Trading is principally with her contiguous communities of Tai, Eleme, Bonny and Andoni. The introduction of "legitimate" trade by Europeans at the middle of the last century increased the volume of commercial activities in Ogu/Bolo LGA as more and more people from far and near came to Olobulo market, Adufe, Olomusoko and Tendefe to carry on the "large trade" which Consul Ralph Moor spoke about in 1896.

With the penetration of the missionaries came Christianity and Western education, and the people embraced both. Thus, in 1966, the magnificent St. Martins' Anglican Church was completed and dedicated to God in Ogu. Even today, the church stands, not only as a marvellous architectural edifice, but also, as a monumental and durable evidence of a peoples' ancient devotion to progressive thought and action in the Western belief and faith in God.

In 1972, Government Secondary School, Ogu, the first post primary school in Ogu/Bolo LGA was established by the then Military Governor of Rivers State Navy Commodore Alfred Diete-Spiff and it started lessons in September, 1972 at the Primary School and the General Hospital Buildings before moving to its permanent site. The first Principal of the School was Mr. H.L. Ogan. For many years, this college remained distinguished from others by its priority of distinction and has made Professors, Doctors of Philosophy, Engineers and Medical Doctors that could not be numbered from all the LGA's of Rivers State and beyond, pushing its popularity both in the West and Middle-belt of Nigeria.

The first author of this article was a product of this citadel of learning, being the third set of students it turned out into the Nigerian Labour Market. By the mid-70s, Ogu could boast of a modern hospital, good drinking water and tarred road. The Bolo Community also has a Secondary School, Primary School and a Health Care Centre while the Wakama Community has a Primary School and a Health Care Centre. The Ele Community has a Government Craft Centre which is at his temporary site at the flanks of Ogu Urban Town.

In any event, the civil war, the creation of LGAs in the country and the great expansion of oil exploration and exploitation activities have had their effect on the people of Ogu. There is no doubt that there is some evidence of development all round. There has been, for instance, a significant increase in the number of educational and health institutions in Ogu/Bolo Local Government Area as well as being connected to the national grid.

Yet, Ogu that is one of the early participants in the march to civilization and progress, a lot more profound evidence of development must be demanded from it as the 21st century rolls to a close. Ogu has within its territory three oil wells known as IkpokiriBie called Ogu I, DasoAma called Ogu II and Agakien called Ogu III as proved by seismic surveys under the supervision of Alakiri oil field that started production in 1970. The Bolo Community also has two oil wells which drilling is on-going.

In addition to this, Ogu hosts several strategic establishments of National interest such as the Federal Lighter and Ocean Terminals, Onne/lkpokiri Oil and Gas Export Free Zone Authority, "The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Intel Nigeria Limited and several service companies. They are located on the left bank of Ogu creek, from Bonny River. In spite of all these, Ogu people, to use a cliche, have nothing to show for it. What gains they have had is only in the form of the devastation of the land and sea-scapes with the attendant health hazards from oil spillage and bunkering activities.

The people of Ogu Community have a culture that is distinctive, impressive and to a large extent without influence. Featuring prominently in the culture of Ogu people are the Iria puberty and marriage ceremonies, wrestling, traditional plays, burial rites, installation of chiefs and traditional rulers ceremonies and many other rites and plays connected with the day to day life of the people. All these attracts population to the town, hence increases commercial activities.

Masquerades, some of them colourful and artistic in either their make-ups or paraphernalia, are a common sight throughout the community and the entire Local Government Area, especially during festive occasions. In concept, these are either religious or historical or personifications of the rich legends of the people, and their classic performances, backed up by the refreshing poetry of songs and music, which bring to focus the high sense of drama and entertainment of the people, hence the concentration of people in this LGA.

