ABSTRACT
The
study examined the rural transportation system in Epe and its environment
in Lagos State, Nigeria. The study made use of relevant and extensive
review of literatures based on researchers’ and scholars’ opinions. The
descriptive research survey was used in order to assess the opinions of the
respondents using the questionnaire.. Based on the data analyses and the
conclusion reached in this study, the following recommendations were made: The
authorities, policy makers and transport authorities should carry out the
followings recommendations. Improvement in rural feeder roads: This would
reduce vehicle operating cost and increase savings from transport service
delivery, Proper surfacing of the feeder roads using bitumen or asphalt in
order to provide year-round access to the rural communities, Empowerment of
Grass root Government- The need to empower the Grassroots
government is of paramount importance owing to the fact that the construction
and rehabilitation of most rural roads fall within the jurisdiction of the
local government.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGES
Title
page i
Certification
ii
Dedication
iii
Acknowledgement
iv
Abstract
v
Table of
contents vi
CHAPTER ONE:
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem 8
1.3 Aims and Objective of the Study 10
1.4 Significance of the Study 10
1.5 Scope of the Study 11
1.6 Research Questions 11
1.7 Research Hypothesis 11
1.8 Study Area 12
CHAPTER TWO: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
AND LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Key
Issues in Rural Transport in Developing Countries 13
2.2 Transport as a Basic Need 14
2.3 Setting Basic Needs Targets in Accessibility
Planning 16
2.4
Accessibility and Rural Development 17
2.4 Transport Costs 18
2.5 The
Role of Mobile Services 19
2.6
Water and Firewood Collection 20
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODLOGY
3.1 The Major Sources
of Data Collection for the Study 22
3.2 Research Design 23
3.3 Population of the Study 24
3.4 Description of
Data Collection Instrument 24
3.5 Sample Techniques 25
3.6 Reliability of
the Instrument (Questionnaire) 25
3.7 Analytical
Procedure 25
3.8 Presentation of
Data Analysis 26
CHAPTER FOUR:
PRESENTATION OF DATA, ANALYSIS AND
DISCUSSION
4.1 Analysis of Respondents Questionnaire 27
4.2 Age-sex Distribution 36
4.3Testing of
Hypothesis 41
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATION
5.1 Summary 45
5.2 Conclusion 45
5.3 Recommendation 47
REFERNCES 52
APPENDIX 57
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Moving goods and
people from one place to another is critical to maintain strong economic and
political ties between regions in the same state. With a land area of 910,768
sq. km, population estimate of 150 million people and GDP-growth rate of 6% per
annum (2006 est), the centrality of effective public transportation in Nigeria
is readily seen. Nigeria‘s transportation infrastructure is in a dismal state
and falls short of the countries it would like to be compared with. It is
insufficient to meet the transformation agenda of the current administration,
as a tool for achieving rapid economic growth and development [Walker, Gilbert
James].
Globally Nigeria
ranks low in the quality of its infrastructure which impacts the ease of doing
business. Low investments in transportation have resulted in the current
infrastructural deficit. Key challenges include inadequate investment and poor
management of transport infrastructure – which have created a huge
infrastructural deficit.
The government has
adopted the use of Private Public initiative in alignment with global trends in
transportation infrastructure development. Development of road infrastructure
via the PPP model remains in the infant stages while that of rail is still in
the conception/design phase. Only one successful example of concessioning
exists in the Nigerian Aviation industry. Concession of seaports has been the
most successful when compared to other modes of transportation in Nigeria. An
enabling framework is critical to the success of the PPP models in
transportation infrastructure financing and development.
South Africa‘s
transport sector is a key contributor to its competitiveness in global market
and is increasingly being seen as a crucial enabler of economic and social
development. South Africa‘s transport infrastructure is considerably more
developed than that of Nigeria, evolving over the years into what we can see as
a transport sector that surpasses others in the Africa‘s sub region. Although
the public sector is still the primary source of funds, South Africa is
increasingly dependent on PPPs to finance the transportation infrastructure
development. The PPP approach to infrastructure procurement and delivery
entails a shift from the traditional government procurement model with emphasis
placed on private sector-based service delivery and utilization of PPPs in
procurement of infrastructure, even when government funding is required.
Despite the picture painted, South Africa is not without its transportation
challenges.
Comparing Nigeria‘s financing
and procurement model to South Africa, there exists key differences and
identifiable gaps in the Nigeria‘s model and thus appropriate recommendations
to improve performance. What goals should Nigeria set for its transportation
infrastructure? The future state of transport system is expected to be
efficient, affordable, adequate, safe, well integrated and environmentally
sound. In line with the realisation of these expectations and visions, specific
goals should be set for transport mode. Potential investment opportunities for
roads, rail, aviation, seaports and waterways must be effectively harnessed if
our vision of achieving meaningful rapid economic growth and development is to
be realised.
