ABSTRACT

Rural resources have a lot of potential which needed to be brought into full production as to uplift the values. These values can only be achieved when other resources like times, money, infrastructure, expertise an d the like are applied. The high demand of products is expected to propel the application of the said resources into maximum production which in turn increase the value of rural environment, confirming value to be a function of profit.

Unfortunately, government policies and programmes in the year past failed to reflect the need for balance rural and urban development. Thus, most development polices and programmes are urban – oriented. As a result rural dwellers have been subjected to poverty, unemployment, poor infrastructure, economic and social defects. Incidentally, rural dweller a stick to migration.

Therefore, this study on Rural Development. As a strategy, for reducing Rural – Urban Migrations in Nigeria, a case study of Ishiehi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, seek to identify rural development programmes/projects extent of rural urban migration and factors responsible for rural urban migration in the study area.

From the findings based on the analysed data, integrated Rural Development Strategy has been pin-pointed and recommended as a feasible and viable measure toward minimizing the rate of rural – urban migration in Nigeria at large and Ishielu in particular.

CHAPTER ONE

Nigeria, a country in West African sub-region is blessed with abundant natural and material resources. With an estimated current population of over nine hundred and twenty four thousand (924, 000) square kilometers, Nigeria is easily the most populous in African and one of the largest in terms of geographical area. About seventy percent of the population depend on agricultural activities for their livelihood and live in rural communities.

Currently, over forty million out of the total population of over one hundred million people live in urban area. Therefore, the rural area within the geographic entity of the country is whereby majority of the population is found.

Some of the government officials fear of the belief held that urban areas constitute the development potential of the state, the rural areas, have been neglected in terms of development opportunities.

Following the moribund attitudes that existed  in the rural areas the rural dwellers are attracted to the urban areas to benefits from better paying jobs qualitative supply of basic amenities, highs level of commercial, recreational and industrial activities. Arising from the rapid. Urban population growth and physical expansion are very serious physical planning problem such as poor physical layout like Ajegunle, Gwagwa,, Abakpa in Lagos, Abuja, Abakalike and Enugu respectively. Also in the list include mass transit problem inadequate supply of housing, water and other basic social services.

Hence, it is expected that various governments policy maker rural dwellers, planning team and the general public should involve in harnessing the capture and build in preference of the rural dwellers at anytime.