T h e P a c i f i c I n s t i t u t e f o r S c i e n c e s a n d C u l t u r e s

VOL 2013

Journal of Society and Communication

420

Appraisal of Regional Mobility in Lokoja, Nigeria

Olorunfemi, S.O.

Department of Urban and Regional Planning

Federal University of Technology Akure, Nigeria

Basorun, J.O.

Department of Urban and Regional Planning

Federal University of Technology Akure, Nigeria

Journal of Society and Communication

Volume 2013, 420-446

http://journalofsocietyandcommunication.com

421

Appraisal of Regional Mobility in Lokoja, Nigeria

Abstract. Human ability to move freely from one location to

another is a critical problem to business, employment,

accommodation etc in most regions worldwide. This paper,

therefore investigates the means of mobility in Lokoja region,

the commercial nerve of Kogi State, Nigeria. The study was

conducted using questionnaires and field observation in the

collection of data, while descriptive statistics such as

frequency counts and percentages as well as Pearson‟s

Correlation test were employed in the data analysis. The major

means of mobility in the region are road and water transport.

Result also indicates strong correlation (0.91) between cost and

time of movement in the region. To enhance mobility in the area,

Government is required to construct more motorable roads with

adequate infrastructure and create Agency or Board that will

monitor the existing water transportation system.

1.0 Introduction

Over the decades new approaches to the study of motility

have emerged across the field of social sciences, involving

research on the combined movements of people, in all of their

complex relational dynamics (Sheller, 2011). Different reasons,

no doubt, impel people to move, or change location. These

422

include, better economic, political, cultural benefit and to

enjoy certain amenities (Edet and Jenny, 2007). Academic

interest in geographic mobility, however, has increased in view

of current trends in technology, society and mobility in complex

ways that do not reflect in the basic modeling processes often

adopted based on preferences and choices made under extant

transport and wider social conditions (Vigar, 2002).

The provision of infrastructure facilitates and enhances

the comfortability of a place, while the insufficiency or in

availability heightens the propensity to move. The situation

usually induces a stress-strain effect on the individual or

group and acts as a push factor, which catalyzes the decision to

move or stay (Edet and Jenny, 2007). Generally, individual

mobility is a significant aspect of any space economy. It is an

expression of individual‟s free will, occurring with the view to

overcoming friction of distance and movement to different

activity centres in rural or urban areas. For instance, trips to

work, schools, markets, recreational centres and banks are

undertaken in order to procure such services located in urban

spaces (Adetunji, 2010). The segregation between residential

areas and different land uses owing to the high rate of

urbanization in towns and cities in African countries, and

Nigeria in particular, has led to high travel demands, which

423

rely mostly on automobiles with complex traffic on urban routes

(Adetunji, 2013).

Mobility research overlaps with some aspects of study on

globalization, communications, migration, border issues, tourism,

cultural and transport geography and the anthropology of

circulation, but varies in its scope, focus and methodology from

each of these (Sheller, 2011). In the sociological literature,

the term „mobility‟ is usually connected with the idea of

„social mobility‟, referring to an individual‟s categorical

movement up or down the weighbridge of socioeconomic classes. In

urban planning term, it connotes spatial movement of people from

one location to another either temporarily or permanently with

adequate references to social factor resulting from push or pull

factors (Basorun, 2004; Sheller, 2011). Mobility in a broader

sense includes at least two interrelated dimensions of human

interaction; namely, spatial and temporal mobility (Kakihara and

Sorensen, 2006). Spatial mobility denotes the concept of

physical travel, which is the most immediate aspect of mobility,

while temporal mobility represents the consequences of spatial

mobility, as in speeding up and saving time. These two

dimensions represent the function of efficiency resulting from

mobility.

424

Lokoja is a confluence and historic city in central Nigeria.

It has experienced series of changes of political status in the

past five decades; first as provincial capital, later as Local

Government headquarter and now as State capital. Consequently,

it has attracted population from towns and villages in its

region for involvement in different economic activities for

survival (Olorunfemi, 2013). The major means of transportation

in the region are road and water transport. Those that are

linked by river Niger and Benue navigate through locally-made

canoe to the hinter land. Currently, the construction of dams on

the two rivers has hindered the efficiency of water

transportation within this region. Although the Federal

Government has started the dredging of river Niger in Lokoja to

harness its regional economic development (Ahmed, 2009), yet,

mobility is constrained. In the context of this study, the

assessment of mobility in Lokoja remains the primary aim while

the objectives are to: (i) examine the various modes of

transportation in the city; (ii) identify the transport

bottlenecks and operational deficiencies, and (iii) assess the

operational efficiency of the ministry/agency in charge of

transportation in the region.

