use for comparison of small unit areas. There is therefore recourse to extensive field-work which necessitated staying in Oshun for about one year so as to clear most of the problem of data collection, namely non- and false-response occasioned by the association of investigation with income tax assessment. In spite of this, the reliability of several analyses as well as the quality of some conclusions in this study must have been affected. Partly because of financial and time constraint and partly through lack of necessary statistics, no more than a partial quantification of flow of migration has been possible. Future studies on migration may be fruitfully directed at quantifying the total flows of migrants using the present study as a starting point. The major thesis of this study is to emphasize that migration has positive effects and that migrants probably constitute the greatest single asset of Oshun Division since their return to the rural areas has been crucial to ithe growth of the rural economy. This UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY i n conclusion is based mainly on conditions found in a relatively densely populated area and on data of migrants who return to their home area. Future studies may well go beyond the limit of the present inquiry for information about the effect of migratio on a relatively sparsely populated area and about people who do not return to their home village. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY A P P E N D I C E S UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY APPENDIX A EXTRACTS FROM QUESTIONNAIRE FOR ALL THE INDIGENOUS RESPONDENTS Part 1 Name of respondent ..... Name of the village of the respondent ..... Sex ..... k. Age ..... Are you married? How much education do you, your wife and children have now and how much education will you like them to have? Now Future Apart from Yoruba, in what language are you literate? Fill in. Language. Can read Can read Can speak inhere and when only and write learnt Part 2 Are you the head of the household (senior member) or what is your relationship to the head? ...... Vho else live in this household; could you kindly identify them by their relationship to you and by their age starting with the eldest. Informant Age Could you kindly identify those members or relatives listed above who have migrated before but have now returned? ..... If any member has migrated before, complete the following table Relation- Dates oft Destina- Occupation Cause of Sex Dept. Arrival tion in place of moving migration UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 315 5. Who else lived in this household before but has now migrated? Could you kindly identify them by their relationship to you and by their age starting with the eldest? Relation to Head Age 6. When and where did each of the people listed in (5) above go? Fill in the following table: Relation- Date of Desti- Occupation: Marital status shi£ Sex Pep. nation Before. Now before going Why did each of the people who went to each of the above places go' (Show which reasons are given - 1st, 2nd, 3rd order). Relation Places they went Reasons for going (1st) (2nd) (3rd) 8. Do you give any material support to any relative who has migrated? 9. What is the value of this material support yearly? 10. Do you (or any of those living here) receive any material support from the migrants? Fill the table below: Source: To whom Relation Place sent Kind Value For what use 11. How many letters do you receive from migrants in a year? .... 12. How many visits do migrants pay home in a year and what is the purpose of each visit? ••••. Part 1. What is your main occupation? ..... 2. For how many months of the year do you do your chief occupation? 3. What else do you do during the rest of the year? ..... k . For how many hours do you do your main occupation in a day? •••• UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 316 5. What else do you do for the rest of the day? ..... 6. Do you have another job? Give details. Job (Income (Yearly) When started Why started •••• ••••«• •••• 7. Are you satisfied with your present occupation? Give reasons. 8. What is the major/minor occupation of your wife and children? Relation Major Where done Minor Where done • ••«• • * • • • • * ♦ • • • • • • • • Part k 1. Who has the land you are farming now? ..... 2. Can you sell it? Give reason ..... 3. What is the total land acreage owned byy our family? ..... 4. Has the land of your family been divided among members of the family? Give reasons ..... 5. If this parcel of land has been divided among members of the family, what amount of land was received by you and your relations Indicate its use and whether or not the recepients have migrated. Relation Migrant/Non-migrant Acreage Use • * • • . # • * • * * ♦ • • • • • 6. Now that these people have migrated, how did they dispose of their land? .....01987 7. To what use is the land now put; what is the income from it and how is it disposed off? ..... 