KIU Journal of Social Sciences KIU Journal of Social Sciences Copyright©2019 Kampala International University ISSN: 2413-9580; 5(2): 19–30 The Challenges of Developing Buguma Town as a Secondary City in Rivers State Nigeria VICTOR OWITUBO CHARLES, NALUBA GOODY NWIEKPIGI Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Rumuolumeni, Port Harcourt Abstract. This study investigated the challenges Keywords: Challenges, Secondary, City, of developing Buguma as a secondary city in Developing. Rivers State. This study made use of public opinion survey research design with a sample 1. Introduction size of 200 respondents. Data was sourced from the research instrument known as developing 1.1 Background and Overview Buguma Secondary City Questionnaire (DBSCQ) designed along the Likert-type 4-point The philosophy underlying regional planning scale rating. Data was analyzed with both programmes is that the problems of urban and descriptive and inferential statistics. Simple rural areas are intricately connected and should percentage was used to analyze the descriptive be so solved within a regional framework and inferential statistics. Simple percentage was (Slatter 2012, World Bank, 2011). Similarly, used to analyze the socio-demographic global economic activities and population background of the respondents while mean and dynamics are increasingly concentrated in big standard deviation were used to analyze the cities and as a result, urban research has tended research questions. One way analysis of variance to focus on large metropolitan areas at the (ANOVA) was used to analyze the hypotheses. expense of secondary cities which have been a The results of the study revealed that majority of rediscovery of the city in academic discourse the respondents were male 108 (54%); were (Marais, Rooyen, Lenka and Cloete. 2014). graduates 68(34%), were between 40-49 years of age 61(30.5) were civil servants 114(57%), and Secondary cities are those places that range in were mainly from the Abbey-Karibo 80(40%) form and size from 150,000 to 5million people administrative block. The hypothesis revealed and perform a wide range of critical functions in that there is significant variation in the opinions national and international systems of cities of respondents on the challenges of developing (Robert and Hohmann, 2014). In a nutshell, Buguma as a secondary city. The study secondary cities imply medium sized towns that concludes by recommending that both the local are well-integrated within a rural region to offer government council and the Rivers State rural populations better living conditions, jobs, a government should embark on massive less-polluted environment and act not only as infrastructure development to attract more local markets for rural products but also as people to the town to enhance its development catalysts for rural economic diversification as a secondary city to change the narrative of (Bolay and Rabinovich, 2010). Under this Rivers State as a state with one city syndrome, circumstance, secondary cities primarily Port Harcourt. functioned as rural service centres serving in the 19 KIU Journal of Social Sciences capacity of growth points to the surrounding metropolitan centres and hence, they are directly hinterland. or indirectly pre-occupied by the problems of their host cities (Otiso, 2005). Corroborating the This is unlike the type of conventional “Growth above view is Adeyemo (2003) who opines that: Poles” which turn out to be parasitic rather than The poverty of the rural region of the less- generative centres. The generative settlements developed countries of the world is associated are those intermediate towns which pass on with asymmetrical structure of political power some benefits to the surrounding hinterland (i.e. relative powerlessness of rural population, whereas the parasitic centres grow fat on the inappropriate conception of the role of accumulated proceeds without passing any on agriculture in development process). Hence, the (Adeyemo, 2008). major cause of rural poverty in developing Nigeria, like most other developing economies countries is the power of urban elite; and so of the world is characterized by inequalities in long as the interests, background and terms of access to public facilities and sympathies remain predominantly urban, the development (Kanu, 2015). country side may get the “priority” but the city will get the “resources”. This observation is very obvious because the urban centres often chosen as state capitals in 1.2 Statement of Problem the country are growing rapidly to the detriment of their peripheral towns which are mostly local Regrettably enough, it is observed that the government headquarters (Naluba, 2016). appropriate development of secondary cities in Consequently, rural Nigeria is