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HOW PEOPLE MIGRATE IN MANY CITIES IN THE WORLD IN SEARCH OF LIVING

Many cities in the world have now become overcrowded because everyday people migrate to them from the countryside in search of work and better living condition. The problem is far worse in third world countries, where the harsh living conditions and lack of gainful employment opportunities in rural areas usually compel a ceaseless and massive rural-urban drift.

This desperate state of affairs is not without its dire consequences for the cities. Facilities like accommodation, school, hospitals, water supply and public transport cannot cope with the demands on them from increased numbers of people, and so they are under severe strain. House rents soar astronomically, and too many tenants crowd into inadequate spaces. Market, streets and motorway are congested with people and vehicles. And as the garbage disposal is inefficient, the garbage piles up everywhere, contributing to environmental pollution.

Many of the migrates come to the big cities in the hope of finding employment. However, because a majority of them are unskilled workers or fresh school-leavers not equipped in any way for gainful self-employment, they simply end up swelling the ranks of the desperate unemployed in the cities.

The devil, they say, makes work for idle hands. With no means of livelihood in the relatively more expensive cities, many of these disillusioned young people resort to prostitution, fraud and crime in order to survive. No wonder the crime rate in the cities is for ever rising, and these are daily reports of victims who lose their money, possessions or even their lives to dare-devil robbers.

How can this deplorable state of affairs in the cities be reversed?

Since the search for jobs accounts for much of rural-urban drift, one way is to encourage the creation of jobs outside the cities. For example, certain businesses such as banks and manufacturing industry could be encourage to set up branches in rural areas. If rural dwellers have ready access to the same jobs they go to look for in the cities, the need for migrating will be reduced.

It should be admitted that in this modern age, life without the basic amenities of pipe-borne water, electricity, good roads, schools, and hospital is not just good enough. Many rural dwellers are lured to the cities because of the lack of amenities, so providing them in these rural communities will not only contribute to stemming the tide of migration but also create o favorable environment for investment.

It has also been argued that rural farming is gradually being abandoned to the ages. The primitive, labour-intensive methods and the relatively low yields have made it unattractive to the youth, who would rather seek their fortune in the cities. If farming is made attractive, for example, through mechanization, it will become another source of employment for rural dwellers and thus reduce the necessity to migrate to the cities.

Rural-urban migrations cause a serious population imbalance, and has all sort of attendant problem that get worse if not tackled effective. So, the sooner a solution is sought the better.

Thanks yours faithfully

uchenna ofoegbu

Uchenna Ofoegbu 4:47PM August 02, 2010