8. For how long has the original owner of land disposed of it? .... 9. If the land has not been divided, how many members of the family are entitled to the land? ..... 10. How many members of the family are currently using the land? .... 11. Where are the other members? Migrated ....; Still at home, but too old ..... Still at home, but engaged in bther business (indicate) ... Other .... UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 31? 12. To what use is the land put now? Crops Acreage 13. Have you got any addition to your own share of the family land or to the part of the family land cultivated by you? ..... 14. How have you acquired the new addition? ..... 15.. When and from where/whom have you acquired it? .....16 How much did you pay for the new acquisition? .... 17. Indicate the size of and the use to which you have put the new acquisition: Newly acquired land Acreage Uae 18. What would you have done if it were not possible to have the new acquisition? stop cash cropping ..... become a multiple job holder .... abandon farming for another job (indicate) ... migrate .»...; other .... 19. Have you disposed of part of your land? ..... 20.. How have you disposed of it? .....21 Indicate the size of, and the use to which you had put and your beneficiaries are now putting the land. Before giving out After giving out Crop. Acreage Income Acreage What you receive from the user * * * « * • ♦ * • • • • • • • 22. Why and for how long have you give out the land? .... Part 5 1. How many years does your piece of farm remain under fallow nowadays? .... 2. How many years did your piece of farm remain under fallow about 10 to 20 years ago? ••••. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 218 3. About 10 to 20 years ago for how many years was the land farmed before allowing it to revert to fallow? .... k . How many years is the land farmed now before allowing it to revert to fallow? ..... 5. Which of these agricultural activities is practised by you: Market gardening (horticulture) ..... 1 Plantation agriculture .... 2 Poultry .... 3 Animal husbandry:. Cattle .... Sheep ..... Goats ..... kc Piggery ... ^d Other ••••• 5 6. What improvements have you made in your farm on your own initiative? .... 7. Of course, there are many agricultural programmes; I have a list of some of them. As I name each programme, just tell me if you have ever heard of it. (a) Have you heard of ... (b) How long ago was it, v/hen you first heard about it and when did you join? ... (c) Source of information ... (d) What is the amount of land devoted to the new system and what is your income? ... (e) How much extra crop do you produce as a result of the new system? ...8 (i) Aldrin dust (ii) Cassava (improved) (iii) Cocoa planting scheme (iv) Community plantations (v) Credit corporation (vi) Farm credit cooperativ< (vii) Farm settlements (viii) Egg marketing (ix) Fertilizer programme (x) Livestock (improved) (xi) NS-1 Maize or ESI Maize (xii) Oil palm (improved & (xiii) Poultry (improved) rehabilitation) (xiv) Control of goat, cattle (xv) Citrus poultry disease (xvi) White kola seedlings (xvii) Others 8. Are there any agricultural extension programmes that you joined once in the past, but later dropped out of? ... UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 311) 9. Programme ••• Joined ... Dropped ... Why drop •••• 10. Save you ever visited any of the government demonstration farms? ... 11. Where and when did you see it? ... Part 6 1. Are the following crops grown for sale or consumption? State proportion consumed and proportions sold, and cash from sale: Crop Amount harvested Amount consumed Amount sold • • • ••• • * • • • • 2. Where (or in which market) do you sell the products mentioned above: Market • • • • • • 3. How did you get to the market before? ... k . How do you get to the market now? ... 5. How/why was the change in form of transport possible? ... I have/have not got the money to afford better form ... I have more/less crops to sell/buy ... I have more/less number of people to help me ... The new form of transport has just been introduced ... It is cheaper/dearer now to use the new form of transport..5 6.' Why have you changed the market you were using before? ... Part 7 l. How many members of your family formed/forra your (labour) unit? Before (1958) ... Now (1968) ... 2. What type of hired labour did/do you employ and what did/do each type do? C l e a r i n g * Type No. Vol. of work Days employed Cost per year Agatu ... ... ... ... Ilorin ... ... ... ... Urhobo ... ... ... ... Hausa ... ... ... ... Indigene ... ... ... ... •Same for heap-making, hoeing and weeding, planting, harvesting and refining. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY #H f\J K'S-d- 320 Part 8 1. Estimate the amount you spend on the following items in a year: clothing (you and family) ... food and drink ... entertainment ... travelling ... equipment ... medicine (health) ... religion ... education ... miscellaneous ... 