Internal migration in Northern Ghana: understanding the integrative challenges of migrants in Tamale Metropolis

https://doi.org/10.35912/jshe.v1i3.548
Published: May 17, 2021

Abstract:

Purpose: Successful integration of migrants in any society has a very vital impact on the wellbeing of migrants. The study therefore uses descriptive statistics to analyse the integrative challenges of internal migrants in the Tamale metropolis of Northern Ghana.

Research methodology: The study adopted the mixed-method approach and non-probability sampling techniques to select 120 internal migrants for the study.

Results: The results revealed that economic factors (46.7%) accounted for most reasons cited for migrating. Language barriers (24.2%) and higher cost of living (19.2%) were the most encountered challenges and a proportion of 10.8 per cent reported not having encountered any difficulty.

Limitations: The study explored all forms of internal migration in the Metropolis. However, it failed to explore the occurrence of international migration given the growing influx of international migrants in the study area.

Contribution: The outcome of the study will advance knowledge on the challenges faced by migrants within the Metropolis and measures could be taken to resolve some undesired experiences. Additionally, the study will make a valuable contribution to the limited migration literature in the North.

Keywords:
1. Internal migration
2. Migrant integration
3. Challenges
Authors:
Muhammad Mu-utasim Yahaya
Department of Planning, University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana
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How to Cite
Yahaya, M. M.- utasim. (2021). Internal migration in Northern Ghana: understanding the integrative challenges of migrants in Tamale Metropolis. Journal of Social, Humanity, and Education, 1(3), 227–240. https://doi.org/10.35912/jshe.v1i3.548
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Vol. 1 No. 3 (2021): May
Articles
References

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    Abdul-Korah, B. G. (2008)." KaBiε Ba Yor": Labor Migration among the Dagaaba of the Upper West Region of Ghana, 1936–1957. Nordic Journal of African Studies 17(1).

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    Adepoju, A. (2006). Recent trends in international migration in and from Africa. Human Resources Development Centre, Abuja, Nigeria.

    Anarfi, J. and Kwankye, S. (2005). The Costs and Benefits of Children's Independent Migration from Northern to Southern Ghana. Paper presented at the International Conference on Childhoods: Children and Youth in Emerging and Transforming Societies. Oslo, Norway.

    Anarfi, J., Kwankye, S., Ababio, O.M., &Tiemoko, R. (2003). Migration from and to Ghana: A Background Paper, Development Research Centre on Migration. Globalisation and Poverty, University of Sussex

    Anitha, S & Pearson, R (2013).Striking Women: South Asian workers' struggles in the UK labour market from Grunwick to Gate Gourmet, Lincoln: University of Lincoln [Online]. Available: www.striking-women.org.

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    Awumbila, M. (2015). Women moving within borders: Gender and internal migration dynamics in Ghana. Ghana Journal of Geography, 7(2), 132-145.

    Awumbila, M., Manuh, T.,Quartey, P., Tagoe, A. C. and Bosiakoh, A. T. (2008). Country Paper: Ghana. African Perspectives on Human Mobility Programme, Centre for Migration Studies, University of Ghana.

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    Fuseini, I. & Yaro, J. & Yiran, G. (2017). City profile: Tamale, Ghana. Cities. 60. 64-74. 10.1016/j.cities.2016.07.010.

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    Kusi-Appiah, P. (2018). Migration and Integration: Understanding the Experiences of Rural-Urban Migrants in Madina, University of Ghana. Available: http://www.ugspace.ug.edu.gh.

    Kwankye, S. O., Anarfi, J. K, Addoquaye Tagoe, C and Castaldo, A (2007). 'Coping Strategies of Independent Child Migrants from Northern Ghana to Southern Cities'. Development Research Centre on Migration, Globalisation and Poverty Working Paper Series, University of Sussex.

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    McKeown, A. (2004). Global Migration, 1846-1940. Journal of World History, 155-189

    Mberu, B. U., Ezeh, A. C., Chepngeno‐Langat, G., Kimani, J., Oti, S., & Beguy, D. (2013). Family ties and urban–rural linkages among older migrants in Nairobi informal settlements. Population, Space and Place, 19(3), 275-293.

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    Penninx, R., Spencer, D., & Van Hear, N. (2008). Migration and integration in Europe: The state of research. Swindon, UK: Economic and Social Research Council.

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    Van der Geest, K. (2010). Local perceptions of migration from north-west Ghana. Africa, 80(4), 595-619. https://doi.org/10.3366/E0001972010000781.

    Yahaya, A. (2019). North-South Migration and Urban Poverty in Ghana: The Case of Greater Accra. University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana. Available: http://www.ugspace.ug.edu.gh.