425

2.0 Literature Search

In literature, mobility is seen to be a complex phenomenon

as decision to move has long been examined from different

perspectives. Edet and Jenny (2007), from the social

psychological view, see it as household movement under various

forms of stress which the economist considers as a way of

maximizing satisfaction of the household requirements. The

ecologist sees it as an element in a larger pattern of movement

or part of the process of growth and succession. However,

mobility is seen as incorporating both large-scale and local

movements of people, capital, information and objects from one

location to another through a certain medium.

Mobility is the backbone of activity system of human race

(Olufemi and Oluseyi 2007). It has important implications for

both individual and population. The fact remains that people no

longer live in the same house, neighbourhood, village, town or

city throughout their lives time and this trend has tended to

uproot families from kins and friend (Withnow, 1994). Edet and

Jenny (2007), opine that mobility poses a problem to home,

neighbourhood, village, town or city because it leads to

reduction in population or labour force from the sending area

and results to increase in population at the receiving area. In

most cases, the attraction in the receiving areas include high

426

wages, improved housing, employment prospect, social amenities,

availabiliabity of market or business opportunities etc which

stimulate individual and families to have a change of residence

or place (Basorun, 2004).

The reasons for people to move from one region or location

as opined by Getis, (2000) include: (i) changes in residences or

an area in association with individual personality (Chronicle

mobility); (ii) changing career such as getting a job, transfer,

receiving a career or retiring; (iii) changing in life course as

a result of marriage, divorce and need for space or apartment,

particularly when children leave home to settle on their own;

and (iv) forced movements associated with urbanization,

construction, building deterioration, war or violence or

similarly rejected alterations in activity space. Classical and

neoclassical theories have been used over the years to explain

human mobility behavior including migration between places, on

the basis of economic differences. The increasing rate of

urbanization in Africa has opened up new intervening variables

within the urban space that require consideration. Accounts on

mobility in Nigeria are many, yet, there has been little effort

made towards differentiating mobility from migration. In the

views some scholars, the later signifies permanency of stay in

respective destinations (Adegbola, 1972; Surdakassa, 1977;

427

Afolayan, 1991; 1996; 2004; Makinwa and Afolayan, 1995; Godwin

2012). In several of these studies, the focus has been on

traders as an economic entity, less on their activities

generating mobility and on factors that dictate their movements.

For the later, economic explanations often given, are that their

movements are from centers of supply to those of demand. But,

economic factors alone cannot explain adequately factors that

dictate the volume, direction of flows, frequency, duration and

the dynamics of any of these aspects of traders‟ mobility within

and outside Nigeria (Godwin, 2012)

Lokoja region has been in existence right from the colonial

period and the means of mobility in the region has been through

road and water (Nasir, 2012). Roads accommodate and ensure the

safety of all modes – bus transit, automobile, walking and

cycling. Nigeria has become increasingly dependent on the road

system to meet virtually all its inland transport needs since

the rail, pipeline and inland waterway systems have deteriorated

(Ezeocha, 2011). Road transport in Nigeria accounts for more

than 90% of the sub-sector. Road transport activities involve

the conveyance of passengers‟ en-masse or in small numbers, the

transportation of animals, farm produce and merchandise and the

rendering of mobile services. Nigeria has the largest road

network in West Africa and the second largest south of the

428

Sahara. The national network is currently estimated to be

194,200km of which 34,120km (17.6%) are federal roads, 30,500km

(15.7%) state roads and 129,580km (66.7%) local and rural roads.

However, the federal roads network carries 70% of freight in the

country (Obi-Igbokwe, 2009).

Majority of the roads within Lokoja region were among those

constructed during the colonial period as capital city of the

then Northern protectorate. Inland water transportation in the

region also dates back to this period when it was fully utilized

for movement of goods and people from coastal areas to the

hinterland and vice-versa (Ahmed, 2009). Lokoja is a regional

center that attracts population from its surrounding towns and

villages due to its status as capital city of Kogi State,

Nigeria and also as intervening city between Abuja (The Federal

Capital Territory) and Lagos. In its region are mineral

resources, the most important being limestone which attracted

the establishment of cement factory at Obajana and facilitated

the development of regional market in the area. The center is

favoured by the presences of River Niger and River Benue which

are the two longest rivers in Nigeria that flow into the

Atlantic Ocean (New Nigeria, 2009) and serve as tourist

attraction for people across the nation. It is an administrative

and commercial city in the central Nigeria where the cost of

429

Map of Lokoja Region in its National

Setting Source: Ministry of Land and Environment,

Lokoja 2012

movement and distance have been the major impediments to

mobility.