A variety of dances, each unique in its form, also abound. Musical instruments include pots and drums, wooden gongs, horns and xylophones. All these are made locally by experts with an ancient tradition behind their craftsmanship. Ogu is known for her skilful use of earthen clay to mould earthen pots for music, drinking water containers, carving of masquerades and ceremonial canoes etc. is a revered art and carvers have greatly improved the quality of their work over the years. Gradually, the purely functional forms of these carvings are being given new dimension and finishing's that reflect the people's innate respect for aesthetic values.

The dances, plays and masquerades depict the religious, social and working life of the people which brings in economic value to the people and the LGA. In turn, the life of the people has been greatly influenced by their culture. Thus, a spiritually enabling circle has been set up. The Ogu man's (Okrika-Ijaw) confidence, is his love of truth, fair-play and wholesome dealings that can all be traced to the influence of his unique cultural heritage.

Above all, the Ogu kingdom is hospitable to strangers and citizens. They are lovers of God, Music, Entertainment and Strangers, and none the least, are warriors having spectacular war canoes ever leading the entire warriors of the Wakirike Be Se Kingdom. She never losses battles she ever engaged in. Her people are great travellers and have travelled round the globe. She has migrated a lot and has families in other towns such as Bonny, Tombia, The Camerouns, just to mention but a few as well as annexations and sister towns founded by her indigenes even in Cameroun. The citizens of Ogu are industrious and commercially inclined as well as peace loving.

The question considered here is how does population growth affect the direction and magnitude of socio-economic lives of the people of Ogu in Ogu/Bolo local government area of Rivers State as Nigeria's population approaches 180 million, especially in this era of dwindling economy? Over the years, it has become established that the existence of an efficient and effective human capital is the key to socio-economic growth and development in any nation. This stems from the fact that every other facility and resource required for economic growth is driven by the availability of human capital. More so, in the absence of effective human capital development, an increasing population can have adverse negative effect on the economic growth of a nation. This is because a lot more resources are taken out to manage and cater for the teeming population that the same can generate, (Brand, 2009).It is therefore correct to state that the economic growth of a nation is significantly dependent on the growth of its population in the rural communities of that nation. The effect or impact can be either negative or positive depending on the existence of certain factors and conditions. When the existing factors and conditions are studied and understood, then the socio-economic life of the people can be managed or controlled to ensure continuous and sustainable economic growth and development (Dennis, 2004). Nigeria is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. According to Nigerian Population Census (2006),with an estimated population of 140 million and an annual population growth rate of 2.9%, Nigeria is the most populous nation in sub-Sahara Africa and the tenth most populous in the world. However, the composition of this population is dependent on the population of each community with 49% contribution from the rural life, (UNDP, 2007).

With the UNDP (2007) statistics, the population growth shows profound inequalities and disproportions when analysed with development indicators such as 21 doctors per 100,000 people, infant mortality rate of 112 per 1000 life births, maternal mortality of over 980 per 100,000 life births, life expectancy in the community is at birth projected at 50 years. Therefore, it can now define population growth as the increase in the number of human inhabitants of a given place.

The total population of any area of the earth's surface represents a balance between two forces. One is natural change caused by the difference between the number of births and deaths. If births are more in number than deaths in any period, the total population will increase. However, if they are less in number it will decrease. This simple relationship is modified by a second force known as migration concept. When immigrants are numerically more than emigrants, there will be a population increase. On the other hand when emigrants are more in number, there will be a population decline (Ben, 2005). Ben went on to say that net changes in population totals are caused by the interaction of four elements of Births and Immigrants who tend to push the total up, while Deaths and Emigrants tend to bring the total down. Although migration may be the most important factor in small areas for example, in a small village or a city block, it is less significant on the national level.

