ABSTRACT
This study was conducted to seek the impact of international migration on poverty reduction in Ogbadibo Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria. The study examined the nature of poverty in the area, as well as reveals the nature of international migration in the locality and the immeasurable benefits of migrant remittances on households and the study area towards poverty reduction.
Data for the study was collected by way of the primary and secondary sources of data collection. The secondary data was gathered from relevant literatures and journals and online libraries that a particular to the study aspect. The primary data was acquired by the administration of 100 structured questionnaires to respondents who provided valuable firsthand data which was then analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22, and presented using tables, frequency counts, percentages and charts. The hypotheses were tested using the Spearman Rank Correlation technique.
The study found that poverty is a major disadvantage to households and the general economy of the study area as revealed by a vast majority of the population living within and below the minimum wage limit. This in consideration of the rising cost of commodities plunges families and the overall economy in poverty. There is gross dependence of young people of secondary school age on under-employed working class age grades. The study revealed that 41.2% of respondents live below the poverty line, a further 29.9% falls within the minimum wage bracket and #50,000 which can hardly sustain a household for a month. The study revealed too few jobs in the local government area which highlights only 10.3% of the population as civil servants. The student employment category takes up 19.6% which indicates a dependency rate of as much as 19.6% of adult population on salaried population. The self-employed category covers 24.7% of the population which refers to small businesses and entrepreneurial venture owners which still falls short of the needed economic strength to sustain the economy, further revelations show that only 4% of respondents live on salaries above #100,000. These results therefore indicate an evident poverty in the local government area of Ogbadibo.
The study examined international migration study area and how it is impactful on reducing poverty in the area, it was revealed by respondent information that international migration is in fact a medium by which poverty of households is reduced drastically and eventually alleviated as majority of respondents agreed to the notion that families which receive remittances from international destinations have a better living standard compared to others who do not. Results also indicate that people travel from the local government area in search of greener pasture to combat the poverty indicating that one of the push effects for migration out of the region is the state of poverty in the area where 59.8% of respondents agreed Yes to poverty as the reason for such decisions.
The study concluded that poverty is a problem in the study area and recommends government intervention in rural developments, ensuring business grants for young entrepreneurs and promoting sponsorships to befitting citizens to study or work abroad to increase the remittance quota in the area. Furthermore, diaspora involvement in economic growth is a welcome initiative as it will ensure advantageous remittances utilisation and economic diversity and growth.