    Yajalin, E. J. (2015). Migration: community consequences and individual migrant experiences in Agbogbloshie, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. Available: https//:www.ir.knust.edu.gh.

  1. Abdulai, A. M. (2016). Internal migration determinants: Evidence from northern region of Ghana. Ghana Journal of Development Studies, 13(1), 1-17.
  2. Abdul-Korah, B. G. (2008)." KaBi? Ba Yor": Labor Migration among the Dagaaba of the Upper West Region of Ghana, 1936–1957. Nordic Journal of African Studies 17(1).
  3. Abutima, T. K. (2019). North-South Internal Migration: Gendered Experiences and Coping Strategies of Left-Behind Spouses in Northern Region of Ghana (Doctoral dissertation, University of Ghana). Available: http://www.ugspace.ug.edu.gh.
  4. Ackah, C.&Medvedev, D. (2010). Internal migration in Ghana: Determinants and welfare impacts, The World Bank.
  5. Adepoju, A. (2006). Recent trends in international migration in and from Africa. Human Resources Development Centre, Abuja, Nigeria.
  6. Anarfi, J. and Kwankye, S. (2005). The Costs and Benefits of Children's Independent Migration from Northern to Southern Ghana. Paper presented at the International Conference on Childhoods: Children and Youth in Emerging and Transforming Societies. Oslo, Norway.
  7. Anarfi, J., Kwankye, S., Ababio, O.M., &Tiemoko, R. (2003). Migration from and to Ghana: A Background Paper, Development Research Centre on Migration. Globalisation and Poverty, University of Sussex
  8. Anitha, S & Pearson, R (2013).Striking Women: South Asian workers' struggles in the UK labour market from Grunwick to Gate Gourmet, Lincoln: University of Lincoln [Online]. Available: www.striking-women.org.
  9. Appianing, S. (2013).The effects of rural-urban migration on children left-behind by the migrants: a case study of Ningo-Prampram District in the Greater Accra region. Centre for migration studies: University of Ghana, Accra. Available: http://www.ugspace.ug.edu.gh.
  10. Awumbila, M. (2015). Women moving within borders: Gender and internal migration dynamics in Ghana. Ghana Journal of Geography, 7(2), 132-145.
  11. Awumbila, M., Manuh, T.,Quartey, P., Tagoe, A. C. and Bosiakoh, A. T. (2008). Country Paper: Ghana. African Perspectives on Human Mobility Programme, Centre for Migration Studies, University of Ghana.
  12. Boakye-Yiadom, L., & McKay, A. (2006). Migration between Ghana's Rural and Urban Areas: The Impact on Migrants' Welfare'. Bath, UK: University of Bath.
  13. Creswell, J. W. (2005). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative approaches to research. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Pearson Education.
  14. Deshingkar, P. & Grimm, S. (2005). Internal Migration and Development: A Global Perspective, IOM Migration Research Series No. 19, International Organization for Migration.
  15. Duplantier A., Ksoll C., Lehrer K., and Seitz W. (2017). The internal migration decisions of youth in Ghana. Unu-Wider. Available: https://www.wider.unu.edu
  16. Fuseini, I. & Yaro, J. & Yiran, G. (2017). City profile: Tamale, Ghana. Cities. 60. 64-74. 10.1016/j.cities.2016.07.010.
  17. Garcés-Mascareñas, B.,& Penninx, R. (2016). Introduction: Integration as a three-way process approach?. In Integration processes and policies in Europe (pp. 1-9). Springer, Cham.
  18. Ghana Government (2016). National Migration Policy for Ghana. Ministry of Interior, Accra, Ghana.
  19. Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), (2014a). 2010 Population and Housing Census: Migration in Ghana, Accra Available: www.statsghana.gov.gh.
  20. Ghana Statistical Service,(GSS) (2014b). 2010 Population and Housing Census Summary of final result, District Analytical Report: Tamale Metropolitan Assembly, Ghana Statistical Service, Accra, Ghana. Available: www.statsghana.gov.gh.
  21. Imoru, A. & King, R. (2018). The Major Economic Activities Of Rural Migrants In Tamale, Ghana: Roles In Urban Development. International Journal of Economics, Commerce and Management, 6 (12).
  22. International Organization for Migration (IOM), (2012). IOM And Migrant Integration; IOM's Labour Migration and Human Development Programme, Geneva. Available: http://www.iom.int.
  23. International Organization for Migration (IOM), (2020).World Migration Report: providing perspective on migration and mobility in increasingly uncertain times, Geneva. Available: http://www.iom.int.
