RESIDENTIAL SEGREGATION AND ITS EFFECTS ON THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES OF RESIDENTS IN KADUNA METROPOLIS, NIGERIA

RESIDENTIAL SEGREGATION AND ITS EFFECTS ON THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES OF RESIDENTS IN KADUNA METROPOLIS, NIGERIA

Abstract:

The main objective of this study is to examine residential segregation and its effects on the socio-economic activities of residents in Kaduna metropolis. At the inception of Kaduna as the foremost urban centre in Northern Nigeria, people from different cultural backgrounds were attracted to the area and co-habited peacefully, turning the metropolis into a melting pot of different groups of people. Hence, Kaduna developed into a cosmopolitan centre displaying residential features different from those of most urban centres in the northern region at that time. With the advent of and increase in ethno-religious crisis, residents began to undertake inter-neighbourhood movements that led to the partitioning of the metropolis into the southern and northern parts made up of Christians and Muslims respectively. Thus, inter-neighbourhood movements subjected respondents to several experiences in their attempts to adjust and integrate in the host residences which embodied social and economic endeavours of respondents‘ daily lives. Four Local Government Areas (LGAs) make up Kaduna metropolis. Out of these four LGAs, twelve neighbourhoods and two Non-Governmental Organisations were selected for the study. The Discrete Choice Model by McFadden (1978) and the Theory of Absorption of Immigrants propounded by Eisenstadt (1954) were adopted for the study. To carry out the research, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from the respondents. The quantitative data was analysed using Statistical Package of the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20, while the qualitative data were analysed by selecting relevant information from the field notes taken during the interviews and Focused Group Discussions. The data was interpreted with respect to the various sampled neighbourhoods that constitute the southern and northern parts of Kaduna metropolis. The study shows that the movement within Kaduna metropolis is significantly determined by the considerations for safety, as residents search for acceptable residential areas. This movement had many economic effects including loss/gain of housing occupancy status as many residents who were earlier owner-occupiers now became tenants and vice versa. There was also a significant loss of means of livelihood among the respondents as many could not secure or continue to secure the vocations they had earlier been used to. Other effects observed were social in nature which includes disruptions in the family set-up and other interpersonal relationships. The study reveals that the current form of segregated living has exposed respondents to challenges in the social and economic aspects of their daily lives, thus the respondents suggested strategies as measures to restore integrated neighbourhoods. To promote mixed living, it is recommended that the government should set up a multi-cultural agency to act as a ―watchdog‖ of the society to raise the necessary alarm when the peaceful co-existence in the metropolis is being threatened. The government should also initiate economic recovery and rehabilitation programmes to assist residents reinstate their lost livelihoods as well as introduce new economic opportunities.

RESIDENTIAL SEGREGATION AND ITS EFFECTS ON THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES OF RESIDENTS IN KADUNA METROPOLIS, NIGERIA