MIGRANT BEHAVIOUR AND SOCIAL INSTABILITY AMONG SELECTED MIGRANTS AND INDIGENOUS ETHNIC GROUPS IN ABUJA (FCT) NIGERIA

Abstract

Focuses and studies on migration have always concentrated on international migration and 
little on internal migration and especially why contemporary internal migrants are 
exhibiting new behaviours which are negative within host indigenous area. In this study, 
therefore an attempt is made to examine how migrant behaviour encourages social 
instability with conflictual relations among migrants and indigenous ethnic groups in 
Nigeria. The study adopted the Marxist Political Economy as the theoretical framework of 
the study. The study also adopted a cross-sectional research design survey and simple 
random sampling techniques were the adopted sampling techniques used in the study. 200 
respondents were sampled in the study. The study found that; the new migrant behaviour 
is associated with social instability in Nigeria. Also the changing population dynamics is 
a manifestation of conflict and migrant social integration among indigenous ethnic groups 
in Nigeria. Some of the challenges faced by internal migrants within the host indigenous 
environment are; segregation, distrust, cultural indifference, language barrier and 
marginalization. The study recommends the need to address the new migrant behaviour to 
mitigate the manifestation of conflict and stereotype on migrants, identifying the root causes 
and factors responsible for population growth vis a vis the role of population dynamics as 
a contributing factor to migrant behaviours.