For the world as a whole, migration is irrelevant because all movements take place within the limits of the geographical enclave. However, overpopulation is described as a condition where the number of people exceeds the carrying capacity of its habitat. Migration usually refers to the relationship between the human population and its environment, the earth. Overpopulation does not depend only on the size or density of the population, but on the ratio of population of available sustainable resources. It also depends on the way resources are used and distributed throughout the population (Andrew, 2001).Matching population growth with development is the real object of global and country action towards improved welfare, human development and economic growth. The changing patterns in the size, structure and distribution of population leads into the persistent shifts in the choice of approaches for managing development (Rostow, 1998).

The population of an economy has been one of the most important factors when it comes to growth in the socio-economic life of the rural communities. In most situations it is presumed that population and economic growth in the rural communities has inverse or negative relationship. It has been proven in developing countries like Nigeria that as the country's population increases beyond normal limits, pressure is exerted on basic amenities such as healthcare and education, which means that governments always have to over spend their budgets to provide these basic amenities in situations of high population growth. The multiplier effects are usually unemployment, falling standards of living, loss of access to social amenities as a result of government insufficient presence and reduced GDP of the overall economy. Meier (2005) is of the view that high population growth does not only create food problems but also limits savings, foreign exchange and the development of Human Resources. Because of these perceived constraints to economic growth as a result of population growth, it was very common to see UNDP and its affiliates supporting governments in some communities who are lucky to attract such presence to develop proactive ways in helping to reduce their alarming population growths and poverty in such rural communities. On the other hand, specifically, Rivers state in Nigeria is the sixth highly populated state having a population of 5,185,400 with the density of 468/km 2 (1,210/sq.m) with huge economic resources (NPC 2006). However, the pondering question in this study is whether the economic performance of Rivers state actually denotes the huge economic resources and labour resulting from high population rate so as to positively affect her rural communities. Therefore the researcher had chosen to Ogu in Ogu/Bolo Local Government Area of Rivers State as a rural community having a growing population of 74, 683 according to the 2006 National population Census figure.


# II.


# Statement of the Problem

It is undeniable that Nigeria vis-à-vis Rivers State population is growing in an alarming rate. Before the 2006 census exercise, Rivers State population stood at 3,187,864 with 51.9 per cent of the population being males and 1,532,217 or 48.1 per cent being females. But then the population grew very fast to 5,185,400 in a few years. Rivers State as at then account for 3.58 per cent of Nigeria's population while in 2006 it accounted for the 6 th most populated state in Nigeria. The population of Rivers State is unevenly distributed among

LGAs, towns and villages, such that ecological and physical conditions underscore the observed population distribution pattern. However, Rivers State in Nigeria is known as one of the richest States with huge economic resources. But her population growth has not also matched with her economic performance although its industrial base before the recession was growing at a geometric rate in line with its population growth.

The population of an economy has been one of the most important factors when it comes to growth of an economy. In most situations it is presumed that population and economic growth has inverse or negative relationship. It has been proven in third world countries that, as a country's population increases beyond normal limits, pressure is exerted on basic amenities such as healthcare and education, which means that governments will always have to over spend their budgets to provide these basic amenities in such areas of high population density due to growth. The long run effects will be high debts, budget deficits, falling standard of living as a result of reduced GDP. Meier (1995) is of the view that high population growth does not only create food problems but also limits savings, foreign exchange and the development of Human Resources. Because of these perceived constraints to economic growth as a result of population growth, it was very common to see UNDP and its affiliates supporting governments in South America, Africa, Asia and eastern Europe in the early 1980's and 1990's, to develop proactive ways in helping to reduce their alarming population growth. On the other hand, most western economies are also experiencing dramatic reduction in their birth rates, due to the fact that most people sacrificed their family lives for their careers. Such dramatic drop in population growth in western countries has actually been a course of concern for governments and economists, especially because these western economies are also experiencing an aging population.

Engelman (1997:6) stated that population growth influences many areas of human affairs, not merely food, security or health or environmental quality or economic growth, but all these and more. It is still a source of concern especially in the developing countries, where a good percentage of the population is not engaged in productive activities. Birth rate is on the increase due to increase in fertility whereas death rate is reduced due to improvement in the medical services.

