URBAN EXODUS

MIGRATION IN GOBIR (NIGER) * URBAN-RURAL AND RURAL-RURAL

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GERD SP-R

Dcpartmmi of SacwLqy, Umvern’ty of Frciburg

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Today we are accustomed to reports on rural-urban migration in Africa. The sons of peasants no longer see a future in agriculture. They leave the land and seek their fortunes in the towns. This phenomenon can also be observed in Niger. J. Rouch (19j6) has conducted a study on Niger migrants in Ghana. B. Hama (n.d.) published a study entitled “L‘exode rural, un probltme de fond” (Rural Exodus, a basic problem).

However, in Niger this is a recent development. During the colo- nial period it was not the towns, but the countryside which was the scene of dramatic events. The old towns and villages were aban- doned, new land was made arable and new villages were founded. This colonization movement created the basis for the agricultural development of Niger.

Table I shows that during the colonial period the largest towns in Niger were unable to keep up with the development of the total population. If one takes the year 1912 as a basis (index: IOO), the population had doubled by 1936 (index: 197) and ahnost tripled by 1gj6 (index: 286). Most towns did not participate in this increase. The capital, Niamey, as well as Maradi, an economic centre, were excep- tiOnS.

Research waa carried out between 1967 and 1971 within the framework of a project financed by Friedrich-Ebert-Stng (I year) and Deutsche Forschungsgcm&daft (6 months). Most results will be published in my ,,HabilitationduW”’ ,Herrschaft iibcr Bauan. Einc Untmuchung zur politiscben Hurschaftssrmktur und zur Ausbreitung ciner islamisch-urbancn Kultur in Gobir (Niger)”. This article was translated by ROSIN- rin Heidcnreich.

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Urban Exodus I Urban-Rural and Rtlral-Rural 225

Statistics for only four towns are available for 1966. They indicate that since the end of the colonial period the towns have been growing more rapidly than the total population. Only now is a quantitatively significant rural-urban migration taking place. The question we shall now examine is why there was an urban-rural migration for a long period of time, and why this process has been reversed since the fifties. This study was undertaken in the province of Gobir in the dtpartement of Maradi. We shall begin with the settlement structure of Gobir at the beginning of the colonial period. The first map was made by a scientific expedi- tion headed by Tilho which explored the area in 1907-08. Information of relevance to the settlement structure is presented in Map I.

The area to the north and. northwest of the capital of Tibiri is densely populated. The south, east and west is unpopulated bush except for a few villages immediately south of Tibiri and along the routes to Tessaoua (in the east) and Madaoua (in the west). All the villages in the valley of Gulbin Maradi in the direction of Sabon Birni are marked as being deserted on the map.

The villages in the valley of Gulbin Maradi have been deserted since the military expedition of Voulet-Chanoine. Cazemajou, who travelled from Sabon Birni to Tibiri in March of 1898, found them inhabited (Cazemajou, I 900). Colonel Klobb, who followed Voulet- Chanoine in July of 1899, found the villages burnt down by the ex- pedition and deserted by the inhabitants (Klobb, 1931, p. 183 cont.). Older residents of Gobir confirm that the map indicates approximately the settlement structure immediately before the Colonial conquest (I 899). The beginning of the colonization movement in the south is visible on the map. In pre-colonial times, there was only one village here, whereas on the map several are marked.

The settlement structure at the end of the nineteenth century must be explained by the political situation of the time. The Gobirawa were constantly looting the Fulani empire of Sokoto. On the other hand the Fulani raided Gobir, capturing cattle and people alike. The capital of Tibiri, protected by a moat and a high wall, represents a kind of fortress for the villages in the north. Most of these villages are also protected by thorny hedges. The thorny forests in the river valley form natural protection against mounted raiders. For this reason a number of villages are located there, in spite of the great distance from Tibiri and enemy proximity. South of the valley there is only one village which, however, was raided and destroyed at least once by Fulani.

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I1

In fifty years the settlement structure of Gobir has changed entirely, as Map 2 shows.

