Internal Labour Migration and Social Integration in Nigeria’s Industrial Zones: A Sociological Analysis

Hope Imuetinyan Iguodala-Cole

Abstract

Internal migration has increased due to Nigeria’s urban-industrial economic boom, especially from rural villages to urban industrial states such as Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Kano. These internal migrants, many of whom are young people from underprivileged backgrounds, frequently work in manufacturing industries with precarious working conditions without social protections. This study’s main goal is to examine how internal labour migration influences Nigeria’s industrial employment trends and how migrant workers’ access to jobs and social status are shaped by factors such as gender, ethnicity, social class, and place of origin. A mixed-methods approach was used, including focus groups in Kano (Bompai Industrial Estate), Nnewi (Anambra State), and the Lagos-Ogun Industrial Corridor, purposively selected as key industrial hubs attracting internal labour migrants for comparative analysis of migration and social integration, alongside qualitative interviews with 40 migrant factory workers and supervisors, and quantitative summaries supporting demographic profiling and patterns of employment. Secondary data on labour policies, employment trends, and migrant flows were analysed to support this. The results show that migrant workers undergo social marginalisation based on ethnic and geographical variations and typically face exploitative labour conditions, including irregular hours, low pay, and no formal contracts. However, many employees form unofficial support networks to address these difficulties. The study concludes that an increase in labour inequality in Nigeria’s industrial economy is a result of internal migration. It suggests better labour laws, inclusive social policies, and organised integration initiatives to safeguard and empower internal migrants in the industrial workforce.

Keywords: Employment inequality, Industrial zones, internal migration, Labour process theory, Social integration