Niger Delta Human Development Report - UNDP Nigeria - United ...

94 per cent of these have populations of
less than 5,000. Only 98 settlements, or one
per cent, can be regarded as urban centres
based on population size. The prevalence
of small settlements is explained by a
number of factors. First, the environment
provides limited space for human
settlement, given the fragmentation of land
into islands and the occurrence of dry land
in isolated pockets. Most settlements are
small and dispersed. Second, fishing
communities all over the world
characteristically dwell in small fishing
villages close to their fishing grounds. Third,
as indicated above, the Niger Delta is home
to many small minority groups, each of
which is composed of numerous clans.
Each clan cherishes its own private space.
Table 1.1: Size Distribution of Settlements in the Niger Delta
NDDC states Less than 1,000 1,000-5,000 5,000-20,000 20,000 people
people people people and above
Abia 393 494 52 11
Akwa Ibom 1,236 1,098 46 7
Bayelsa 290 317 85 4
Cross River 117 500 56 8
Delta 1,016 307 104 22
Edo 903 264 70 11
Imo 788 925 81 2
Ondo 1,463 278 57 16
Rivers 428 598 213 17
Niger Delta 7,686 4,781 764 98
Source: Centre for Population and Environment Development (CPED), 2003, p.236.
Given this preponderance of small
settlements, the task of promoting
sustainable human development in the
Niger Delta is that much harder. Size plays
an important role in the promotion of
development, whether human or economic.
In many parts of the world, the human
development agenda has revolved mainly
around large settlements. Developmental
artefacts usually involve large capital outlays
and great elements of risk, and are
therefore more likely to be located in areas
where the risks are low and profit or
potential use can be maximized. Many
products can only be produced
economically at a certain scale; many
innovations are adoptable by production
units of a certain size; and many
NIGER DELTA HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT
organizations require a certain minimum
support threshold to exist. All of these
factors point to large settlements, which are
universally accepted as engines of human
and economic development (see Abumere
2000 2004; Mabogunje 1965).
Unfortunately, this phenomenon has often
fostered inequality in development between
urban and rural areas. This is especially true
in Nigeria, where many of the cities are
parasites that absorb resources without
spreading development to surrounding rural
areas. In particular, large settlements with
populations of 20,000 or more are few in
the Niger Delta (see table 1.1). Only Delta,
Rivers, Ondo, Abia and Edo States have
reasonable numbers of such settlements.
The distribution of settlements by size is
of considerable interest, therefore, in the
articulation of a viable human
development agenda for the Niger Delta
region. This agenda should take
development to the people of the region,
without any recourse to forced relocation
and agglomeration of settlements. Naturally,
over time, some settlements are bound to
emerge as 'growth centres' that-due to an
advantageous location or the existence of
some employment-generating economic
activities and/or the provision of social
facilities-are able to draw population from
the surrounding areas. Given the historical
background of the region, any agenda that
includes forced relocation and
agglomeration of settlements will only
Small settlements,
topography and a
swampy landscape
make the task of
promoting sustainable
human development in
the Niger Delta harder.
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