Functions and Effects of New Connectivities on Rural-Urban Symbiosis and Integrated Planning in Enugu Metropolis, South-East Nigeria
Keywords:
Community development; circular migration; integrated (settlement) planning; mobile telephone (telephony); new connectivities; rural-urban symbiosis; Enugu (Southeast Nigeria)
Abstract
Rural-urban circularity – a local scale of circular migration - is dominant in Southeast Nigeria. Associated connections and round trips derive from underlying economic and socio-political factors as well as cultural attachment to rural roots. Hometowns represent a place of identity and belonging, and they are not only a haven of seeming commonality, culture and tranquillity but also the nucleus of rural-urban linkages and community development. Amidst the massive increase in active mobile telephone subscribers, the paper explored the functions and effect of new connectivities (or telecommunications-enabled connections and transfers) on rural-urban symbiosis, emphasising the planning and shared development implications of Enugu, Southeast Nigeria. Questionnaire surveys with a random sampling of about 145 respondents elicited the study data. The results show that growing reliance on mobile technologies can strengthen and weaken circular migration without necessarily abetting the level of rural-urban symbiosis or circular flows (people, goods, services, resources and information) and investments. As a verified correlate of local community development, we proffer rural-urban symbiosis and its shared development gains as both the prerequisite and vital building block for integrated settlement planning and development in Nigeria.
References
Abubakar, N. H., & Kah, M. M. (2021). Mobile Phones and Social Inclusion of Women in Africa: A Nigerian Perspective. The African Journal of Information Systems, 13(2), 241-258.
Adeleke, R. (2020). Digital divide in Nigeria: The role of regional differentials. African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, 13(3), 333–346.
Afolayan, T. O., Aiterebhe, E. F., Mejabi, V., Oyekunle, R. A., Bello, O., & Balogun, N. (2015). Mobile phone usage in rural communities in Kwara state, Nigeria. Inform Technolt, 12(2), 1-15.
Agergaard, J., & Ortenbjerg, S. B. (2017). Urban transformations and rural-city connections in Africa. Geografisk Tidsskrift-Danish Journal of Geography, 117(2), 63-67.
Agergaard, J., Tacoli, C., Steel, G., & Ørtenblad, S. B. (2019). Revisiting rural–urban transformations and small-town development in sub-Saharan Africa. The European Journal of Development Research, 31(1), 2-11.
Agwu, M. E. (2021). Can technology bridge the gap between rural development and financial inclusion? Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 33(2), 123–133.
Bah, M., Cissé, S., Diyamett, B., Diallo, G., Lerise, F., Okali, D., Okpara, E., Olawoye, J. and Tacoli, C. (2003). Changing rural–urban linkages in Mali, Nigeria and Tanzania. Environmentand Urbanisation, 15(1), 13-24.
Baro, E. E., & Endouware, B. E. C. (2013). The effects of mobile phones on the socio-economic life of the rural dwellers in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Information Technology for Development, 19(3), 249-263.
Berdegué J. A. and Proctor F. J. with Cazzuffi C. (2014). Inclusive Rural–Urban Linkages. Working Paper Series N° 123. Working Group: Development with Territorial Cohesion. Territorial Cohesion for Development Program. Rimisp, Santiago, Chile.
Blunt, A., & Varley, A., (2004). Introduction: Geographies of home. Cultural Geographies, 11(3), 3–6.
Buys, P., Dasgupta, S. & Thomas, T. S. (2009). Determinants of a Digital Divide in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Spatial Econometric Analysis of Cell Phone Coverage. World Development 37(9), 1494–1505.
Chapman, R., & Slaymaker, T. (2002). ICTs and rural development: Review of the literature, current interventions and opportunities for action
(Working paper No. 192). London, UK: Overseas Development Institute.
Coquery-Vidrovitch, C. (1991). The Process of Urbanisation in Africa: From the Origins to the Beginning of Independence, African Studies Review, 34(1), 1-98.
De Bruijn, M., Nyamnjoh, F. and Brinkman, I. (Eds.) 2009. Mobile phones: The new talking drums of everyday Africa. African Books Collective.
De Haas, H. (2006). International migration and national development: Viewpoints and policy initiatives in countries of origin–The case of Nigeria. International Migration Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford.