With respect to road
travel, it is important to evaluate the extent and quality of the road network.
In terms of the extent of the road network, the federal government has done
much in the last fifteen years to improve the coverage of Nigeria‘s road
system. One outstanding example is the work of the Directorate of Food, Roads,
and Rural Infrastructure (DIFFRI), which in the late 1980‘s embarked on a
campaign to construct approximately 60,000 kilometers of new rural roads. As
can be seen from a tour of rural areas, many roads that have been constructed
are in a terrible state of disrepair [Walker, Gilbert James]. As with so many
things in post-oil-boom Nigeria, many rural (and urban) roads have not received
adequate maintenance. Poorly-maintained roads are particularly problematic in
the rainy season (approximately March to October). In fact, some rural areas
are only accessible by car in the dry season [Gumel , H.A.]. July field trips on Epe proved these points
well enough. Many rural roads in the Plateau region cannot be safely travelled
at speeds exceeding 25 to 30 miles per hour [Drummond-Thompson, Phillip,]. The
slow rate of travel is necessary given the large and frequent potholes that
mark the many rural roads. Certain stretches of rural roads are so bad that
motorized vehicles have bypassed the original roadway to form new dirt tracks.
Other portions of rural roads have been reduced to one lane. The road network
of the Epe is indicative of the poor state of maintenance of many rural roads.
Even though a good network of colonial-era roads existed (partly due to the
intensity of mining activity on the plateau), many of these roads have not been
maintained in the post-independence period. Proper maintenance is critical
because rainstorms can be tremendously intense. Thus, small areas of road decay
can very rapidly expand under the forces of erosion and weathering in the rainy
season. Much of the problems associated with the erosion of roadways are
compounded by the lack of adequate drainage infrastructure (which also makes
driving hazardous during heavy rains). While Nigerians are not forced to
address maintenance problems derived from recurrent freezing and thawing (like
temperate areas of the United States), they do have to deal with intense
seasonal rain.
Although urban roads
are in better condition than most rural roads, maintenance of roads is also a
problem in the cities. Since the collapse of oil prices in the early 1980‘s and
implementation of a Structural Adjustment Program in 1986, state budgets have
been extremely tight. Fiscal austerity has also been exacerbated by corrupt
military regimes that have funneled state revenues into non-productive projects
(often contracted to firms owned by military leaders) or foreign bank accounts.
Although almost all urban roads are paved (Nigerians often say "tarred"),
many have large pot holes or large sections where pavement has been eroded. An
interesting scene in the city of Ibadan is the activity of informal road repair
crews. Young men can often be seen filling city pot holes with dirt and rocks.
In return for their unsolicited service, road users often tip these unofficial
public workers. The work of these brave maintenance crews notwithstanding,
Nigerian urban roads can still be very rough. The important point to note is
that aside from travel, poor urban roads
can cause bottlenecks in traffic and contribute to traffic congestion [Walker,
Gilbert James].
dominant fishes of Epe and Badagry waters, Lagos State, Nigeria as well
as the
socioeconomic conditions of artisanal fisher folks in Lagos State were
studied and analyzed. . Fishing activities within the community were found to
be profitable. However, the relatively large family size maintained by most of
the fishermen portend adverse effect ontheir economic growth and standard of
living.
Provision of adequate
credit facilities, social and fishing amenities including preservation and
transport facilities in addition to enlightened fisher folks would enhance the
socio economic status of the artisanal fishermen in the study area.
In the past three decades, the supply of fish in the Nigerian markets
is steadily on the decline. This is largely due to the low catch levels of the
traditional fishing techniques and other related factors.
Fish is a valuable source of complete protein with the most balanced
amino acid profile (Olawusi-Peters, 2008,). The flesh of fish is similar to
that of meat in structure, but contains a greater percentage of water. He
further notes that fish is more easily digested than meat. Adeyemo (2003) also
reported that fish and fish based products provide cheap but high quality
protein compared to bush meat, poultry, pork or
beef. Apart from protein, fish also contains a wide variety of vitamins
which include vitamins A, B (thiamine, riboflavin, nicotinic acid) C, D and E.
Fish compliments meat as the cost of the latter is beyond what most Nigerian
can afford (Adedokun, et al, 2006,Oladimeji et.al,2013). In Nigeria, the
artisanal fishery covers operation of small motorized or non-motorized canoes
by fishermen in the coastal areas. This provides jobs for over 400,000
fishermen in the coastal areas and members of their
families (Akegbejo-Samsons, 1997). Quite a sizeable proportion of the
Nigerian population depends on fishing as a source of income. Apart from being
an income earner to many Nigerians especially people in coastal, riverine and
lake areas of the country, people earn their living from fish processing and
marketing while others engaged in fisheries research (Soyinka and
Kusemiju,2007; Bolarinwa, 2012).
