Intergenerational Solidarity Of Nigerian Migrants In The Greater Accra Region
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Date
2021-11
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University Of Ghana
Abstract
Concerns have been raised about the potential of international migration in affecting family ties
and the relationship between adult migrants and their ageing parents. When adult children
migrate and leave behind their ageing parents, it has the potential of depriving them of support
and care and could be disruptive as well. In recent years, the flow of international migration has
increased in every region of the world. However, the discourse in Africa, particularly in West
Africa, has turned to focus more on North-South migration although the data shows the majority
of migrants move within the sub-region. This study is aimed at examining the intergenerational
solidarity of Nigerian migrants in Ghana and their ageing parents in Nigeria. A qualitative
research approach was used for this study. The sample size was made up of 20 adult Nigerian
migrants through the snowballing technique. Of the 20, 15 were male migrants and five were
female migrants. In addition, they were all above the age of 18. The instrument used for the
study was a semi-structured interview guide. The qualitative data were manually transcribed,
manually edited and analysed thematically based on the objectives of the study. The study found
that Nigerian migrants maintained associational solidarity with their ageing parents through
phone calls although visiting was constrained by distance, cost of transportation and border
challenges. Geographical proximity was found to be a major constraining factor affecting the
ability of migrants to regularly visit their parents. Functional solidarity was enacted through
financial support, usually in the form of remittances, to ageing parents. Affectual solidarity was
also expressed through love, emotional support and concern for ageing parents and vice versa.
Normative solidarity was found to influence functional solidarity, associational solidarity and
Affectual solidarity. Migration to Ghana did not have a significant influence on Consensual
solidarity. Also, the study found that many of the dimensions of intergenerational solidarity are
interlinked.
Description
MPhil. Migration Studies
Keywords
Greater Accra Region, Nigerian, Immigrants, Intergenerational