2. Indicate, by encircling the answer indicator, which of the following you have or do: a pen ... 1 a savings account in a bank .. a hurricane lamp ... 2 a touch-light ... a savings account in a post 3 a towel ... 4 office ... an insurance scheme ... a time piece (clock or a house ... wrist watch) ... 5 a car ... a stove ... 6 an umbrella ... read (or ask people to read 7 a bed ... 8 to you) newspaper ... a bicycle ... use the post office in other 9 a redifussion box ... ways apart from 13 above 10 eat meat at least once a day., a transistor radio ... 11 eat egg at least once a day .. take beverage or milk at least once in a week ... owe a debt now (indicate how much and to whom) ... 3« Do you ever listen to the radio? about how often? ... 4. What type of programme? ... 5. How many times do you travel to the following places in a year? (a) the nearest town ... (b) your District headquarter ... (c) your Divisional headquarter ... (d) your State capital ... 5. Why do you go and what advantage have you derived from such visits? ... 6* 6. Have you ever worked or cooperated with others in this community by trying to solve some community problem? (or meet some community need?) ... UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY ■'j it JL ?• Do you belong to any group or organisation that deals with society or community problem, your work, etc? What is the name of the organisation, when and why did you join? Fill the following: Why I joined When I joined 8 8. If somebody made you a gift of £100 how would you spend the money? ..... UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY APPENDIX B INTERVIEW SCHEDULE FOR RETURN-MIGRANTS Which places have you gone and what did you do there? Fill the following table: i. No. of time gone ... ii. Where you went ... iii. Date you went ... iv. Date arrived ... v. Occupation before going ... vi. Occupation there ... vii. Occupation now ... viii. Why you went ... ix. Why return ... X . Money brought ... xi. Its use ... xii. Money sent ... xiii.Its use ... How did you get to know about the places you went? ... When did you get to know about them? ... When you were away from home, did you live mostly in a village, mostly in a small town, mostly in a large city or was it mixed? ... I would like to know your achievements when you were away from home. Were you able to do any of these things from the money you earned/saved when you were there? Circle appropriate ones: build a house ... repair your (or your father's) house ... defray marriage expenses ... send your children to post-primary school ... cater adequately for your parents ... acquire "substantial” properties, e.g. mill, vehicle ... other ... What new ideas/crops, etc. learnt/known there have you now been using/planting? ... How many people have you taught the technique? ... How many people did you encourage, either by way of letter, or advice when you came home occasionally, to join you in the place where you migrated and why? ... Can you make a brief comment on your impression about how the people, to whom you gave your land, used it? Were you satisfied or not? ... UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 323 APPENDIX C INTERVIEW SCHEDULE FOR CRAFTSMEN 1* How long have you been a «... 2. What was your occupation before .... 3. For how long were you an apprentice? .... k , Where and from whom did you learn your trade? .... 5. How did you get the initial capital and how much was it? .... 6. How and where do you get the material? .... 7. How long is your working day and what amount of article do you complete in a day? (where applicable) ....0198 8. Do you employ anyone to help you? What does he do and how much do you pay him •••• 9. How/where do you market your product? .... 10. Do you do this trade alone or you have a syndicate? Give details .... UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 3 2 4 APPENDIX D INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR TRADERS 1. How much is the capital? .... 2. Do you trade independently or with other people? .... 3. What do you buy each season of the year? Fill the following table! Products bought When Where Amount Unit Expenses, Price (labourT etc.) • # • ••• • * t • • * • • * k . Where do you sell your goods? .... 5. What is the cost of a unit of article in that place .... 6. Where and how do you establish contact with customers? .... 7. How many customers do you contact in a week? .... 8. Where, and how far from this village, do you go? .... 9. Do you have a store house or a shed? .... 10. Do you employ any labour? Fill the following! When employed. What they do From where they come What they are ££id ••• ••• ••• 11. What are your busy and slack seasons, what do you do in the slack season? .... UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY APPENDIX E EXTRACT FROM INTERVIEW SCHEDULE FOR IN-MIGRANTS 1. What is the name of your village and district? ... 