The fisheries sub-sector
of the Nigerian economy is made up of artisanal, industrial and cultured
fisheries. The artisanal covers the operations of small-scale canoes, fisheries
operating in the coastal areas, creeks, lagoons, inshore water and the inland
rivers. The artisanal fishery is characterized by low capital outlay, low
operational costs, low technology application and it is labor intensive
(Adedokun et al., 2006, Bolarinwa, 2014).
However, Williams(2006)
identified the fishery sub-sector as one of the untapped potential in Africa.
The bulk of fishery activities in Africa and particularly Nigeria are carried
out by small-scale fish farmers, perhaps this made the sub-sector accounts for
an average of 4.87% of the Gross Domestic Product between the year 2000 and
2004 (CBN, 2004). This development contradicts the fact that Nigeria is blessed
with abundant varieties of aquatic resources of several inland and fresh
waters, lakes, rivers, swamps, flood plains and so on. It is equally against
the backdrop that fisheries significantly contributes to the economy in terms
of employment generation of 10 million people in Africa and food
for over 20 million people in the world (Williams, 2006).
A major agricultural sub-sector where achieving food security has
become elusive in Nigeria is the fish production subsector. Demand for fish in
Nigeria stands at about 1.5 million metric tonnes per annum while domestic
production is just 511,700 metric tonnes. The nation spends about N150 billion
(US$1billion) annually to bridge the gap between supply and demand (CBN,2011).
Consequently, several policy measures have been put in place to stimulate
local fish farming. Till date, the results from the colossal investment and
policy have not yielded the desired results .Recent threats all over the world,
point to a decline in landing for capture fisheries, an indicator that fish
stocks have approached or even exceeded the point of maximum sustainable yield.
From statistical data on fish production in Nigeria, production has declined
from 1984 till date to less than 400,000 metric tonnes when compared with
508,000 metric tonnes in 1982. (FDF, 2008). Again there is a very high demand
for fish in Nigeria with increase in population and income but there is a
significant short fall between demand and supply to about 0.44million metric
tonnes.
Food even more than
clothing or shelter is the indispensable necessity of mankind. Despite various
efforts to increase fish production, not much has been done to increase the
productivity, profitability, activities, and problemsof artisanal fishermen in
Lagoon water. Increase in fish production will contribute to the well-being of
the economy as a whole as this will improve the nutrition of the nation.
Transportation in Epe
Local government is by water through ferry services. Empirical evidences show
that ferry service is grossly inadequate, unreliable and irregular in
metropolitan Lagos, despite the abundant water ways (Egobi, 1999; Oni,
2004).The farmers transport their agricultural produce to nearby towns through
ferry, Taxi/cab,
Keke napep.
According to the Lagos State Regional Plan, (2005), travel by non-bus
public transport (rail and water transport) has declined to less than 1.0% in
Lagos despite their considerable potential. Water transport has a potential to
become an attractive modes of transport for certain links.
Another mode of transportation
by farmers is through various Trunk B roads maintained by state government
which criss-crosses through Epe town to nearby villages
Odomola,Iraye,Poka,Noforija,Erodo,Odoragunshin,Igboye,Ilara,Mojoda
There is alsoTrunk A roads which
link Epe town to Lagos; the regional governments were charged with the
responsibility of maintaining Trunk B roads that link the divisional headquarters
with the regional capitals .The situation in Epe Local Government Area is
similar, the local town being Epe. The other settlements are about 311,
including Agbowalkosi, Itoiki, Ejirin, Onisawasawa, Ubuja, Ipakodo and numerous
others.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Rural transportation
in Lagos State is still at the lowest ebb .Lack of maintenance of the roads by
Authorities has turned most rural roads to death traps ,largely inaccessible
for farmers and small/medium businesses to transport their goods to urban
areas. This causes economic inactivity and loss in rural areas. This problem
triggers massive Rural-Urban migration and population explosion in major cities
like Lagos.This problem is contributory to unemployment problems in the city
because would be farmers seek for white collar employment which they are not
qualified. Lack of good access road in rural areas bring about poverty and lack
of fulfilment amongst the rural populace.