  24. Issahaku, A. (2016). Rural-Urban Migration and Its Socio-Cultural Effects on the Origin Community: The Case of Kpatinga in the Gushegu District in the Northern Region of Ghana. University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana. Available: http://www.ugspace.ug.edu.gh.
  25. Jarawura, F. X., & Smith, L. (2015). Finding the right Path: Climate change and migration in Northern Ghana. In Environmental Change, Adaptation and Migration (pp. 245-266). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
  26. Jarawura, F.X. (2013).Drought and migration in northern Ghana (Doctoral dissertation, University of Ghana) Available: http://www.ugspace.ug.edu.gh.
  27. Jenna Holliday, Jenna Hennebry & Sarah Gammage (2019) Achieving the sustainable development goals: surfacing the role for a gender analytic of migration, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 45:14, 25512565, DOI: 10.1080/1369183X.2018.1456720.
  28. King, R. (2013). Theories and Typologies of Migration: An Overview and A Primer. Malmö: Malmö Institute for Migration. Diversity and Welfare (MIM), Malmö University
  29. Klaver, J. (1997). Migrant "s network in Los Angeles. Geografie 6:30-41
  30. Kusi-Appiah, P. (2018). Migration and Integration: Understanding the Experiences of Rural-Urban Migrants in Madina, University of Ghana. Available: http://www.ugspace.ug.edu.gh.
  31. Kwankye, S. O., Anarfi, J. K, Addoquaye Tagoe, C and Castaldo, A (2007). 'Coping Strategies of Independent Child Migrants from Northern Ghana to Southern Cities'. Development Research Centre on Migration, Globalisation and Poverty Working Paper Series, University of Sussex.
  32. Laurentsyeva, Nadzeya; Venturini, Alessandra (2017) : The Social Integration of Immigrants and the Role of Policy – A Literature Review, Intereconomics, ISSN 1613-964X, Springer, Heidelberg, Vol. 52, Iss. 5, pp. 285-292, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10272-017-0691-6
  33. Lee, E.S. (1966). A Theory of Migration. Demography, 3(1) : 47-57.
  34. Massey, D.S., Arango, J., Hugo, G., Kouaouci, A., Pellegrino, A. & Taylor, J.E. (1993). Theories of International Migration: A Review and Appraisal. Population and Development Review 19: 431-66.
  35. McKeown, A. (2004). Global Migration, 1846-1940. Journal of World History, 155-189
  36. Mberu, B. U., Ezeh, A. C., Chepngeno?Langat, G., Kimani, J., Oti, S., & Beguy, D. (2013). Family ties and urban–rural linkages among older migrants in Nairobi informal settlements. Population, Space and Place, 19(3), 275-293.
  37. Oucho, L. A., & Williams, M. D. A. (2019). Challenges and solutions to migrant integration, diversity and social cohesion in Africa. UNU-WIDER Available: https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/OUCHO,%20Linda%20Adhiambo_paper.pdf .
  38. Penninx, R. and Garces-Mascarenas, B. (2014). The concept of Integration as an Analytical and as a Policy in Garces-Mascarenas, B. and Penninx, R. (eds). Integration of Migrants into What? Integration process and policies in Europe. Amsterdam: IMISCOE/ Amsterdam University Press.
  39. Penninx, R., Spencer, D., & Van Hear, N. (2008). Migration and integration in Europe: The state of research. Swindon, UK: Economic and Social Research Council.
  40. Songsore, J. & Denkabe, A.(1995).Challenging rural poverty in Northern Ghana: The case of the Upper West Region. Centre for Environment and Development. Trondheim: The University of Trondheim.
  41. Tamale Metropolitan Assembly (TaMA),(2014). 2014-2017 Metropolitan Medium Term Development Plan, Tamale Metropolitan Assembly, Tamale, Ghana.
  42. Tanle, A., & Awusabo-Asare, K.(2007). The kaya yei phenomenon in Ghana: female migration from the upper-west region to Kumasi and Accra. The Oguaa Journal of Social Sciences (JOSS), Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Cape Coast, 2007, 4(2):139-164.
  43. Twumasi-Ankrah, K. (1995). Rural-urban migration and socio-economic development in Ghana: some discussions. Journal of social development in Africa, 10, 13-22.
  44. Van der Geest, K. (2010). Local perceptions of migration from north-west Ghana. Africa, 80(4), 595-619. https://doi.org/10.3366/E0001972010000781.
  45. Yahaya, A. (2019). North-South Migration and Urban Poverty in Ghana: The Case of Greater Accra. University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana. Available: http://www.ugspace.ug.edu.gh.
  46. Yajalin, E. J. (2015). Migration: community consequences and individual migrant experiences in Agbogbloshie, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. Available: https//:www.ir.knust.edu.gh.