2. When did you leave your village and district? ... 3. Why did you leave your own village/town? ... k . How and when did you know about this village? ... 5« When did you settle in this village? ... 6. How many visits did you pay to this village before you finally settle here? ... ?• Why did you settle in this particular village? ... 8. For how long do you want to remain here? ... 9» Where and why do you want to go at the specified time? ... 10. What was your occupation in your home village and what is your occupation here? Home Here • • • 11. How have you come about the land you are now cultivating and what do you pay to the landlord? ... 12. Kindly state the acreage you cultivate and the crops planted on them? ... 13. Indicate the material support you give to any of your relatives in your native village and the money sent home for your own purpose ... I k , How often do you go home? ... 15. How would you say you have been absorbed into the village community? ... 16. Comment freely on the native community? • • • UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY B I B L I O G R A P H Y UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY Unpublished Materials Documents consulted in the Nigerian National Archives, Ibadan* Ibadan Division/Province File No. 1/1 1050 Social and Economic Progress of the People of Nigeria, Ibadan Division. Oshun Division File Nos. 8/2 1959 Aiyedade District Council, Urhobo Community! Matters Affecting. 1/1 51 Annual Reports, 1938-1960. 2 2/6 22/27 Boundary between Northern and Southern Provinces near Erin. 1/1/62 Cotton. 1/1 68 Handing-Over Notes, 19^5-1955* 2/2 60/1923 Iba-Okuku Boundary. 1/1 82/2 Inspection Notes, 1938-1955. 1/1 Os 197, 970 Native Courts. 1/1 9/1930 Ogbomosho District Affairs, 1930. 1/2 Os 70 Ogbomosho Matters. 1/2 Os 70 Oshogbo Matters. 1/10/170/89 Oshun Division. 1/1 9/5, 137 Touring Notes, 19^5-1955. Oyo Province Files Nos. CSO 26/06027 Annual Reports. 2 2/2 Memorandum 373a/3Vl923 Oyo-Ilorin Boundary. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Intelligence Reports Craig, M.C. Ikire District and Towns of Gbongan and Ode- Omu, Ibadan District, Oyo Province, 1934. _____ Iwo District, 1934. Dickinson, E.C.N. Ede, 1939* ___ Iwo District, 1939* ______ Oshogbo District, 1940. Schofield, I.F.W. Okuku Area, Ibadan, 1935* Official Records Federal Ministry of Communications, Postal and Money Order Records, Lagos, 1967* Western Nigeria, Finance Corporation Special Farming Loans, File No. FC1948. Western Nigeria, Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Annual Reports, 1951-1969* Western Nigeria, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Commission, Registration of Returnee Files, 1970. Unpublished Theses Agiri, B.A. Local Government in Ogboaoso 1830-1950. M.A. Thesis, University of Ibadan,1966. Atanda, J.A. The New Oyo "ifapire": A Study of British Indirect Rule in Oyo Province, 1894-1934. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Ibadan, 1967* Berry, S.S. Cocoa Growing in Western Nigeria, 1890-1940t A Study of an Innovation in a Developing Country. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Michigan, 1967. Hodder, B.W. Markets in Yorubaland, Ph.D. Thesis, University of London, 1963* UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 32b Schwab, W.B. The Political and Social Organization of an African City, Ph.D. Thesis,Pennsylvania. 19&?. Welldon, R.M.C, The Hitman Geography of a Yoruba Township in Southwestern Nigeria, B.Litt. Thesis, Oxford University, 1957* B. Publications Including Materials on Oshun Division Adedeji, A. A Survey of Highway Development in the Western Region of Nigeria, Ibadan, i960. Adegboye, R.O. "Farm Tenancy in Western Nigeria", The Nigerian Journal of Economic and Social Studies. 8, 3. 19KTWHG53:---------- --------------------------- _____ "Procuring Loans through Pledging of Cocoa Trees", The Nigerian Geographical Journal, 12, 2, 1969, 63-76. Adejuwon, J.O. "Crop-Climate Relationship: The Example of Cocoa in Western Nigeria", The Nigerian Geographical Journal. 5, 1, 1962, 21-31. Akinyele, I.B. Iwe Itan Ibadan ati Iwo ati Ikirun atl Oshogbo. Ibadan, 1911. Ayorinde, J.A. "Historical Notes on the Introduction and Development of the Cocoa Industry in Western Nigeria", Nigerian Agricultural Journal, 3, 1, 1966, 18-20. Buchanan, K. "An Outline of the Geography of the Western Region of Nigeria", The Malayan Journal of Tropical Geography, 1, 1953* 9-24."" Fadipe, N.A. The Sociology of the Yoruba, ed. by Okediji, F.O. and Okediji, 0. Ibadan, 1970. Forde, D. The Yoruba-Speaking Peoples of Southwestern Nigeria. London, 1951. Galletti, R., Baldwin, K.D.S. and Dina, 1.0. Nigerian Cocoa Farmers. London, 1956. Gusten, R. Studies in the Staple Food Economy of Western Nigeria. Munchen. 