Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-rvbq7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-11T10:26:22.580Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Occupational Specialization by Ethnic Groups in the Informal Sector of the Urban Economies of Traditional Nigerian Cities: The Case of Benin

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 May 2014

A.G. Onokerhoraye
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

The significance of the informal sector in the economy of developing countries is a recurring theme in the literature on urban and regional development planning in Africa south of the Sahara. This is of particular importance in Nigeria where it has been estimated that enterprises within this sector provide about seven times as much employment as those of the formal sector (Callaway, 1967: 163). Although economists such as Kilby (1963: 18) view small-scale enterprises in the informal sector merely as a “quasi-sponge for urban employment,” their persistent survival and expansion has led to recent investigations into the conditions which have made this survival possible (Lewis, 1972, 1973, 1974; Aluko, 1972; Bray, 1969).

In spite of the fact that the dualistic nature of the urban economy in many developing countries has been recognized by researchers for some years now, there is still some controversy about the most appropriate terminology which can be used to describe the pattern. McGee (1973: 138), for example, has suggested that most cities of the third world can be seen as “consisting of two juxtaposed systems of production—one derived from capitalist forms of production, the other from the peasant system of production.” On the other hand, Geertz (1963) described the two systems respectively as the “firm-centered economy” and the “bazaar-type economy.” These definitions emphasize the distinctive organization of production activities, whereas the usual “modern-traditional” dichotomy refers to the technology used. Hart's (1973) study in Accra introduced the concept of formal and informal income opportunities. He based the distinction between formal and informal urban economic activities on that between wage-earning and self-employment.

Type
Research Article
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 20 , Issue 1 , April 1977 , pp. 53 - 69
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 1977

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adams, J.G.U. (1969) Review of “Urbanization in Nigeria,” by Mabogunje, A.L.. Urban Studies 6 (October): 462–64.Google Scholar
Adeyoju, S.K. (1969) “The Benin Timber Industry before 1939.” Nigerian Geographical Journal 12 (June): 99–111.Google Scholar
Aluko, S.A. (1972) “Inudstry in the Rural Setting.” In Proceedings of the 1972 Annual Conference of the Nigerian Economic Society, Rural Development in Nigeria, Ibadan: University of Ibadan Press (pp. 213–35).Google Scholar
Aluko, S.A., Oguntoye, O.A., and Afonja, Y.A.O. (eds.). (1972) Small-scale Industries: Mid-Western, Kwara, and Lagos States. Ile-Ife: Industrial Research Unit, University of Ife.Google Scholar
Akintoye, S.A. (1969) “The Northeastern Yoruba Districts and the Benin Kingdom.” Journal Historical Society Nigeria 4 (December): 539–52.Google Scholar
Bascom, W.R. (1962) “Some Aspects of Yoruba Urbanism.” American Anthropologist 64: 607–709.Google Scholar
Bradbury, R.E. (1957) The Benin Kingdom and the Edo-speaking Peoples of Southwestern Nigeria. London: International African Institute.Google Scholar
Bray, J.M. (1969) “The Craft Structure of a Traditional Yoruba Town (Iseyin).” Transactions, Institute of British Geographers 46 (April): 179–93.Google Scholar
Callaway, A. (1964) “Nigeria's Indigenous Education: The Apprentice System.” Odu: Journal of African Studies 1 (January): 1–18 Google Scholar
Callaway, A. (1967) “From Traditional Crafts to Modern Industries,” pp. 162–67 in Lloyd, P.C., Mabogunje, A.L., and Awe, B. (eds.), The City of Ibadan. London: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Cohen, A. (1969) Custom and Politics in Urban Africa: A Study of Hausa Migrants in Yoruba Towns. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.Google Scholar
Dark, P.J. (1973) An Introduction to Benin Art and Technology. London: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Geertz, Clifford. (1963) Peddlers and Princes: Social Change and Economic Modernization in Two Indonesian Towns. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Hart, K. (1973) “Informal Income Opportunities and Urban Employment in Ghana.” The Journal of Modern African Studies 11 (March): 61–89.Google Scholar
Igun, and Ascadi, G. (eds.). (1972) Demographic Statistics in Nigeria. Ife: Demographic Research and Training Unit, University of Ife.Google Scholar
Kilby, F. (1963) Development of Small Industries in Eastern Nigeria. Enugu: Eastern Ministry of Information.Google Scholar
Lawson, R. (1962) “Engel's Law and Its Application to Ghana.” Economic Bulletin of Ghana 5 (March): 34–36.Google Scholar
Lewis, A.O. (1972) “The Small-Scale Industrial Scene of Ile-Ife.” Quarterly Journal of Administration 6 (July): 434–36.Google Scholar
Lewis, A.O. (1973) “Nigeria's Small Industries.” West Africa 2930: 1073–76.Google Scholar
Lewis, A.O. (1974) “A Study of Small Enterprises in the Printing Industry in Nigeria's Lagos State.” Quarterly Journal of Administration 8 (January): 191–205.Google Scholar
Lloyd, P.C. (1953) “Craft Organization in Yoruba Towns.” Africa 23: 327–34.Google Scholar
McGee, T.G. (1973) “Peasants in the Cities: A Paradox, A Paradox, A Most Ingenious Paradox.” Human Organization 35 (Summer): 136–40.Google Scholar
Midwestern State Government of Nigeria. (1972) Industrial Directory 1972 Benin: Ministry of Economic Development.Google Scholar
Onokerhoraye, A.G. (1974) “Patterns of Change in a Traditional Nigerian City: An Urban Geography of Benin.” Ph.D. thesis. University of London.Google Scholar
Onokerhoraye, A.G. (1975) “Urbanism as an Organ of Traditional AFrican Civilization: The Example of Benin, Nigeria.” Civilizations 25 (December): 294–305.Google Scholar
Onokerhoraye, A.G. (1976a) “A Suggested Framework for the Provision of Health Facilities in Nigeria.” Social Science and Medicine 10 (forthcoming).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Onokerhoraye, A.G. (1976b) “The Spatial Aspects of Urban Growth in Nigeria: Some Planning Implications for National Development.” Cultures et Development 8 (June): 287–303.Google Scholar
Onokerhoraye, A.G. (1976c) “The Planning Implications of the Present Structure of Urban Economies in Traditional Nigerian Cities.” Planning Outlook 18 (July): 19–33.Google Scholar
Ryder, A.F.C. (1969) Benin and the Europeans. London: Longmans.Google Scholar
Setheraman, S.V. (1976) “The Urban Informal Sector: Concept, Measurement, and Policy.” International Labour Review 114 (July-August): 69–81.Google Scholar
Udo, R.K. (1970) Geographical Regions of Nigeria. London: Heinemann.Google Scholar
Umoh, O.E. (1972) “Demographic Statistics in Nigeria.” In Ominde, S.H. and Ejiogu, C.N. (eds.), Population Growth and Economic Development in Africa (pp. 21–24). London: Heinemann.Google Scholar
United Africa Company. (1948) “What the Producer Receives for his Crops: Nigeria and the Gold Coast.” Statistical and Economic Review 1: 5–14.Google Scholar
United Africa Company. (1952) “Timber in West Africa.” Statistical and Economic Review 10: 1–53.Google Scholar
White, H.P. and Gleave, M.B.. (1971) An Economic Geography of West Africa. London: G. Bell and Sons.Google Scholar