Although the centre north of Tibiri is s t i l l the most densely pop- ulated area, the formerly uninhabited bush in the south, west and east has since become populated as well. The time of the founding of the villages in three of five cantons gives some indications as to the colonization.

TABLE 2 : F o d n t ofv i l lap in 3 cantow of tbsprminre of Gobir (up to 1953)

More 1899 1911 1938 1949 date of total 1899 -1910 -1937 -1948 -1953 founding no. of

unknown villages

canton of Tibiri 9 8 2 2 3 0 8 50

Roumji 1 1 5 '4 6 I 3 40 canton of Chadakori I 8 9 I 2 ' 3 8 9 69

canton of Gidan

Total no. 2 8 3 2 48 22 3 20 159

Source: O u r own investigations in the canton of Tibirii Rapports de TournCes for the other cantons

1 3 1 of ~ j g villages (82%) were founded only during the colonial period. Most of the 2 8 villages founded before the arrival of the French are located in the middle of the canton of Chadakari (north of Tibiri), which the Tilho map also describes as being a densely settled area. Nine of the remaining ten villages are protected by the river valley, only one being situated to the south of it.

During the colonial period part of the population of Tibiri was steadily moving into the villages in the bush. This becomes obvious from the population statistics:

TABLE 3 : Population Development in Gobir and in fbe Capital of Tibiri

1912 1936 1954 n index n index n index

Gobir 1 y . 0 0 0 1 0 0 37.800 2 5 0 57.200 382 Tibiri 4.- 100 5 . 5 8 0 89 4.150 I 1 2

Source: Rapports de Tourn&; Rivet, 1912, p. 3 5

Urban Exodrxr / Urban-Rural and RwaI-Rural 229

The developments in Gobir were similar to what was taking place in the rest of Niger (d. Table I). We have no statistics for Tibiri for the period before 1912, but we can assume that as in other towns in Niger the population was larger, since the founding of most of the villages emerging from Tibiri took place before this time. After 1912 Tibiri stagnated in spite of the natural population growth, i.e. part of the population was moving away.

The greatest problem in the founding of a village was neither the lack of land - of which there was plenty everywhere - nor the clearing of the bush - this was quite easily accomplished by burning - nor the building of huts which could be put up within a few days, - but the lack of water. The main task therefore was to dig a well, and the family who performed this task could claim the position of village chief.

After World War 11 the wells were surveyed for the first time by the colonial administration:

TABLE 4 : WeIh in Gobk

Canton No. of No. of Dcph *go loa l wells (ii meters)

21-71 1-94

up to 60

Chadakari 69 SnE 52

Gidan Roumji 36 34 20-50

Tibiri

Source: Rappons de Toumtc 1948-1 5

The tediousness of well-building is expressed in Table 4 in the well depth. In every canton there are regions where the wells are fifty meters deep and more; one well in the canton of Sae is even 94 meters deep. Thus the eagerness with which individuals left their old villages in order-to dig wells and to cultivate land elsewhere is all the more remarkable. The reports written by colonial administrators repeatedly express surprise at this activity. In a report on the canton of Chada- kari written in 1948 the following observation is made: “The in- habitants are constantly digging new wells and clearing new land”. As an extreme example the village of Gidan Magagi is cited, whose 3 17 inhabitants lived in seven settlements, each of which had its own Well.

The village settlements represent only one aspect of the migration movement during the colonial period. There was also a constant and

230 Gerd Spitthr

widespread movement between the established villages. Between the census of 1936/38 and that of 1945 the total population of Gobir in- creased from 37.800 to 43.500 (an increase of 17,j %). In the individual villages, however, no steady increase could be observed. While the population increased in 141 villages, it decreased in 87.

