International labour migration in Nigeria 1976-1986: employment, nationality and ethnicity.

Abstract

International migration trends associated with the oil boom and bust that occurred in Nigeria between 1976 and 1986 are analyzed. "Large numbers came from Ghana..., [and] Niger, Chad and Togo, whose countries were suffering from a mixture of drought, political instability and stagnant economies. The resultant labour market became segmented according to job skills, nationality and ethnicity...." The decline in the oil industry led to the expulsion of some two million aliens between 1983 and 1986, causing considerable friction between Nigeria and its neighbors. The author concludes that "the rise and fall of migrant labour in Nigeria and the political situation within the country were embedded in the changing regional political economy of West Africa and its linkages to the larger world capitalist economy." (SUMMARY IN GER)