INFLUENCE OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF MIGRANTS ON REMITTANCES IN AFIJIO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, OYO STATE

Abstract

The role of remittances in community development is well documented in the literature. However, previous studies have largely neglected the fundamental influence of socio-economic characteristics of migrants on remittances. This study therefore analyzed the implications of socio-economic characteristics of migrants (age, sex, marital status, education and current place of residence) on remittances in Afijio Local Government Area, Oyo State, Nigeria. The method adopted for collection of data is questionnaire administration. Two hundred and fifty questionnaire forms were administered on the selected tenant heads of households in five selected settlements of Afijio LGA, Oyo State. The normality of data was tested using cross-tabulation to determine the influence of the socio-economic characteristics of migrants on remittances. Analysis of Variance was used to determine the variations in remittances amongst the migrants across the six geo-political zones. The analyses were done at p<0.05. Migrants’ mean age was 16.6±53.1 years while 80.4% were males and 12.0% had tertiary education. Over 40% of remittances were made by migrants within 26-35 years with males dominating. About forty nine per cent of the single migrants made higher remittances compared to about forty two per cent of the married migrants. Age (F=3.813), sex (F=5.824), marital status (F=11.130) and current place of residence (F=3.056) were significant, while education was not significant. The relationship between the socio-economic characteristics of the migrants and remittances revealed that migrants aged 26-35 years made 41.3% (F=3.813) remittances than migrants aged <18 years (7.7%). Male migrants made 79.0% (F=5.824) while female migrants made 21.0% remittances. Single migrants made 49.0% (F=11.130), while married migrants made 42% remittances.  Remittances increased from N786, 000 in 2004 to N6, 336, 000 in 2007. The amount of remittances made was dependent on whether migrants’ place of residence was urban or rural, as remittances from outside Oyo State were higher than those from within Oyo State. The highest remittances were made by 1,060 (70.2%) migrants in the South-West; 260 (17.2%) migrants in the North-Central; 83 (5.5%) migrants in the South-East; 57 (3.8%) migrants in the South-South and 50 (3.3%) migrants in the North-West. There was no remittance from the North-East, for there was no record of migrants from the zone. Socio-economic characteristics of migrants are important for remittances and these have been shown to promote rural development in terms of the benefits accrued to the left-behind relatives.