City refugees

Q: It is a mark of underdevelopment to see a massive number of people drifting from the rural areas to the urban areas

One of the tragedies of the modern world is the development of cities that attract people from the rural areas with the many trappings of the good life. These cities are normal towns and villages chosen by the powers that be at different times to be given special attention with development efforts being concentrated in and around them. It is in these places that one finds the tallest buildings, the best schools, hospitals, factories, recreation parks, night clubs, biggest markets and so on. Electric power supply, pipe-borne water, communication networks, good roads, bridges, flyovers and so on are also part of the wonder of the city that draws people from the hinterlands to them.

Over time, these ingredients of the good life have come to be associated with urban centres exclusively, making it imperative that anyone who wishes to experience the good life should pack his baggage and join the city crowd.  This situation has given rise to cities that are fast losing the necessary factors that enables a place to support life. There is overcrowding in residential houses, in the commercial vehicles, on the streets and roads and virtually everywhere.

There is poor management of the huge piles of refuse generated by the massive crowd that makes up every nook and cranny of these urban centres. The nuisance effect of liquid, gaseous and solid waste makes life unbearable in some parts of the cities where human beings are forced to live in. Traffic gridlocks are regular features of city centres mainly because of the sheer number of cars on the roads, poor state of roads and poor management of traffic.

Noise pollution is also a major issue in these places. The crowd is intimidating and everyone wants to be heard, so they have to shout and blast with thunderous speakers and megaphones.

Another major concern is the erosion of values that takes a frightening dimension in urban centres. The city gives people a very good cover for various levels of evil because no one knows anybody beyond the fact that they met as neighbours at home or at work. This is unlike the village setting where everyone knows everyone in and out and serves to checkmate everyone. It is easy to identify someone in the village and so people are careful not to step out of line. Again, the village has leaders who are directly in charge of all affairs and who are empowered to take actions to address any misbehaviour promptly. Norms and values thrive in the villages because there is a system put in place to ensure they remain relevant. For as long as one is in the village, he has to abide by these norms but the moment he mingles with the city crowd, he can afford to turn wild and hide under the anonymity provided by the crowd to do things he would not dream of doing in the village.

It is a mark of underdevelopment to see a massive number of people drifting from the rural areas to the urban areas. What it means is that the government is not doing anything to make the rural areas more habitable and enjoyable. The goal of every visionary government should be to make the villages so attractive that people will be happy and willing to reside and do business there. Please before you start beating your chest about your achievements in office, tell us the urban-rural migration index under your watch. It is the single most important index of measuring a successful administration.

What we have today is that people pray against anybody or anything that will send them back to the village. It is seen as a mark of retrogression to settle in the village after staying in the city for some years. Young people hurriedly move to the city at the slightest opportunity. Sometimes, there is no definite thing they want to do there or even a place to stay, but they just want to relocate. More often than not, they become nuisances to the urban centres.

This should be a challenge to our leaders in this country. We need to see more urban-rural migration as a solution to the issue of crime, epidemics and chaos. Just building one big factory that is functional in every local government area can do the magic of reducing the population of the city by a significant number.

Provision of regular power supply everywhere and not just the cities will also help a great deal. Water supply should be a priority of every government. There are still many rural communities where the only source of drinking water is a stream or even a pond.

Another important factor is the construction of roads. Sometime ago, we travelled to somewhere in Itumbuzo area and could not believe that the people belonged to any state in Nigeria. Their road is a national shame. There are many places like that in Okigwe, Ehime Mbano, Mbieri, Uzoagba and so on. Just give them roads and you would have done a great deal towards encouraging people to stay in their natural habitat. I am saying here that the drift from the rural areas to the urban centres is actually a refugee movement but one that can be stopped by paying more attention to the rural areas and rescuing them from those conditions that force them to join the city crowd and worsen an already bad situation. This is the kind of change that will make sense to the ordinary Nigerian.

 

NNENNA IHEBOM