I11

In examining the reasons which led to these widespread migrations in Gobir, we can identify two interacting processes. The migrations represent economic as well as political actions of the peasants. The dense settlement in fortified towns, typical of the 19th century, was determined by wars and raids. This had restrictive consequences for agriculture. Only the land in the vicinity of the towns could be cultivated, since otherwise there was the risk of being captured in a slave raid. The fields were surrounded by (planted) thorn hedges to prevent mounted raiders from entering. Old people can describe to this day one had to be on one’s guard constantly while working, to watch for approaching slave hunters. They also report cases of acquaintances who were dragged off into slavery in spite of all safety precautions while working in the fields. As soon as the country was pacified by the colonial powers, the peasants took advantage of the opportunity to settle in the hitherto uncultivated bush,

The colonial administration’s attitude towards the migrations was ambivalent. On the one hand they were advocated for economic reasons, on the other hand administrative complications were feared.

The migrations represented not only economic but also political actions of the peasants. Settlement in the remote bush promised not only better harvests but also greater freedom from the demands of the colonial power (taxes, forced labour, requisitions, military recruit- ment). For various reasons migrations seemed a convenient political reaction for the peasants. There was plenty of land available every- where, while peasants were scarce. Immigrants were therefore welcomed everywhere. The most important tools of the peasant (hoe and axe) were cheaply available everywhere. In migration a peasant didn’t leave valuable means of production behind. His hut could be quickly put up anywhere. His cattle possessions were usually small, so that here, too, nothing interfered with his mobility.

The first large flight movement took place in 1899 after the a m d of the Voulet-Chanoine expedition which advanced from Sabon Birni through the river valley to Tibiri, burning, plundering, and murdering.

Urban Exodus / Urban-Rutal and Rural-Rural 231

The inhabitants of the villages in the river valley fled (“numerous as locusts”, as an old man observed) into the Sokoto empire, which at that time had not yet been conquered by the British.

In 1904, after the French had established themselves in neighbour- ing Tessaoua but Gobir was not yet part of the French colony, a report observed numerous political migrations between the two areas. Gobir’s King Umaru’s peasants fled into French territory to escape his demands; his rival Almu, who had been dethroned by him, settled in French Kornaka with IOO families. O n the other hand peasants from Tessaoua left for Gobir to escape pressure from the French.

After the French had integrated Gobir into their territory in 1907 they were forced to realize how difficult it was to control the popula- tion. In a report dating back to before World War I, it is remarked that the peasants leave their villages at the slightest discontent. Those who stayed behind, forced to fulfill the obligations of those who had left, also departed for the remote bush. The situation was particularly grave in the villages where officials stayed. “The road and the camps serve as centres of repulsion for the population.” The district officers were undecided as to which strategy they should follow. “The more one leaves them alone the more their taste for independence develops and the more difficult (it becomes) later on to take them in hand.” These reports complained about many scattered villages in Gobir and attributed them to the “population’s spirit of independence”.

The recruitment campaigns during World War I caused many young men to flee to Nigeria. Although normally immigrants from Niger had always been welcome there, this time war solidarity be- tween the British and the French took the upper hand. Deserting recruits were sent back to Niger and the British began a recruitment campaign of their own to support the French (Arnett, Gazeteer of Sokoto Province, 1920, p. 54, j6).

In 191 8 a report observed: “The Gobirawa have a particular nature to displace their villages”. A few lines later it becomes evident that this is due less to the “particular nature” of the Gobirawa than to practises of the colonial administration: “Indeed there is no doubt that the policeman sent to look for men always tries to get them in large villages, which saves him searching in the bush. Also, to avoid a scattering of villages which would have many administrative dis- advantages one must try to keep them in the (already) established villages and not allow departures except in well-justified cases.”

23 = Gcrd Spittler At the beginning of the twentieth century compulsory delivery of

millet led to renewed mass migrations to Nigeria. The district officer PtriC later wrote the following comments on the subject in a mono- graph: ‘Tn each village requisition announcements were the signal for an exodus to Nigeria, and the hunt for people was organized.”

In the 1930% colonial policy entered a new phase. The “hunt for people” was replaced by systematic census-taking of the population and cattle at regular intervals; these figures were to form the basis for tax registers and forced labour registers. The peasants’ strategy was either to avoid the census entirely or at least to manage partial con- cealment. Part of this strategy, in addition to hiding people and cattle, was name-changing, which made comparisons with previous census figures difficult, and particularly the founding of new villages and migrations to other villages.