1968. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Johnson, S. The History of the Yoruba. Lagos, 1921 Johnston, B.F. The Staple Food Economy of Western Tropical Africa, New York, 1961. Kranendonk, H.C. Rural Change in the Savanna Areas of the Western State of Nigeria, with Special Reference to Tobacco Production, Ibadan, 1968, Lamb, A.F.A. "Different Soils make Different Forests", Farm and Forest, 2, 19^1, 617-619. Lloyd, P.C. Yoruba Land Law, London, 1962. ___ "Craft Organization in Yoruba Towns", Africa, 23, 1, 1953, 3 0 -H . Millson, A, "The Yoruba Country, West Africa", Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society, 13» 1891, 577-587. Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research, Nigeria: Population Models for National and Regional Development, Ibadan, 1959. Ojo, G.J.A. Yoruba Culture, London, 1966. ___ "Trends Towards Mechanized Agriculture in Yorubaland", The Nigerian Geographical Journal, 6, 2, 1963, 116-129, Ojo, S, Iwe Itan Yoruba, Apa Kini, Ibadan, 1952. Olusanya, P.0. Socio-Economic Aspects of Rural-Urban Migration in Western Nigeria, Ibadan, 1969. Oyerinde, N.D. Iwe Itan Ogbomosho, Jos, 1934. Smyth, A.J. and Montgomery, R.F. Soils and Land Use in Central Western Nigeria, Ibadan, 1962. Takes, C.A.P. Socio-economic Factors Affecting Agricultural Productivity in Some Villages of Oshun Division, Ibadan, 1963. (Mimeographed). Ddo, R.K. Geographical Regions of Nigeria. London, 1970. Ward-Price, H.L. Land Tenure in the Yoruba Provinces, Lagos, 1933. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 330 Webster, J.B. ’’The Bible and the Plough”, Journal of Historical Society of Nigeria, 2, 1963, 4l$-434. Western Nigeria, Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources Land Battlement Scheme, Ibadan, i960. Newspapers Daily Service, October 15* 1968. Daily Times, December 3* 1963. ~ ^ ___ March 27, 1968. _____ February 3, *f, and 7, 1969. Morning Post, December 17* 1967. Nigerian Tribune, October 28, 195^» Sunday Times, October 6, 1957* West Africa, January 26, 1957* _____ March 30, 1957. _____ December 31* i960. _____ August 19* 1961. __________ September 2, 1961. ________ October 9* 1965* _____ February 17* 1968. _____ May 18, 1963. _____ July 13* 1968. _______ November 29* 1969. _____ December 20, 1969. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY ?3i C. Materials on Migration and Comparative Studies Aboyade, 0. Foundations of an African Economy, New York, I960. Ackerman, E.A. ''Population and Natural Resources", The Study of Population, ed. Hauser, P.M. and Duncan, O.D. Chicago, 1959, 521-648. Ahlberg, G. "Population Trends and Urbanization in Sweden, 1911-1950", Lund Studies in Geography, B, 16, 1956. Allan, W. The African Husbandman. London, 1965- Allin, B.W, "Migration Required for best Land Use", Journal of Farm Economics, 18, 3, 1956, **93-**99» Anderson, T.R. "Intermetropolitan Migration: A Comparison of the Hypotheses of Zipf and Stouffer", American Sociological Review. 20, 3, 1955, 287-291. Ardener, E., Ardener, S» and Warmington, W.A. Plantation and Village in the Cameroons, London, i960. Ashton, J. and Rogers, S.J, "Agricultural Adjustment - A Challenge to Economists", Journal of Agricultural Economics, 18, 2, 1967, 181-195. Baali, F. "Social Factors in Iraq Rural Migration", American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 15, **, 1966, 359-36**. Bachmura, F.T. "Migration and Factor Adjustment in Lower Mississippi Valley Agriculture, 19**0-50", Journal of Farm Economics, 38, **, 1956, 102*f-10*+2. Baker, O.E. "Rural-Urban Migration and the National Welfare", Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 23, 2, 1933, 60-87". Baldwin, K.D.S. Movement of Local Foodstuffs, Kaduna, 1957* Banton, M. West African City: A Study of Tribal Life in Freetown. London, 1957. Barbour, K.M. and Prothero, R.M. (eds.) Essays on African Population, London, 1961. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY KJ Barnett, H*G. Innovation: The Basis of Cultural Change, New York, 1953* i Bascom, W.R. "The Esusu: A Credit Institution of the Yoruba”, Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 82, xt 1932, 63-69. Beale, C.L. ’’Rural Depopulation in the United States: Some Demographic Consequences of Agricultural Adjustments”, Demography, 1, 1, 196*f, 26^-271. Beaujeu-Garnier, J. Geography of Population, London, 1966. Boateng, E.A. A Geography of Ghana, Cambridge, 1959. ____ "The Tarkwa Gold Mining Industry”, Bulletin of the Gold Coast Geographical Association. 2, 1, 1957, 5-9* t Bogue, D.J. "Internal Migration”, The Study of Population. Hauser, P.M. and Dunca, O.D. (ed.), Chicago, 1959, ^80-509. Bogue, D.J. and Thompson, W.S. "Migration and Distance”, American Sociological Review. 14, 2, 19^9* 236-2**^. Bose, S.P. "Characteristics of Farmers who Adopt Agricultural Practices in Indian Villages”, Rural Sociology. 26. 1961. 