A survey conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics(NBS), reveals one out of four individuals between ages 15 years and above would like to leave their communities permanently or at least temporarily.
The NBS said this in its General Household Survey- Panel (GHS-Panel) Wave 5 2023/2024 unveiled in Abuja on Thursday.
The report showed that more men aged 15 years and above wanted to leave their communities representing 31. 2 per cent compared to women at 19.3 per cent.
According to the report, 34.5% of those in the 20–30 age range would prefer to relocate.
Those between the ages of 15 and 18 came next at 26.9%, and those between the ages of 31 and 64 at 25%.
“Just 6.5% of those 65 and older stated that they would like to leave their communities.”
As revealed by the report, those who would like to migrate, 35.3% would like to settle in Abuja, and 26.6% would like to move abroad.
The survey further showed that most people in the Southern zones said they would like to migrate abroad, whilst people in the Northern zones said they would rather move to Abuja or another state.
The NBS said that nationally, 45.4 per cent of households had at least one former household member who had relocated within and outside the country.
According to the report, half of those former household members are females.
The report said that marriage was the main reason why former household members had relocated at 28.2 per cent, followed by those who had gone to live with relatives or friends at 21.2 per cent.
“This was followed by those who went to look for/start a new job or business at 14.6 per cent .
It revealed that, with a reported share of 37% compared to 49.3% of rural area homes, urban households were less likely to have a previous household member who had moved.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the GHS-Panel is the country’s nationally representative longitudinal household survey. It was launched in 2010 and has since been conducted in five waves.