In 1933 the local district officer rejected the governor’s thesis that scattered settlements were an advantage for economic and sanitary reasons. He argued that there was sufficient uncultivated land in the vicinity of the established villages and that therefore there was no reason for the migrations. He observed furthermore that often two- way migrations took place between villages, these being justified by the peasants moving either way as being necessary due to poor harvests. The district officer regarded these reasons as mere excuses and considered the real reason to be “the spirit of extreme indepen- dence of the inhabitants of the region” and “the rebellious nature of the Gobirawa”. He then described the peasants’ strategy of moving to a new place, continuing to pay taxes to the old village chief but able to avoid forced labour because of the great distances. The peasant particularly liked to move into border regions of a subdivision, where they were able to elude the police by fleeing into the neighbouring area.

In a report of 1934 there were complaints that the population of the settlements had been incompletely registered in the census. The census took place in the main villages where thousands of people from the surrounding areas were assembled. From now on the colonial ad- ministrators were to conduct the census in each settlement. In the same report it was observed that many people temporarily moved to Nigeria, returning under another name to another village, there escaping registration for several years by bribing the village chief.

Urban Exodus I Urban-Rural and Rwal-RwaI 23 3

Colonization and migration decreased in the fifties and particularly in the sixties. We investigated this phenomenon in the canton of Tibiri. The only genuinely new village founded since 1945 was established in 1961 : Peasants from the arrondissement of Dakoro in the north of Gobir moved south and founded a village near the Nigerian border which due to its rich harvests quickly attracted more peasants from various areas.

Migrations between villages also decreased considerably. In ZI villages we investigated in the canton of Tibiri there had been no movements to the village since 1950 in 213 of the cases, in 113 there were no movements away from the village. In only two cases had a new settlement been founded by migrant peasants. All the rest had moved to established villages (particularly in Nigeria).

This immobility is also reflected in the building of wells, The time when one could say of the Gobirawa “the inhabitants are constantly digging new wells” has passed. For ten years no well has been dug by peasants in the canton of Tibiri, even though six of 35 villages don’t have their own wells. The migration of which we spoke previously originates mainly in these villages. But the number of migrants is small. In no case did they attempt to dig new wells; instead they settled in already established villages. How can this immobility be explained? The effective establishment

of authority over the peasants which no longer allows them any flexibility has caused them to become resigned. When they moved into the bush at the beginning of the colonial period, they could hope to escape administrative pressure. Towards the end of the colonial period and after independence the situation changed radically. The peasants had to realize that the authority system to which they were subjected had been perfected and that the burdens were constantly being increased, without much benefit for the peasants. The Census system became so perfected that it hardly permitted manipu- lations by the peasants. The relationship between the peasants and the administration no longer represented a situation in which two - albeit unequally matched - parties tried to take advantage of each other, but the administration strengthened its authority over the peasants. The Gobirawa’s “spirit of independence” so often quoted in reports no longer has room to operate and has given way to resig- nation. The tax burden was doubled for the peasants in the short period between independence (1960) and 1967, without the peasants’ having any opportunity to avoid paying.

IV

234 Gerd Spittkr

REFERENCES

ARNEIT (1920), Gazeteer of Sokoto Province. CAZEMAJOU, M. G. ( I ~ o o ) , Du Niger vers le Tchad, in: Bulletin du Gmtt dc 1'Afrique

G o w ~ n " ~ GMRAL DE L'AOF (1912), Statistiques Gtnhlcs, Gorte. GOUVER"T G M U L DE L'AOP (1937), Annunire statistique de I'AOF 1934-36,

HAMA, B. (md.), L'cxode rural, un problhne dc fond, n.p. KLOBB, hhs (1931), A la recherche de Voulct, Paris. WWBLIQUE DU NIGER (1965). Annulire statistique 1962. Niarncy. R ~ W B L I Q U E DU NIGER (n.d.), Annuaire statistique 1967, Niamey. RIVET ( I ~ I Z ) , Notice suz Ic taritoire militairc du Nigar. Paris. Roucy J. (1956). Migations au Ghana, Journal de la Sodttt dcs Afrianistes, z.+. TILHO ( I ~ I X ) , Documents scicntifiques dc la Mission Tilho, t vol. Paris.

ftanpalc, 10, 1900.

