THE ROLE OF MIGRANT COMMUNITIES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF KANKIA TOWN, 1950-2016

Nigeria is a multi ethnic and multi religious country and thus there have been occurrence of ethnic-religious and political conflicts. Study of intergroup relation, such as that of Kankia which portray peaceful co-existence amidst peoples with variations in cultural and religious backgrounds, is of high relevance in the country nowadays. This research therefore, attempted to study the Role of Igbo and Yoruba migrants in the development of Kankia town, 1950-2016. Based on the framework of push and pull factors, the work examined the cases responsible for the settlement of migrants in Kankia, among which economic factor was the most important. The study further examines the social and economic activities of Igbo and Yoruba, their dominant role in certain commercial enterprises and their contributions to the development of Kankia town. Also, the study discovered that, relations between the migrants and their hosts have, for long, been cordial. For the Yoruba migrants, for instance, because of Islam as a factor, there have been instances of inter-marriages with their Hausa host communities. The study then recommends that, peoples of the country generally and policy makers in particular need to learn from Kankia so as to promote peaceful co-existence among Nigerian communities for the betterment of all. This study was carried out, using primary and secondary sources.