today not only Rivers State has been undermined by the been economically, socially and politically unwillingness of subsequent administrations to marginalized but backward and neglected such share political and fiscal powers with municipal that the gap between urban and rural areas is authorities and regional governments (Deekor alarming in strength and complexity. According 2016). Worthy of note is the fact that the to George (2010), Nigerian cities such as Lagos, existing one-city state structure of Rivers State Kano, Ibadan, Enugu, Port Harcourt, Kaduna since its creation (except Bayelsa State with and Calabar grow mainly through rural-urban Yenagoa, being the capital in 1996) reveals the migration and this urbanization process has excessive growth of Port Harcourt City at the outpaced the existing urban management detriment of other peripheral towns that are systems. This submission is in consonance with overdue for development as secondary cities. Ebong and Animashaun in Nwala (2018:2) who They are Bori, Omoku, Ahoada, Buguma, Bodo, reported thus; Abonnema, Bonny, Degema, Emohua, Opobo, Most of the problems experienced in the cities Isiokpo, Ngo and Okrika based on population such as unemployment, poor and inadequate size, the control of natural environment, housing and transportation facilities and development of social organizations and environmental decay are traceable to massive technological development (Wizor, 2013). immigration of people from the rural backlands. Therefore, this study is of the view that the Such migrations are generally stimulated by the overwhelming increase in Port Harcourt absence of facilities for personal survival and metropolis and its environs through the policy of maintenance, and lopsided location decisions Greater Port Harcourt City Programme without which favour over-concentration of jobs and the impression of developing secondary cities amenities in the urban at the expense of the across the state particularly Buguma town rural areas. implies the periphery‟s untapped reservoir of human and material resources, restricted Furthermore, many developmental and urban domestic markets, marked interregional management opportunities presented by imbalance and persistent insecurity of life and secondary cities in most developing countries property which proved to be serious obstacle to hardly utilize them because the political and sustainable development of Rivers State and economic elites are concentrated in the Nigeria in general. It is against this background 20 KIU Journal of Social Sciences that this paper investigates the challenges of developing Buguma town as a Secondary City in The area is characterized by semi-hot humid Rivers State. equatorial climate and relative humidity (Tamuno, 2008). It is typified by uniformly high 1.3 Aim and Objective of the Study temperature throughout the year, intense rainfall which occurs almost every month of the year, The aim of this study is to assess the challenges seasonally variable and energetic in down pour of developing Buguma in Rivers State as a with increasing distance from the ocean (Mmom Secondary City. To achieve this aim the and Fred-Nwangwu, 2013). This often graduates objective is to investigate the challenges facing to thunderstorm at its onset and cessation with Buguma town to develop as a Secondary City. variation in duration and amount between 4,700mm and 4,500mm in July – September, 1.4 Research Questions especially in popular rainfall stations like Opobo, Okrika and Bonny that are in the same What are the challenges facing Buguma town to geographical location with Buguma City develop as a Secondary City? (Fashiola et al, 2013, Bell-Gam 2002). 1.5 Hypothesis: The riverine area encompassing Buguma in There is significant variation in the opinions of Asari-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers respondents in the challenges facing Buguma State is divided into three main hydro-vegetation town to develop as a Secondary City among the zones. The beach ridge is extensively vegetated administrative blocks. by fresh water swamp trees, palm and shrubs on the sandy ridges and mangroves in the 1.6 Study Area: Buguma Town intervening valleys, creeks or tidal flats. The salt-water (mangrove) swamp zone is the tidal 1.6.1 Location and Extent flat vegetated by the red salt-rooted mangrove (Rhizophoraracemosa) and two other species Geographically, Buguma in Asari-Toru Local including the nypa palm that grows extensively Government Area of Rivers State is located under the influence of brackish water system and between longitude 60 00 and 60 35 East of the marine regimes. The fringe areas of raised Greenwich Meridian and Latitude 30 20 and 30 alluvial coastal plain terrace within the swamps 30 North of the Equator (Bell-Gam, 1990) are