Going Home: Migration Careers of Southern Nigerians

On the basis of data from rural and urban samples of men and women over 60 in three sites in southern Nigeria, nonmigrants, returnees and immigrants are compared on educational and occupational background and ages of first and last migration. The study found that most returnees go home before retirement rather than in old age, as had previously been suggested by studies of intentions to return. There is also a growing trend towards immigration to the cities as elderly parents, especially mothers, join their migrant children. Accommodation can be a major problem of dependent old age, and house ownership at home or in town is therefore an important factor in the decision to remain a permanent migrant or to return home.