3.0 The Study Area.

Lokoja region within the context of this study is the

(Lokoja) Local Government Area in Kogi State in North Central

Nigeria with a population of 196,643 people (NPC, 2006). It was

one of the oldest cities in Nigeria before it became the State

Capital in 1991. Before then, Lokoja enjoyed a great deal of

prominence as a trading port during the boom days of Europeans

commercial activities and essentially as a Confluence city

surfing traffic from both

River Niger and Benue and

the Atlantic Ocean. At

that time, the United

Trading Company (U T C)

was established to operate

in Lokoja where it

constructed a Wharf for

off-loading their goods

for importation and

exportation.

Lokoja as a region

430

is highly heterogeneous in nature in terms of languages. There,

we have English Language as the major means of communication

with some local Languages such as Yoruba, Oworo, Nupe, Tape,

Hausa e.t.c. The region lies on longitude 70.49N and latitude

60.45E and is approximately 162 kilometers from Abuja, the

Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nigeria. It covers an area of

about 20 square kilometers and enjoys an annual temperature of

between 400C to 42

0C (KMCI, 1991). The area experiences hot

weather almost every time and little of extreme cold weather

between September and February. The major occupation of the

people of lokoja is farming, trading and fishing. The crops

grown include: yam, cassava, beans, maize among others. The

major markets that operate in the region are: Lokoja, Adankolo,

Abugi, Jamata and Mammy markets. Lokoja region is divided into

five (5) districts namely; Lokoja, Oworo, Kupa, Kakanda and

Eggan districts. The entire Local Government Area is bound in

the North by Niger State, in the East by Kogi Local Government

Area, in the West by Kabba/Bunu and Okene Local Government Area

and in the South by Ajaokuta Local Government Area.

4.0 Research Methodology

The population under study is that of the users (commuters)

and operators of public road and water transport in Lokoja Local

431

Government Area (LGA). The research instrument used was a well-

structured questionnaire in which the variables were structured

in question form and responses were sought from the respondents

in pre-coded alternatives. Five (5) final year students of Urban

and Regional Planning of the Federal University of Technology,

Akure, who acted as research assistants and had earlier been

tutored by the authors, administered the questionnaire through

face-to-face contact with the respondents (commuters and

operators of public road and water transport services) at the

terminals during working hours for two weeks in June, 2013. They

were instructed to read and interpret the questions to the

respondents. In order to determine the sample size for the study,

the weekly record of movement were sourced from the public road

transport service operators (NURTW and ACOMORAN) and water

transport service operators in Lokoja region. An average of 5000

commuters and 150 operators for public road transport service as

well as 1,150 commuters and 30 operators for water transport

service were arrived at while 10% of the populations were

sampled. Altogether 615 commuters and 23 operators were sampled

for both road transport service and water transport service

respectively in the region (Table 1). These were disaggregated

proportionately to the terminals in the area.

432

Table 1: Sample Size

Means of

Transportation

(Mobility)

Target

Population

(Commuters)

Per Week

10% Sample

(Commuters)

Per Week

Target

Population

(Operators)

Per Week.

10% Sample

(Operators)

Road Transport 5000 500 200 20

Water

Transport

1,150 115 30 3

Total 6,150 615 230 23

Source: Author‟s Field Survey, 2013

The simple random sampling technique was adopted and data

collected were subjected to analysis at two levels. The first

was univariate analysis which described the attribute and

behavior of each variable. The second was bivariate analysis

which described the relationship between pairs of variable.

Specifically, the Person Product Moment Correlation Coefficient

(R) test was used.

5.0 Discussion and Findings

5.1. Socio-economic of Commuters

It has been widely established in literature, that trip is

usually affected by factors such as sex, income, age, occupation

etc (Okoko, 2006; Maitri and Sarkar, 2010; Basorun and Rotowa,

2012). It was observed that more females (62.5% for road

433

transportation and 65.2% for water transportation) engaged in

trips within the region than males (Appendix 1). This is because

they are mostly involved in trading activities to sustain and

support their men in the provision of domestic needs to the

families. The occupational status of the commuters in the region

shows that majority of those that patronize the road transport

system and water transport system are traders (51.0% for road

transport and 47.8% for water transport). This is followed by

artisans and professional (26.2% for road transport and 27.8%

for water transport) most of who earn between N20,000-N30,000 or

$125.0-$187.5 (42.2% of road transport) as their monthly income

while majority of the commuters of water transport (39.1%)

claimed to earn between N30,000-N40,000 or $187.5-$250.0 monthly.