Paris.

SUMMARY

During the colonial period not the well known phenomenon of rural exodus but migration from town to country was typical for the province of Gobir and for Niger as a whole. We can as well observe considerable migration between villages. It is the aim of this article to analyze the political reasons for this phenomenon. In consequence of the permanent state of war in Gobir during the 19th century, people prefered settling in fortified places. The South of Gobir was, due to to the raids of Fulani, uninhabited. Since the French occupation at the beginning of this century we observe an urban exodus and migration from village to village which result in the clearing of bushland and the foundation of many new villages. Besides eco- nomical reasons like the renewal of shifting cultivation the migration is caused by political factors. The peasants try to avoid the pressures of the administration by putting as much distance as possible be- tween them and the centers of administration and by constant mobilily. These migrations finish during the fifties and sixties. The administra- tive bodies are now able to control the whole territory especially by improving the census system. Politically motivated migration has now become senseless and has given way to resignation.

R B S U M B

Pendant l'tpoque coloniale le Niger et la province Gobir ont vu au lieu du bien connu crexode rural)) un exode urbain et des migrations entre des villages. Dans cet article j'analyse les raisons politiques pour ce phtnomtne. Au Igtme sitde la rtpartition de la population etait

Urban Exodus I Urban-RwaZ and Rutal-RmaZ conditionnke par les guerres permanentes. La population vivait dans des villages fortifits. Le Sud du Gobir, ouvert aux attaques Peulh, n’ktait pas peuplt. Dks le debut de l’occupation fransaise on assiste A un exode urbain et A de nombreuses migrations entre villages. I1 en rksulte une colonisation de la brousse et la ah t ion de nombreux villages. Le faaeur politique joue un r61e important dans ces migra- tions. Les paysans prennent distance vis A vis des centres admini- stratifs. Leur mobilitt a souvent pour but de se soustraire aux exigen- ces administratives. Dans les annkes 50 et 60 ces migrations deviean- nent de plus en plus rares. Le contr6le administratif devient plus strict grPce surtout ?I un recensement correct. Les migrations ne constituent plus une rhction efficace contre l’administration. Elles font plut6t place i la rksignation.

ZUSAMMENPASSUNG

Nicht das gewohnte Phiinomen der LandfIucht sondern Stadtflucht war wiihrend der Kolonialzeit fiir die Provinz Gobir und Niger insgesamt typisch. Ebenso waren starke Wanderungsbewegungen zwischen Dorfern zu beobachten. In diesem Aufsatz analysiere ich die politischen Griinde fiir dieses Phanomen. Im Gobir des 19. Jh. war die Siedlung in befestigten Orten durch den permanenten Kriegs- zustand bedingt. Gobir war im Suden, dem Einfdgebiet der Fulbe, nicht besiedelt. Seit Beginn der Kolonialzeit sind ein stadtischer Exodus und Dorf-Dorf-Wanderungen zu beobachten, die eine land- wirtschaftliche Erschliehng des Busches und zahlreiche Dorf- griindungen zur Folge haben. Neben okonomischen Grunden (Wiederaufnahme des Wanderfeldbaus) sind fur diese Wanderungen politische Faktoren maBgebend. Die Bauern versuchen sich den An- forderungen der Verwaltung zu entziehen, indem sie eine moglichst grol3e Distanz zwischen sich und die Verwaltungszentren legen und stiindig den Wohnort wechseln. Diese Migrationen gehen in den 5 oer und 6oer Jahren zu Ende. Die Verwaltung setzt ihre Kontrolle uber das game Territorium durch (vor allem durch Verbesserung des Zensus-Systems). Politisch motivierte Migrationen werden jetzt sinnlos und machen Resignation Platz.