According to Henderson and Poole (1991:109), in most markets, rising population shifts demand curves out and that total demand in a country with a large population is greater than in a country with a small population. Henderson and Poole further stated that, so many demand studies are based on per-capita data that is, breaking down the population by age group and/or other characteristics and selecting a particular group appropriate to the study.

Abomaye-Nimenibo (2008, 2017) stated that in developing countries, high population growth will result to excess demand for goods and services which will in the long run affect aggregate demand and stimulate growth in an economy.

Therefore, the question that readily comes to mind is -why is population growth a hindrance to economic growth for some countries and on the other hand a key to economic growth for other countries? The answer may be in structural reforms or per capita resources. But it is a proven fact that population growth can actually support a country's economic growth, especially because a high population growth can provide the appropriate labour force to support the economy, it also expands the domestic market, which means that local manufacturers and suppliers can increase their wealth; and finally high population growth which will encourage competition in the market place and thus resulting in innovations and technological advancement, and a typical example is that of China and Indonesia.

Emerging markets are the hottest destinations of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI's) today. According to the IMF report in 2011, emerging markets help to bring about 52% share of the world's total FDI's in 2010. IMF stated that the 8 largest emerging markets are at an advantageous position when it comes to attracting FDI's, and this is due to their market size. Today most investors seek to be more efficient and therefore seek for markets with new technology, competitively priced inputs and labour as well as new channels of distribution. Therefore, an economy's size matters when it comes to FDI's. According IMF, the world 10 largest economies account for nearly 47% of FDI'S in 2010. United States of America remains at the top destination list for FDI's, receiving $228 billion followed by china which receives $106 billion.

There are strong evidences to suggest that population increase can result in the growth of output believing that Rivers State especially in her rural communities will experience similar development. On the other hand, the case may be different, hence the choice of Ogu Community in Ogu/Bolo LGA as the prima facia area to study. The fact need to be verified whether population growth will account for low standard of living, shortage or insufficient social amenities like good roads, education, health care facilities and other life enhancing business, leading to lower standard of living of the people and increase poverty and unemployment with Ogu Urban Town in Ogu/Bolo LGA of Rivers State? This means that as the population grows, demand for food consumption also increases. In a situation where economic resources are limited, then the resulting effect is low standard of living in the socio-economic lives of the people. It is therefore upon this bases that the researchers chooses to carry out this investigation to establish the fact or negate it using an urban town as a rural community.


# III.


# Objectives of the Study

The main objective of this study is to examine the effect of population growth on the socio-economic life of the people of Ogu IV.


# Research Questions

The following research questions are used as a safe guard in support of the hypothesis. They are as follows: 


# Significance of the Study

Findings in this research will provide support for governments to adopt structural reforms that can support its population in economic development and growth.


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# Year ( )

Investors are constantly looking for new areas to invest and such a research can actually help these investors to determine some of the markets that hold investment potentials, especially the newly semideveloped areas.

The research seeks to compliment the efforts of past researchers in their attempt to draw a line between population growth and economic development. Attempts will be made to concretize or question the claims and assertions made by past researchers. This research will also lend credence to future research on the subject.

Over the years the World Bank and the IMF has been developing different structures to help economies fight poverty, and thus the findings from this research is believed to be one of the development tools that the World Bank and IMF can use to support the different economies to promote growth and development.

The researchers would want this research to educate the reader not only on the relationship between population and economic growth but also on how an economy works.


# VII.


# Operational Definition of Terms used in this Research

Population Growth: Population growth is the increase in the number of individual people in a population constituency.

Socio-Economic Life: Socio-economic life refers to the social norms, ethics and other social aspect of life that are or not available, as well as beliefs regarding the direction that life should go.

Optimum Population: Optimum population refers to the size of a population that produces the best results according to chosen end targets.