138-1^5. ------------- Bracey, H.E. "A Note on Rural Depopulation and Social Provision”, American Sociological Review, 6, 1, 1958, 67-7^. ___ "Some Aspects of Rural Depopulation in the United Kingdom”, Rural Sociology, 23, 1958, 385-391. Buchanan, K.M. and Pugh, J.C. Land and People in Nigeria, London, 1955. Burchinal, L.G. and Jacobson, P.S. "Migration and Adjustment of Farm and Urban Families and Adolescent in Cedar Rapids, Iowa”, Rural Sociology, 28, 1963. Caldwell, J.C. Population Growth and Family Change in Africa, London, 1968. Caldwell, J.C. and Okonjo, C. (ed.) The Population of Tropical Africa, London, 1968. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY si Callaway, A, ’’Nigeria’s Indigenous Education: The Apprentice System”, Odu, 1, 1, 1964. ___ ’’School Leavers and the Developing Economy of Nigeria”, Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research Conference Proceedings. Ibadan, December I960. Callaway, A. and Musone, A. Financing of Education in Nigeria. Paris, 1968. Carver, T.N. ’’Rural Depopulation”, Journal of Farm Economics, 9, 1, 1927, 1-10. Christensen, R.P. “Needed Adjustment in Farming”, Journal of Farm Economics. 36, 3, 1954, 387-401. Church, R.J.H. West Africa. London, 1957* Clarke, J.I. Population Geography, Oxford, 1965. Clayton, W.D. “Derived Savanna in Kabba Province, Nigeria", Sarnaru Research Bulletin, 15, Zaria, 1962. Darko, S.A, “The Effects of Modern Mining on Settlements in Mining Areas of Ghana”, Bulletin of the Ghana Geographical Association, 8, 1, 1963, 21-31. Davis, S.G. “The Rural-Urban Migration in Hong-Kong and its New Territories”, The Geographical Journal. 128, 3, 1962, 328-333. Dayal, P. “Population Growth and Rural-Urban Migration in India", Indian Geographical Journal. 5, 4, 1959, 179-185. Diehl, W.D. “Farm - Nonfarm Migration in the Southeast: A Costs-Returns Analysis”, Journal of Farm Economics, 48, 1, 1966, 1-11. ~ Dike, K.O. “Trade and the Opening up of Nigeria”, Nigeria Magazine, i960, 49-57. Dixon, G.I.J. "Land and Human Migration”, American Journal of Economics and Sociology. 9, 2, 1950, 223-234. Dorn, H.F. andloriraer, F. “Migration, Reproduction and Population Adjustment”, The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 188, 1936. 28o-289. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 334 Dovring, "Unemployment in Traditional Agriculture", Economic Development and Cultural Change, 15* 2, 196?, 163-173. Eijnatten, G.L.M. Van. Chemical Composition, Physiological Action and Utilization'of the Kolanut, Ibadan, 1966. ___ Distribution of Various Kola Species and Location of Cultivated Kola of ResearchImportance, Ibadan,1964. ___ Statistics on the Production of Kolanuts and the Tradein this Commodity with SpecialReferenceto Nigeria, Ibadan, 1964. Ejiogu, C.N. "Survey of African Migration to the main Migrant Areas of the Federal Territory of Lagos", First African Population Conference. University of Ibadan, January 3-7» T9&SI Engmann, E.V.T. "Population Movements in Ghana", Bulletin of the Ghana Geographical Association, 10, 1, 1965, 4l-65. Errington, P.C. "Excess Agricultural Labour in Under- Developed Countries", Indian Economic Journal, 10, 1963* Fischlowitz, E. "Driving Forces in Internal Migration in Brazil", Migration News, 14, 6, 1955* 1-9| 15* if 1966, 10-13. Flint, J.E. Sir George Goldie and the Making of Nigeria, Oxford, 1957, 216-293. Freedman, 3.. Recent Migration to Chicago, 1950. Galle, O.S. and Taeuber, K.E. "Metropolitan Migration and Intervening Opportunities", American Sociological Review, 31, 1, 1966, 5-13. Garnier, B.J. "Maps of the Water Balance in West Africa", Bulletin de L^nstitut Francais D^frique Noire, A, 22, 19o0, 709-722. Gee, W. "A Qualitative Study of Rural Depopulation in a Single Township", American Journal of Sociology, 39, 2, 1933 , 210- 22 1 . George, H. Progress and Poverty, London, 1913* * UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 235 Gerger, T. "Vastervik: A Migration Study", Geografiska Annaler. 48, 2, 1966, 78-111. Gillette, J.M. "The Drift to the City in Relation to the Rural Problem", American Journal of Sociology. 16. 5. 1911, 645-667. ---------------------------- Goldstein, S. "Some Economic Consequences of Suburbanization in the Copenhagen Metropolitan Area", American Journal of Sociology. 68, 5, 1963, 551-564. Gregory, S. Statistical Methods and the Geographer. London, J 1963. Groves, E.R. "Psychic Causes of Rural Migration", American Journal of Sociology. 21, 5» 1916, 623-627. Gulliver, P.H. "Labour Migration in a Rural Economy", East African Studies, 6, 1955* Hailey, W.M. An African Survey. London, 1957. "The Land Tenure Problem in Africa", Journal of African Administration. Special Supplement, 1952, 3-7. Hamilton, C.H. "Population Pressure and other Factors Affecting Net Rural-Urban Migration", Social Forces, 30, 2, 1951, 209-214. Hannerberg, D., Hagerstrand, T. and Odeving, B. Migrations in Sweden. Lund, 1957* Haywood, A. and Clarke, F.A.S, The History of the Royal West African Frontier Force. Aldershot. 