The cost of travel within the region also varies with the

transport mode. Majority (43.4%) of the commuters of road

transportation in the region spends above N500.00 or $3.1 on the

average to travel from one place to another particularly on the

un- tarred roads. Unlike the water transportation system where

majority (33.9%) claimed that the average cost of travel on

water within the region ranges from N200 to N300 or $1.3 to $1.9

per trip. Although, it has been confirmed that water is the

cheapest means of transportation (Okoko, 2006; Maitri and Sarkar,

434

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

0 1 2 3 4 5

Road Transportation

Water Transpotation

Figure1: Waiting/delay Time at Terminals

Source: Authors ’Field Survey, 2013

2010), road transportation system still remains the most

patronized mode of transport in the region

5.2 Waiting Time/delay at the Terminal

In the study area, the commuters waste a lot of time before

leaving the terminus as result of high level of patronage

particularly on market days in Lokoja, where most of them rush

or queue for vehicles.

For instance, the

commuters of road

transport mode are

often delayed for a

period of 5 minutes

(50.0%), 6-10 minutes

(30.0%) and 11-15 minutes (20.0%) depending on the modal choice.

As for water transport mode in the region, majority of the

respondents (60.9%) normally wait for 11-15 minutes at these

terminals. This is due to the time taken for loading at the

origin and offloading at the destination.

5.3 Mode of Transport.

The modes of road transport available to commuters in

Lokoja region are Okada (motorcycle) popularly called “goin” in

435

the study area, car (taxi) and bus while the mode available for

water transport includes canoe, engine boat and semi-ferry. The

proportion of commuters patronizing each of the available modes

varies (figure 3). The use of okada (motorcycle) is the dominant

mode (50.0%) among the available mode of

road transportation in the area. This is because motorcycle is

the only available means of transport that provides door-to-door

service in the area. The increasing use of motorcycles for urban

public transport service emerged to fill the gap in the demand

and supply of public transport in most urban centres in the

country (Gbadamosi, 2007). As earlier noted by Rietveid (2001),

the following major factors have attracted the use of

motorcycles as means of public transport in most places of the

world: (i) they complement the concept of multi modal transport

chains; (ii) serve as are cheap transport mode; and (iii)

provide door-to-door transport. More importantly, the untarred

nature of most of the roads in the region has also increased the

rate of patronage particularly in areas not accessible by cars

and buses. According to the Head of Works Department in Lokoja

LGA, the situation has made it difficult for people in some of

the areas to transport their farm produce to the city particular

during the rainy season as no vehicle can plight the roads.

436

Figure 2: Transporting vehicle and passengers across

River Niger in a Semi-ferry in Lokoja, Nigeria

Source:

www.google.com.ng/imgres?imgurl=http://omoegua.com

0

20

40

60

Motocycle Car/Taxi Bus Others

Motocycle

Car/Taxi

Bus

Others 33.3%

66.7%

Canoe

Engine Boat/SemiFerry

(a) Road Transport (b) Water Transport

Engine boat/semi ferry remains the dominant mode (66.7%)

available to commuters of water

transport in the region,

followed by canoe (33.3%).

Information from the Head of

Research Department, National

Inland Water Way Authority

(NIWA) Lokoja, reveals that the

engine boat and semi ferry

served extensively during 2012

flood incidence in Lokoja when most of the roads in the region

were submerged by water. During this period the engine boat/semi

ferry were used to convey commuters and their goods as well as

vehicles (bicycle, motorcycle and car) to the hinterland.