Over Population: Overpopulation is an undesirable condition where the number of existing human population exceeds the carrying capacity of the earth.

Under Population: Under-population is usually defined as a state in which a country's population has declined so much to support its current economic system.

Standard of Living: Refers to the level of wealth, comfort, material goods and goals necessities available to a certain socio-economic class in a certain geographical area, usually a country. The growth rate was 3.02 per cent per annum. The population is said to be capable of doubling itself in less than twenty three years. In addition, the United Nations estimates of 2009 put the Nigerian total population at one hundred and fifty one million, thirty thousand and four hundred (151,030,400). Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and also the most populous among the black nations of the world. Globally, Nigeria is among the ten top countries with the largest population, and in-fact, the seventh among the countries with the largest population in the world (United Nations, 2009).

The population of an economy has been one of the most important factors to be considered when it comes to growth in the socio-economic life of rural communities. In most situations it has been presumed that population and economic growth in the rural communities has inverse or negative relationship. It has been proven in developing countries like Nigeria that as the country's population increases beyond normal limits, pressure is exerted on basic amenities such as healthcare and education, which means that the government of Nigeria, always have to over spend their budgets to provide these basic amenities in situations of high population growth. The multiplier effects are usually unemployment, falling standards of living, loss of access to social amenities as a result of government insufficient presence and reduced GDP of the overall economy. Meier (2005) is of the view that high population growth does not only create food problems but also limits savings, foreign exchange and the development of Human Resources. Because of these perceived constraints to economic growth as a result of population growth, it was very common to see UNDP and its affiliates supporting governments in some communities who are lucky to attract such presence to develop proactive ways in helping to reduce their alarming population growth and poverty in such rural communities. On the other hand, specifically, Rivers state in Nigeria is said to be the sixth highly populated state having a population of 5,185,400 with the density of 468/km 2 (1,210/sqm) with huge economic resources (NPC 2006). However, the pondering question in this study is whether the economic performance of Rivers state actually denotes the huge economic resources and that of labour resulting from high population rate so as to positively affect her rural communities. Therefore, the researchers of this study had chosen to direct the investigations to Ogu in Ogu/Bolo Local Government Area of Rivers State which has a population of 74, 683 according to the 2006 National population Census figure . IX.


# Theoretical Framework

Malthus and Smith, (1798) stated that there is a marked difference in the models of technological and economic growth proposed by Malthus and later Solow, which allow for no per capita growth of income as capital is fixed. However, later models do allow for per capital economic growth which appears to fit the observable conditions in the recent past. While the Malthusian model is considered accurate in preindustrial societies, yet it fails to work out correctly in industrialized environments. Reconciliation of the differences between the two fundamental environments, have created multiphase models which allow for Malthusian, Post-Malthusian and Modern regimes, as stated by Galor and Weil (1998), while other scholars such as Simon-Steinmann (1977 and 1986) have created two models, one of each of the two stylized named the More and Less Developed Countries (MDC and LDC respectively), and treating the two groups as distinctly separate. The rationale behind this distinction is that a demographic transition has occurred in one (the MDC) and is now beginning to occur in the LDC nations but under different circumstance; and most of these circumstances that occurred are economic in nature and the tacit assumption is that economics is the driving force behind the transition and not the other way round as has been postulated by Knodel and Van De Walle (Greenhalgh, 1995). In the case of Galor-Weil model, there appears to be an assumption that today's economic world is different from the one that Malthus observed. Simon does not explicitly make this assumption and did not deal with any historical perspective earlier than the industrial revolution but rather put forward anecdotal evidence of Greece and Rome in "The Ultimate Resource", in part due to lack of economic data. If today's economic environment is operating under the same mechanisms as before, there is a question that readily comes to mind -whether current growth models accurately portray not just trends of population and economic growth but also elucidating the mechanisms by which the economic growth occurs? Based on the need for multi-phase models as well as separately handling of different types of economies, there is a reason that they do not. Simon (1977) dismisses the effect of demographic anomalies on the short-term economics of nations in favour of long-term trends. He specifically dismisses the impact of agestructure and dependency ratio on economic growth as minimal compared to that of the level chosen for the savings rate. What he does not deal with is the possible effect the age-structure and other demographic dynamics may have on the saving rate. Assuming there is a demographic effect on the level of investment, and then it only stands to reason that these population dynamics have an effect on the short-term and longterm economic growth of the economy. He went further to say, due to speed of the current demographic transition in LDC nations, these effects may be exacerbated and causing current observable conditions to appear differently from those conditions leading to the wealth of the MDC nations. Using a simplified illustration based on current anthropological theory, the framework for the link between population growth, population size, carrying capacity of the land and economic growth will be explored. This possible link may also help elucidate some of the possible mechanisms for economic growth; something which Simon does speak little of, as he tends to approach the subject from the standpoint of having the model match known trends. The following models are therefore considered adequate for this study.