1964. Heberle, R. "The Causes of Rural-Urban Migration: A Survey of German Theories", American Journal of Sociology. 43, 6, 1938, 932-950. Heide, T. her. "Migration Models and their Significance for Population Forecasts", The Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly, 41, 1963, 56-76. Higgins, G.M., Ramsay, D.M. and Pullan, R.A. A Report on the Climate, Soils and Vegetation of the Niger Trough, Zaria, i960. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 336 Hill, P. "The Migration of Southern Ghanaian Cocoa Farmers", Bulletin of the Ghana Geographical Association, 5, 2, I960, 9-19. —— Migrant Cocoa Farmers of Southern Ghana, Cambridge, 1963. Hitt, H.L. "The Role of Migration in Population Change among the Aged", American Sociological Review. 19, 2, 1954, 194-200. Hodder, B.W. Economic Development in the Tropica, London, 1968. Hozelitz, B.F. "Non-economic Barriers to Economic Development", Economic Development and Cultural Change. 1, 1, 1952, 8-21. Huxley, E. and Perham, M. Race and Politics in Kenya. Faber, 1954. Illsley, R., Finlayson, A. and Thompson, B. "The Motivation and Characteristics of Internal Migrants", Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly. 4l, 2 and 3, 1963, 115-l44 and 217-248. Isard, IS. Methods of Regional Analysis 1 An Introduction to Regional Science. New York. I960. Jackson, J.A. (ed.) Migration. Cambridge, I969. Jarrett, H.R. "Strange Farmers of the Gambia", Geographical Review. 39, 1949, 649-657. Johnson, P.R. "Effects of Off-farm Migration on Managerial Resources in Agriculture", Journal of Farm Economics, 44, 5, 1962, 1462-1474. Jones, W.O. Manioc in Africa, Stanford, 1959. Roll, M. Crafts and Cooperation in Western Nigeria, Freiburg, 1969. Kuper, H. Ced.) Urbanization and Migration in West Africa, Los Angeles, 1965. Lee, E.S. "A Theory of Migration", Migration, ed. Jackson, J.A., Cambridge, 1969, 282-297. Little, K. West African Urbanization, Cambridge, 1965. Lorlmer, F. and Osborn, F. Dynamics of Population, New York, 19 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY 33? Lowenthal, D. and Comitas, L. "Emigration and Depopulation: Some Neglected Aspect of Population Geography", Geographical Review, 52, 2, 1962, 195-210. Lyttleton, 0* "Forward", Journal of African Administration, Special Supplement, 1952, 1-2. Mabogunje, A.L. "Migration Policy and Regional Development in Nigeria", The Nigerian Journal of Economic and Social Studies. 12. 2. 1970. 2fr3-2fe. _____ "Regional Mobility and Resource Development in West Africa", Keith Callard Lectures. Series 6, 1968. _____ "Systems Approach to a Theory of Rural-Urban Migration", Geographical Analysis. 2, 1, 1970. ___ Urbanization in Nigeria, London, 1968. Masuka, E.C. "Motivations for Migration of South-Born Notables", Social Forces. 29, 5, 1951, 290-29^. May, C.O. "The Influence of Managerial Ability and Size of Farm on the Efficiency of Agricultural Production", Journal of Farm Economics. 25, 1, 19^3* 105-109. Meek, C.K. Land Law and Custom in the Colonies. London, 19^9* Meier, R.L. "Planning, Social: Resource Planning", International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, ed* Sills, D.I., 12, 1968, 137-141. Minami, R. "Population Migration Away from Agriculture in Japan", Economic Development and Cultural Change, 15, 2, 1967, 1^3-201. Morrill, R.L, "Migration and the Spread and Growth of Urban Settlement", Lpnd Studies in Geography, Series B, 26, 1965* Nigeria, Meteorological Services, Annual Summary of Observations, Lagos, 196l. Ogle, W. "The Alleged Depopulation of Rural District of England", Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, 52, 2, 1889, 205-246. Ojo, G.J.A, "The Changing Patterns of Traditional Group Farming in Ekiti, Northeast Foruba Country", The Nigerian Geographic Journal. 6, 1, 1963, 31-38. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Gkigbo, P.N.C. Nigerian National Accounts, 1950-57* Enugu, I960. ....... ... ...... Oliver, F. R. "Interregional Migration and Unemployment, 1951-6111, Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series A, 127, 1, 1964, 42-75. Olsson, G. Distance and Huraan Interaction, Philadelphia, 1965. Oluwasanmi, H*A. Agriculture and Nigerian Economic Development, London, 1966. Orainde, S.H. Land and Population Movements in Kenya, London, 1968. Orewa, G.O. Report on the Problems of Local Government Finance in Western Nigeria, Ibadan, I963. Oyenuga, V.A. Agriculture in Nigeria, Rome, 1967. Parr, J.B. "Out-migration and the Depressed Area Problem", Land Economics, 42, 2, 1966, 149-15-8. Pearson, J.E. "The Significance of Urban Housing in Rural- Urban Migration", Land Economics. 39, 3, 1963» 231-239* Peterson, W. "Migration", International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, ed. Sills, D.'i 10, 1963, 286-300. Phillip, G.D, "Rural-Urban Migration in Iraq", Economic Development and Cultural Change. 