Managing rural urban migration through governance and planning in Southwestern Nigeria

Migration out of the rural areas into urban areas is transforming cities throughout sub-Saharan Africa and increasing pressures on urban planning, infrastructure, and service delivery. Cities such as Lagos, Ibadan, and Akure in Southwestern Nigeria are experiencing the growing inflows of migration, which worsen the problem of housing shortages and economic marginalization. This desk review will look at governance response towards rural–urban migration, particularly the gaps in the policy, and how an urban place is inclusive or exclusive. The paper finds a gap in the research on the topic of migration as a structural political-economic process, which determines urban inequality and conflict. The findings indicate that Nigeria’s National Migration Policy (2015) places greater emphasis on international migration and diaspora engagement, while internal migration remains insufficiently integrated into urban governance and planning frameworks. Across the three cities analysed, migration pressures interact with structural housing shortages and expanding informal settlements, contributing to spatial marginalisation of migrant populations. Migrants also rely heavily on informal labour markets, where limited employment security and competition for economic opportunities reinforce socio-economic vulnerability. Although migration-related tensions emerge around land use, housing evictions, and access to urban resources, these conflicts are generally localised and episodic rather than systemic. The study highlights the need to integrate internal migration into urban planning policies, strengthen land governance and housing provision, and enhance institutional capacity to manage migration in rapidly urbanising cities.