# a) Simon-Steinmann Economic Growth Model

The basic idea to the theory proposed by Julian Simon and Gunter Steinmann is that the greater the total population, the greater the level of technological growth yielding the greater per capita income. This idea is said to have been derived from Boserup which was referred to as the Population Push model, and distinguishes between current knowledge and knowledge being applied for production (Simon 1977). Underlying the population push model of technological development is the added idea that technology can and does develop independent of population growth (learning-by-doing) and therefore technology builds upon itself, reconciling the pull and push models of technological progress. So even in the case of a static population, there will be some level of technological advancement, which may be slower in situations of growing population. This technological progress function is added to the Douglas-Cobb production function to produce a model containing endogenous technological progress based on population growth and learning-by-doing. If this model, labour supply and population are used synonymously as he dismisses the impact of agestructure and dependency ratio on economic growth as minimal to the effect of the savings rate. He uses Japan and the US as an example of the disparity between savings rate and the effect it has on output (Simon 1977).The results of the model yield modest per capita economic growth at equilibrium and Simon determines that maximized long term economic growth (always in per capita terms unless otherwise noted) requires 1-2% per annum population growth and a 2-4% rate of savings with a low discount rate below 4%. At a higher discount rate of 5-10% there was still increased consumption. This population growth rate, he made clear, is higher than the rate that produces the highest adoption of technology (Simon, 1986). Any growth that occurs too fast will have diminishing return or create a circumstance where it stagnates. On the other hand a


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Volume XVII Issue VI Version I Year ( ) modest negative population growth will have the effect of limiting growth but large negative out flows in population will stagnant growth out-rightly. The level of total technology (available and in use) never decreases since this is, in his estimation, illogical.

British political economist Rev. Thomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834) who was regarded as the first professional demographer buttressed this point in his first and the most influential book on population growth. In his book (Essay on the principle of population), he wrote many years ago about the possible consequences of a rapidly growing population. He explained that when population increases more rapidly than the food supply, there is going to be starvation with attendant problems. He went on to say that population is checked by war, diseases, famine, etc. Malthus' proposition looks relevant to Nigerian situation, where the population is growing geometrically. Rapid population growth is detrimental to economic and social development as often found in the literature and that there will be little or no time to adjust economy to developmental efforts. Population will continue to eat up any gain in economic development and these may lead to adverse effects on the people as put forward by Malthus.

Nigerian population requires and deserves urgent attention as a result of its alarming and unprecedented growth rate, as the population has gathered momentum. Regardless of any efforts, Nigerian population will continue to grow for some time. Nigerians need to learn from China's experience in the 19th century when the Qing government faced many problems associated with population growth. More and more people lived in poverty; they were unable to cope when floods or droughts occurred. The government of Qing was unprepared for the effects of population growth (Clunas, 2008).We hope that Nigeria will get prepared and saved for the rainy day.