Figure 3: Means of Movement in Lokoja

Region

Source: Authors’ Field Survey, 2013

437

5.4 Mobility and Transportation Challenges.

The major mobility challenge in the region is the high cost

of transportation due to the fact that most of the roads are not

tarred and those that are tarred have degenerated and

deteriorated, with pot-holes that make it difficult for smooth

driving. The operators of road transport attributed this to high

cost of obtaining spare parts of vehicle (33.4%), cost of

maintenance (30.0%) and poor state of the roads (36.6%). Basorun

and Rotowa, (2012) quoting Mabogunje (2008), observed that most

of these vehicles are already used imported cars/buses which

quickly become old and rickety with propensity to smoke and

break down regularly coupled with the dilapidated state of our

road. Similarly, Abii Tsige (2009), based on UN conference held

in Addis Ababa in 2009 identified the the major constraints

facing the development of transport in African (Nigeria

inclusive) to include: inappropriate national policies and

limited implementation of national, sub regional and regional

agreements, poor state of road network, inadequate human and

institutional capacity, and high transport costs amongst other.

The Head of Research Department NIWA in Lokoja, highlighted

the problems facing water transport sector as lack of Agency or

Board to monitor the affairs of the system in the state unlike

in Lagos State where the government has utilized the opportunity

438

of improved water transport system and to complement the road

transport system to reduce the congestion experienced on road.

Majority (66.7%) of the operators of water transport system in

the area, lamented the poor state of the services rendered to

customers due to their financial incapability to acquire the

modern-day ferry that is safe and can protect them from sun or

rain while on transit.

5.5 Correlation of Variables

Apparently, cost of movement in the region is very high;

hence, a hypothesis was established to affirm if any

relationship exists between the cost and time of movement in the

region. In the analysis, two variables were correlated (a) cost

of movement in the region (X) and (b) time spent on movement (Y).

The Pearson‟s correlation test was used to determine the level

of relationship. The R-value in the analysis developed a strong

positive correlation (0.91) at 0.01 level of significance. This

is expected because of the mode and condition that pervade the

road and water transport system in the region. The implication

of this is that cost of food items may likely increase with the

prevailing cost of travel by farmers and traders.

439

6.0 Policy Issues and Conclusion

The study has revealed the various means of mobility in

Lokoja region and the peculiar problems of the road and water

transport operators. From the research findings, untarred roads

characterized the transport network of the region, while people

in the areas linked with River Niger and Benue still navigate

through locally-made canoe. To achieve effective regional

mobility in the study area, the State Government should upgrade

the existing major roads and construct more motorable roads with

adequate infrastructures. Encouraging community participation in

the provision of transport services within the region will not

only facilitate the regional connectivity, but reduce cost of

movement in the region and ensure sustainability of the regional

transport system.

The Kogi State Government as matter of urgency should

create Agency or Board that will monitor water transportation

system in Lokoja LGA and device means of transforming the sector

to the benefit of the State. To serve as means of employment for

the people, the Government should encourage acquisition and

provision of modern-day ferry for the operators of water

transport in the area to enhance high patronage of the system

while reducing traffic congestion on the regional roads,

particularly on market days.

440

In the study area, there is high concentration of commuters

(mostly traders and artisans/professionals) on public transport

(road and water). Meeting the travel demands of the commuters,

therefore, depends on succinct and logical transport strategy

and policy by Government. These should focus on improving the

efficiency and effectiveness of the operators through

sensitization and awareness in well-organized workshops,

seminars and training for far reaching benefits to the transport

system in the area. These operators should also be empowered

with funding through micro-finance to promote their operations

and contribute immensely to their technical capabilities for a

more effective regional mobility.

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Appendix 1: Socio-Economics Status of the Commuters

Socio-Economic of

the Commuters

Road Transportation Water

Transportation

S/N Sex Distribution

Frequency

Percentage

Frequency Percentage

1. Male 186 37.2

40

34,8

2. Female 314 62.8

75

65.2

Total 500 100.0

115

100.0

Occupational Status

1. Student 25 5.0

10

8.7

2. Trader 255 51.0

55

47.8

3. Artisans and

Professional

131 26.2

32

27.8

4 Civil Servant 89 18.0

18

15.7

Total 500 100

115

100

Income (N)

1. 5,000.00-10,000 33 6.6

10

8.7

2. 10,000-20,000 103 20.6

18

15.7

3. 20,000-30,000 211 42.2

22

19.1

4. 30,000-40,000 95 19.0

45

39.1

5. 40,000 and Above 58 11.6

20

17.4

Total 500 100

115

100

Cost of Travel (N)

1. 100-200 5 1.0

56

48.6

2. 200-300 44 8.8

39

33.9

3. 300-400 56 11.2

15

13.0

4. 400-500 186 36.8

5

4.3

5. 500 and Above 217 43.4

0

0

Total 500 100

115

100

Source: Authors’ Field Survey, 2013