Fadairo, O. S., Olutegbe, S., & Eforuoku, F. (2018). Agricultural Markets as Drivers of Rural-Urban Interdependence: Lessons from Selected Produce Assembly Markets in Oyo State, Nigeria. In Kapfudzaruwa, F., Kudo, S., Mfune, O., Hansen, M., & Nyerere, J. (Eds.).Rural-Urban Linkages and Sustainable Development in Africa. (93-121). Denver: Spears Media Press LLC.
Furuholt, B. and Kristiansen, S. (2007). A rural-urban Digital Divide? Regional aspects of Internet use in Tanzania. The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, 31(1), 1-15.
Gugler, J. (1971). Life in a dual system: Eastern Nigerians in town. Cahiers d’EtudesAfricaines, 11, 400-421.
Gugler, J. (1991). Life in a dual system revisited: urban-rural ties in Enugu, Nigeria, 1961-87. World Development, 19(5), 399–419.
Gugler, J., (2002). The son of the hawk does not remain abroad: the urban–rural connection in Africa. African Studies Review, 45(1), 21–41.
Gugler, J. & Flanagan, W. G. (1978). Urbanisation and Social Change in West Africa, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Honey, R. & Okafor, S.I. (Eds.).(1998). Hometown Associations: Indigenous knowledge and development in Nigeria. Intermediate Technology.
Iliya, A. A., & Ononiwu, C. (2021). Mechanisms for mobile phone use in empowerment: A critical realist study of people with disabilities in Nigeria. The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, 87(2), e12158.
International Telecommunication Union [ITU]. (2016). Measuring the information society report 2016. (pp. 1-274) Geneva, Switzerland: ITU. https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/publications/misr2016/MISR2016-w4.pdf
Kammeier, H.D. (2005). Rural-urban linkages in the Mekong region: A conceptual framework and policy implications for a region in transition. UN-Habitat, urban-rural linkages approach to sustainable development. Nairobi, Kenya: UN-Habitat, 9-30.
Menashe-Oren, A. & Stecklov, G. (2018). Rural-Urban Population Age and Sex Composition in Sub-Saharan Africa, Population and Development Review 44(1), 7–35.
Menashe-Oren, A., & Masquelier, B. (2022). The shifting rural–urban gap in mortality over the life course in low-and middle-income countries. Population Studies, 1-25.
National Bureau of Statistics (2019). Poverty and inequality indicators in Nigeria. Abuja, NBS. https://nigerianstat.gov.ng/download/1092
National Bureau of Statistics/World Bank (2020). Nigeria Living Standards Survey (2018/2019). (Report No. 13698), July, Abuja, Nigeria.https://www.proshareng.com/admin/upload/report/13698-Nigeria%20Living%20Standards%20Survey%202018%20-%202019-proshare.pdf
National Bureau of Statistics (2022). Telecoms Data: Active Voice and Internet per State.https://nigerianstat.gov.ng/elibrary/read/1241133
Onaiwu, D. N. (2021). Rural-Urban Integration and Spatial Planning in Edo State, Nigeria. Ghana Journal of Geography, 13(1), 50-62.
Onyebueke, V. U. (2008). Ageing and urban-rural drift in Nigeria: coping or dispensing with city accommodation in retirement. Ageing Research Reviews, 7,275-280.
Onyebueke, V.U. and Ezeadichie, H.N. (2011). Rural–Urban ‘Symbiosis’, community self-help, and the new planning mandate: Evidence from Southeast Nigeria. Habitat International, 35(2), 350-360.
Pederson, P. O. (1997). Small African Towns: Between rural networks and urban hierarchies. Avebury: Ashgate.
Pederson, P. O. (2003). The implication of agricultural national policies for the development of small and intermediate urban centres. London: IIED.
Polimeni, R. I. (2006). Rural and urban interdependencies in Nigeria: survey results from two Igbo villages. International Journal of Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology, 5(1), 35-50.
Porter, G. (2016). Mobilities in Rural Africa: New Connections, New Challenges. Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 106(2), 434–441.
Porter, G., Tewodros, A., & Gorman, M. (2018). Mobility, transport and older people’s well-being in sub-Saharan Africa: Review and prospect. Geographies of transport and ageing, 75-100.
Sahn, D.E. and Stifel, D.C. (2004). Urban-Rural Inequality in Living Standards in Africa (No. 2004/04). Research Paper, UNU-WIDER, United Nations University (UNU).
UN-Habitat. (2005). Urban-rural linkages approach to sustainable development. Nairobi, Kenya: UN-Habitat.