7, 4, 1959, 405-421* Price, D.O. "Some Socio-Economic Factors in Internal Migration", Social Forces, 29, 1951, 409-415. Prothero, R,M. Migrant Labour from Sokoto Province, Kaduna, 1959. Ravenstein, E.G. "The Laws of Migration", Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, 48, 2, 1885, 169-219; 52, 2 , 1 3 8 9, 241-301* Richards, A.I. (ed.) Economic Development and Tribal Change, Cambridge, 1954. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Rouch, J. ’’Second Generation Migrants in Ghana and the Ivory Coast”* in Aiden Southall, ed., Social Change in Modern Africa, Oxford, 1961, 300-304. Rowling, C.W, Report on Land Tenure in Ondo Province, Lagos, 1952. Roy, P. ’’Factors Related to Leaving Farming”, Journal of Farm Sconomics, 43, 3* 1961, 666-6?4. Russell, T.A. "The Kola of Nigeria and the Cameroons”, Tropical Agriculture, 32, 1955, 210-240. Rutledge, R.M. ’’The Relation of the Flow of Population to the Problem of Rural and Urban Economic Inequality”, Journal of Farm Economics, 12, 3, 1930, 427-439. Sarfalvi, B, ’’Internal Migration and Decrease in Agricultural Population in Hungary”, Applied Geography in Hungary, ed. Sarfalvi, B., Budapest, 19^4, 150-1£3* Schapera, I. Migrant Labour and Tribal Life, London, 1947. Schultz, T.W. Transforming Traditional Agriculture, Yale, 1964. Schumpeter, J.A. The Theory of Economic Development, Cambridge, 1961. Skinner, E.P. ’’Labour Migration and its Relationship to Socio­ cultural Change in Mossi Society”, Africa, 30, 4, i960, 375-401. Sorokin, P.A. ’’Mobility, Social”, Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences, ed. Seligraan, E.R.A., 9, 19^9, 55^-555* Spengler, J.J. "Population Movement and Economic Development in Nigeria”, The Nigerian Political Scene, ed. Tilraan, R.O. and Cole, J. Durham, 1962, l49-197* Splegelglas, S. "The Role of Industrial Development as a Factor influencing Migration to and from Wisconsin Counties, 1940-50”, Journal of Farm Economics, 43, 1, 1961, 128-137. Stamp, L.D. "Land Utilization and Soil Erosion in Nigeria”, Geographical Review, 28, 1, 1938, 32-45. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Stewart, J. Q. "Demographic Gravitation: Evidence and Applications1', Sociometry, 11, 19**8. Stouffer, 3.A. "Intervening Opportunities: A Theory Relating Mobility and Distance", American Sociological Review. 5, 19**0, 8A5-867. _____ "Intervening Opportunities and Competing Migrants", Journal of Regional Science, 2, i960, 1-26. Streeten, P. "Obstacles to Development", Studies on Developing Countries. 11, 19&?. Taeuber, C. "Economic and Social Implications of Internal Migration in the United States", Journal of Farm Economics. **i, 5, 1959, m i- 1 1 5 ^ Tannous, A,I. "Emigration, a Force of Change in an Arab Village", Rural Sociology, 7, 1, 19**2, 62-7**. Teggart, F.J, The Process of History, New Havens, 1918. Thomas, B. (ed.) Economics of International Migration, London, 1958. Thompson, V. and Adloff, S. French »Vest Africa, London, 1958. Thornthwaite, C.W. and Mather, J.R. "Instructions and Tables for Computing Potential and the tVater Balance", Publication; in Climatology. 10, 3* 1957, l35-2*f3» Udo, R.K. "The Migrant Tenant Farmer of Eastern Nigeria", Africa. 3**» **» 1964, 326-339. United Nations, Department of Social Affairs, "The Determinants and Consequences of Population Trends", Population Studies, 17. 1953. Velson, V.J. "Labor Migration as a Positive Factor in the Continuity of Tonga Tribal Society", Economic Development and Cultural Change, 8, 3* I960, 265-278. Vine, H. Notes on the main Types of Nigerian Soils, Lagos, 1953. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY / / Waldo, A.D. "Impact of Out-migration and Multiple Job- holding on Farming Income Distribution", Journal of Farm Economics, 1*7, 5* 1965, 1235-12W. Wendel, B. "A Migration Schemas Theories and Observations", Lund Studies in Geography, Series B, 9, 1953* Western Nigeria, Annual Reports of the Marketing Board. 195V55 - 1961/62, Ibadan, 1956-1965. White, C.M.N. "A Survey of African Land Tenure in Northern Rhodesia", Journal of African Administration, 11, 4, 1959, 171-1?$: Wickizer, V.D. "The Smallholder in Tropical Export Crop Production", Food Research Institute Studies, 1, 1, i960, 8I-85. Wolpert, J. "Behavioural Aspects of the Decision to Migrate", Papers and Proceedings of the Regional Science Association, 15, 1965, I59-I69. } Young, E.G. "The Movement of Farm Population", Cornell Agricultural Experiment Station, Bulletin New York, 192^. Zevering, K.H. Kola Pilot Scheme in Western Nigeria, Ibadan, 1967, Mimeographed. Zimmer, B.G. and Hawley, A.H. "Suburbanization and its Consequences", Land Economics, 37, 1, 1961, 88-93. Zipf, G.K. "The P.P^/D Hypothesiss On the Intercity Movement of Persons", American Sociological Review. 11, 19^6, 677- 686. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY