SIHMA

Researching Human Migration across Africa

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03 Feb

NEWLY PUBLISHED ARTICLE: Rural-Urban Migration and Translocal Livelihoods in West Africa: Review of Literature (Authors: Edmond Akwasi Agyeman, Joseph Kofi Teye, and Joseph Yaro)

In Western Africa, migration from rural to urban areas has long been influenced by daily life and a long historical tie between people and communities. People have been migrating to cities in pursuit for a better life for decades due to the economic differences between rural and urban locations. Recent studies show that immigration flows are reducing and some migrants are returning to rural areas.  Even though this is the case, urban centres continue to pull many people with the promise and expectations of getting jobs, finding better education and better services (Edmond Akwasi Agyeman, Joseph Kofi Teye & Joseph Yaro, 2025).

 

The rural-urban movement has created a web of connections between rural-urban homes rather than just being about moving from one location to another and it’s traditionally has always been there especially in African homes where the main economic providers would travel mostly seasonally back and forth between their urban home and rural home.  The are many reasons to why people leave the countryside, most of them are driven out by the insecurity, lack of opportunities, decrease in agricultural production and climate change. At the same time, cities entice them with the promise of employment and better healthcare, education and infrastructure. These push and pull factors explains why migration remains a fundamental element of life in the region (Edmond Akwasi Agyeman, Joseph Kofi Teye & Joseph Yaro, 2025).

Migration has established what is referred to as “translocal livelihoods”, which are not one-way journeys (Malte Steinbrink & Hannah Niedenführ, 2020). Families in these systems remain connected when they live in different places and homes. Villages and cities are connected by the flow of people, money, goods, information and care, producing a network that supports both environments. While migrants continue to support their hometowns through social obligations and remittances, rural households profit from urban prospects. Sometimes the flow is in the reverse direction, with rural households giving food, money or care to urban migrants when they need help. The informal sector is mostly active for young migrants, who work in crafts, household devices, transportation, construction and trade. Apprenticeship systems such as the “Nigeria’s Igba boy”, have connected rural youngsters to urban business networks and nurtured generations of entrepreneurs. Women are also very important. As dealers and domestic workers, they connect rural producers with urban markets improving remittance flow. Their involvements show how crucial gender is in forming migration networks (Malte Steinbrink & Hannah Niedenführ, 2020).

 

Technology has made ties between trans-locals stronger. Mobile phones and social media provide faster communication, mobile money services for financial transactions easier, improved transportation networks for people to travel and exchange commodities more efficiently. These methods strengthen the resilience of trans-local livelihoods allowing households to respond rapidly to social and economic requirements. Migration In west Africa is therefore best understood as a dynamic system of translocal livelihoods rather than single rural to urban shift. These connections make it harder to distinguish between rural and urban life, which represents opportunities and difficulties (Akin L. Mabogunje, 1970).

Policies that acknowledge this complexity will strengthen ties between rural and urban areas, encourage mobility as a source of resilience, and guarantee that the contributions of migrants benefit households in both rural and urban areas. By accepting migration as a part of equitable development programs, the government may encourage inclusive growth, stronger family structures, and economic resilience throughout the region.

 

NB: This blog post provides a review of “Rural-Urban Migration and Translocal Livelihoods in West Africa: Review of Literature ” by Edmond Akwasi Agyeman, Joseph Kofi Teye, and Joseph Yaro, originally published in the African Human Mobility Review (AHMR) by SIHMA. 

Click here to read the full journal: https://sihma.org.za/journal/ahmr-volume-11-number-3-september-december-2025-1

 

References

Akin L. Mabogunje. (1970). Systems approach to a theory of rural–urban migration. Retrieved from https://alnap.cdn.ngo/media/documents/mabogunje-1970-geographical-analysis.pdf

Edmond Akwasi Agyeman, Joseph Kofi Teye & Joseph Yaro. (2025, December). Rural-Urban Migration and Translocal Livelihoods in West Africa: Review of Literature . Retrieved from SIHMA: https://sihma.org.za/journal/ahmr-volume-11-number-3-september-december-2025-1

Malte Steinbrink & Hannah Niedenführ. (2020, September). Africa on the Move. Migration, Translocal Livelihoods and Rural Development in Sub-Saharan Africa. Retrieved from Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333455337_Africa_on_the_Move_Migration_Translocal_Livelihoods_and_Rural_Development_in_Sub-Saharan_Africa

 

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