The term rural transport services, has particular attributes that has
made it a subject of special interest in
research, policy and development planning. For the purpose of this research
project, we refer to rural transport services as that continuum of transport
activities and operations that connect rural households and farms to primary
market centres with secondary rural markets and services centres, such as are
found at the divisional administrative centres. Distinguishing features of
rural transport systems as compared to urban transport systems is not only
their infrequency, unreliability and high/km costs, but also their invisibility
to policy makers
The issue of improving rural
transport services is intertwined with other development challenges facing
rural areas. These include:
Low densities and volumes of economic activities which leads to a weak
resource base for financing improvements, Lack of innovation to bring forth
new, affordable and appropriate transport technologies that are suited to rural
operating conditions,
Absence of decentralized planning frameworks and therefore, weak
institutional structures and partnerships for managing development -including
transport services-in rural areas. About 60% of the road network is in rural
areas, most of it is unpaved and is severely degraded owing to lack of
maintenance. The length of roads in poor condition increased from 28% to 42%
between 1994 and 1997.
Lack of transport services for the movement of goods and people is
frequently identified as an important constraint to agricultural and rural
development. Ex-post evaluations on rural road projects in Sub-Saharan Africa
indicate a strong positive correlation between feeder roads and agricultural
productivity.
An inadequate public
infrastructure could result in massive losses to producers.
1.3 Aims and
Objective of the Study
1. To evaluate rural
transportation in,Epe and its environment.
2. To identify
challenges in rural transportation.
3. To collate Government
efforts in provision of affordable rural transportation to rural dwellers.
4. To synchronize and
integrate rural transportation in national transportation grid.
5. To examine the impact
of rural transportation to the economy.
6. .To explore ways to
improve road infrastructure in rural areas
1.4 Significance of the Study
1. Rural Transport is a
crucial factor in improving agricultural productivity, enhances quality of life
of people, creates market for agricultural produce.
2. The study would
facilitates interaction among geographical and economic regions and opens up new
areas to economic forces.
3. Improved rural
transportation will encourage farmers to work harder in the rural areas for
increased production, add value to their products, reduce spoilage and wastage.
4. The study would
empower the farmers as well as having positive impact on their productivity,
income, employment and reduce poverty level in the rural areas; since, it will
be easier to move inputs and workers to farm as well as products to markets and
agro-allied industry.
5. The significance of
the study to the development of a country lies in the fundamental fact that
mobility and accessibility are essential for economic growth. For instance
,rural transport allows accessibility to agricultural lands, health, education,
employment, commence, mineral resource base, forest industries and various
activities in a community.
1.5 Scope of
the Study
The study is limited
to Odo-Egiri in Epe Local Government Area,Lagos State
comprisingOdo-Egiri,Odomola,Iraye,Poka,Noforija,Erodo,Odo-ragunshin,Igboye,Ilara,Mojoda.
1.6 Research
Questions
1. What are modes of
transportation in Odo-Egiri,Epe?
2. What are challenges
faced by farmers in rural transportation?
3. What has government
done to improve rural transportation in the area?
4. .Are the efforts of
Government in transport infrastructural development adequate?
5. What are ways to
synchronize and integrate rural transportation into national transportation
grid?
6. What are the impact
of rural transportation to the economy?
7. What are ways to
improve road infrastructure in rural areas?
1.7 Research
Hypothesis
1.H0: Improved Rural transportation do not have positive impact on the economy
H1:Improved Rural transportation plays
positive impact on the economy
2.H0:There is no
correlation between rural transportation and the economy
H1:There is correlation between rural
transportation and the economy
1.8 Study Area
Epe is a town and
Local Government Area(LGA) in Lagos state,Nigeria located on the northside of
the Lekki lagoon.At the 2006 Census the population of Epe was 181,409.execute
rural.
Epe, town and port, Lagos State,
southwestern Nigeria; it lies on the north bank of the coastal Lagos Lagoon and
has road connections to Ijebu-Ode and Ikorodu. A traditional settlement of the
Ijebu people (a subgroup of the Yoruba), it was established by the mid-18th
century as the chief port (slaves, cloth, agricultural produce) for Ijebu-Ode
(17 mi [27 km] north-northwest), the capital of the Ijebu kingdom. It later
served as the refuge for the forces of Kosoko, the Yoruba king ousted from
Lagos (42 miles [68 km] west-southwest) by the British in 1851. In 1892 Epe was
the embarkation point for the military expedition sent by Sir Gilbert Carter,
the governor of Lagos, to defeat the awujale (the Ijebu political and
spiritual ruler) at Ijebu-Ode.
Modern Epe is a collecting point for the export of fish, cassava
(manioc), corn (maize), green vegetables, coconuts, cocoa, palm produce,
rubber, and firewood to Lagos. Special leaves useful in preserving kola nuts
are trucked to Ijebu-Ode, Shagamtowns. Epe is best known for its construction
of the motorized, shallow-draft barges that navigate the coastal lagoons.
Fishing is the major occupation. The town is served by secondary schools,
several hospitals, and a health office. Pop. (2006) local government area,
181,409.
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