UN-Habitat. (2019). Urban-Rural Linkages: Guiding Principles. Framework for Action to Advance Integrated Territorial Development. Nairobi, Kenya: UN-Habitat.https://urbanrurallinkages.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/url-gp.pdf
von Braun, J. (2007, June). Rural-urban linkages for growth, employment, and poverty reduction. In International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC, USA. Ethiopian Economic Association Fifth International Conference on the Ethiopian Economy June (pp. 7-9).
Ye, C., & Liu, Z. (2020). Rural-urban co-governance: multi-scale practice. ScienceBulletin, 65(10), 778-780.
Adeleke, R. (2020). Digital divide in Nigeria: The role of regional differentials. African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, 13(3), 333–346.
Afolayan, T. O., Aiterebhe, E. F., Mejabi, V., Oyekunle, R. A., Bello, O., & Balogun, N. (2015). Mobile phone usage in rural communities in Kwara state, Nigeria. Inform Technolt, 12(2), 1-15.
Agergaard, J., & Ortenbjerg, S. B. (2017). Urban transformations and rural-city connections in Africa. Geografisk Tidsskrift-Danish Journal of Geography, 117(2), 63-67.
Agergaard, J., Tacoli, C., Steel, G., & Ørtenblad, S. B. (2019). Revisiting rural–urban transformations and small-town development in sub-Saharan Africa. The European Journal of Development Research, 31(1), 2-11.
Agwu, M. E. (2021). Can technology bridge the gap between rural development and financial inclusion? Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 33(2), 123–133.
Bah, M., Cissé, S., Diyamett, B., Diallo, G., Lerise, F., Okali, D., Okpara, E., Olawoye, J. and Tacoli, C. (2003). Changing rural–urban linkages in Mali, Nigeria and Tanzania. Environmentand Urbanisation, 15(1), 13-24.
Baro, E. E., & Endouware, B. E. C. (2013). The effects of mobile phones on the socio-economic life of the rural dwellers in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Information Technology for Development, 19(3), 249-263.
Berdegué J. A. and Proctor F. J. with Cazzuffi C. (2014). Inclusive Rural–Urban Linkages. Working Paper Series N° 123. Working Group: Development with Territorial Cohesion. Territorial Cohesion for Development Program. Rimisp, Santiago, Chile.
Blunt, A., & Varley, A., (2004). Introduction: Geographies of home. Cultural Geographies, 11(3), 3–6.
Buys, P., Dasgupta, S. & Thomas, T. S. (2009). Determinants of a Digital Divide in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Spatial Econometric Analysis of Cell Phone Coverage. World Development 37(9), 1494–1505.
Chapman, R., & Slaymaker, T. (2002). ICTs and rural development: Review of the literature, current interventions and opportunities for action
(Working paper No. 192). London, UK: Overseas Development Institute.
Coquery-Vidrovitch, C. (1991). The Process of Urbanisation in Africa: From the Origins to the Beginning of Independence, African Studies Review, 34(1), 1-98.
De Bruijn, M., Nyamnjoh, F. and Brinkman, I. (Eds.) 2009. Mobile phones: The new talking drums of everyday Africa. African Books Collective.
De Haas, H. (2006). International migration and national development: Viewpoints and policy initiatives in countries of origin–The case of Nigeria. International Migration Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford.
Fadairo, O. S., Olutegbe, S., & Eforuoku, F. (2018). Agricultural Markets as Drivers of Rural-Urban Interdependence: Lessons from Selected Produce Assembly Markets in Oyo State, Nigeria. In Kapfudzaruwa, F., Kudo, S., Mfune, O., Hansen, M., & Nyerere, J. (Eds.).Rural-Urban Linkages and Sustainable Development in Africa. (93-121). Denver: Spears Media Press LLC.
Furuholt, B. and Kristiansen, S. (2007). A rural-urban Digital Divide? Regional aspects of Internet use in Tanzania. The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, 31(1), 1-15.
Gugler, J. (1971). Life in a dual system: Eastern Nigerians in town. Cahiers d’EtudesAfricaines, 11, 400-421.
Gugler, J. (1991). Life in a dual system revisited: urban-rural ties in Enugu, Nigeria, 1961-87. World Development, 19(5), 399–419.
Gugler, J., (2002). The son of the hawk does not remain abroad: the urban–rural connection in Africa. African Studies Review, 45(1), 21–41.
Gugler, J. & Flanagan, W. G. (1978). Urbanisation and Social Change in West Africa, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Honey, R. & Okafor, S.I. (Eds.).(1998). Hometown Associations: Indigenous knowledge and development in Nigeria. Intermediate Technology.
Iliya, A. A., & Ononiwu, C. (2021). Mechanisms for mobile phone use in empowerment: A critical realist study of people with disabilities in Nigeria. The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, 87(2), e12158.
International Telecommunication Union [ITU]. (2016). Measuring the information society report 2016. (pp. 1-274) Geneva, Switzerland: ITU. https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/publications/misr2016/MISR2016-w4.pdf
Kammeier, H.D. (2005). Rural-urban linkages in the Mekong region: A conceptual framework and policy implications for a region in transition. UN-Habitat, urban-rural linkages approach to sustainable development. Nairobi, Kenya: UN-Habitat, 9-30.
Menashe-Oren, A. & Stecklov, G. (2018). Rural-Urban Population Age and Sex Composition in Sub-Saharan Africa, Population and Development Review 44(1), 7–35.
Menashe-Oren, A., & Masquelier, B. (2022). The shifting rural–urban gap in mortality over the life course in low-and middle-income countries. Population Studies, 1-25.
National Bureau of Statistics (2019). Poverty and inequality indicators in Nigeria. Abuja, NBS. https://nigerianstat.gov.ng/download/1092
National Bureau of Statistics/World Bank (2020). Nigeria Living Standards Survey (2018/2019). (Report No. 13698), July, Abuja, Nigeria.https://www.proshareng.com/admin/upload/report/13698-Nigeria%20Living%20Standards%20Survey%202018%20-%202019-proshare.pdf
National Bureau of Statistics (2022). Telecoms Data: Active Voice and Internet per State.https://nigerianstat.gov.ng/elibrary/read/1241133
Onaiwu, D. N. (2021). Rural-Urban Integration and Spatial Planning in Edo State, Nigeria. Ghana Journal of Geography, 13(1), 50-62.
Onyebueke, V. U. (2008). Ageing and urban-rural drift in Nigeria: coping or dispensing with city accommodation in retirement. Ageing Research Reviews, 7,275-280.
Onyebueke, V.U. and Ezeadichie, H.N. (2011). Rural–Urban ‘Symbiosis’, community self-help, and the new planning mandate: Evidence from Southeast Nigeria. Habitat International, 35(2), 350-360.
Pederson, P. O. (1997). Small African Towns: Between rural networks and urban hierarchies. Avebury: Ashgate.
Pederson, P. O. (2003). The implication of agricultural national policies for the development of small and intermediate urban centres. London: IIED.
Polimeni, R. I. (2006). Rural and urban interdependencies in Nigeria: survey results from two Igbo villages. International Journal of Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology, 5(1), 35-50.
Porter, G. (2016). Mobilities in Rural Africa: New Connections, New Challenges. Annals of the American Association of Geographers, 106(2), 434–441.
Porter, G., Tewodros, A., & Gorman, M. (2018). Mobility, transport and older people’s well-being in sub-Saharan Africa: Review and prospect. Geographies of transport and ageing, 75-100.
Sahn, D.E. and Stifel, D.C. (2004). Urban-Rural Inequality in Living Standards in Africa (No. 2004/04). Research Paper, UNU-WIDER, United Nations University (UNU).
UN-Habitat. (2005). Urban-rural linkages approach to sustainable development. Nairobi, Kenya: UN-Habitat.
UN-Habitat. (2019). Urban-Rural Linkages: Guiding Principles. Framework for Action to Advance Integrated Territorial Development. Nairobi, Kenya: UN-Habitat.https://urbanrurallinkages.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/url-gp.pdf
von Braun, J. (2007, June). Rural-urban linkages for growth, employment, and poverty reduction. In International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC, USA. Ethiopian Economic Association Fifth International Conference on the Ethiopian Economy June (pp. 7-9).
Ye, C., & Liu, Z. (2020). Rural-urban co-governance: multi-scale practice. ScienceBulletin, 65(10), 778-780.
Published
2023-09-26
How to Cite
Onyebueke , V. U. O., & Akinyoade, A. (2023). Functions and Effects of New Connectivities on Rural-Urban Symbiosis and Integrated Planning in Enugu Metropolis, South-East Nigeria. URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING REVIEW, 8(1), 64-77. Retrieved from http://urpr.unilag.edu.ng/article/view/1869
Section
Articles