# b) Nigeria Census-Taking and Population History

Nigeria has engaged in different censuses in its fifty-seven years of existence. Initially, censuses were taken and restricted to only Lagos Island and part of the Mainland in 1866, 1871 and 1896. Many urban towns were included in the censuses of 1911 and 1921. There were variations in the Northern and Southern Protectorates as regards the census conducted in 1931. Though, the two were based mostly on estimates (NPC, 1998).

No effort was made to conduct census in 1941 due to Second World War and was later conducted in 1952/53. It was elaborate but probably underenumerated the population of Nigeria. After the independence of Nigeria on first of October, 1960, census was carried out in 1962 (Iro, 1987). The result of the 1962 census was nullified and another one was conducted in 1963 (Ekanem, 1972). The result of this census was nullified also by the Supreme Court. In addition, the result of 1973 census was unacceptable (NPC, 1998).

1991 witnessed another census-taking and Post Enumeration Survey (PES) in Nigeria. This census was a successful attempt and it provided a robust set of socioeconomic and demographic data for social and economic planning. The total population as at 1991 was 88,992,220. In 2006 about fifteen years later, a headcount census was conducted which revealed a total population that was more than 140 million people.


# c) Demographic Transition Stages of Population

Demographers have generally examined trends in the population with the attendant postulation of demographic transition theory. According to Isuigo-Abanihe (2009), Thompson (2003) and Notestein (1945), a distinct explanation of these phenomenal changes, as well as the large changes among world regions, stemmed from the demographic transition theory, which was built on the experience of currently developed societies, and suggests that societies pass through five stages in the process of change. The five transition stages are explained as follows: i


# Stage One of demographic transition theory

This is the pre-industrial society where death rates and birth rates are high and roughly imbalanced (i.e. fluctuated rapidly according to natural events, such as famine, drought, and disease). All human populations were believed to have been balanced until the late 18th century, when this balance ended in Western Europe. During the agricultural revolution, birth and death rates both tend to be very high in this stage and because both rates are approximately in balance, population growth is typically very slow in stage one.

ii Stage Two of demographic transition theory In that of a developing country, the death rates drop rapidly owing to improvements in food supply and sanitation, this increases life spans and reduces diseases. The improvements were specific to food supply typically which include selective breeding and crop rotation and farming techniques. Other improvements generally include access to technology, basic health care, and education. For example, numerous improvements in public health reduce mortality, especially childhood mortality. Prior to the mid-20th century, these improvements in public health were primarily in the areas of food handling, water supply, sewage, and personal hygiene. Interestingly, one of the variables often cited is the increase in female literacy combined with public health education programmes which emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The death rate declined without a corresponding fall in birth rates which produces an imbalance and the country in this stage experience a large increase in population.

iii Stage Three of demographic transition theory In stage three, birth rates fall owing to access to contraception, increases in wages, urbanization, a reduction in subsistence agriculture, an increase in the status and education of women, a reduction in the value of children's work, an increase in parental investment in the education of children and other social changes.

Population growth begins to level off. The birth rate declined in developed countries when contraception improvement played a role in birth rate. Notwithstanding, contraceptives were not generally available nor widely used in the 19th century which did not play a significant role in the decline. Birth rate decline was caused by a transition in values and not just because of the availability of contraceptives.

iv Stage Four of demographic transition theory In stage four, there are both low birth rates and low death rates. Birth rates dropped to well below replacement level, as it is happening in countries like Germany, Italy, and Japan, leading to a shrinking population, which is a threat to many industries that rely on population growth. As the large group that was born during stage two period continue existing, they create an economic burden on the shrinking working population. Death rates may remain consistently low or increase slightly as a result of increases in lifestyle diseases arising from low exercise levels, high obesity, and an aging population in developed countries. However, by the late 20th century, birth rates and death rates in developed countries levelled off at lower rates but not so with developing countries.


# v Stage Five of demographic transition theory

In stage five, some theorists argue that a fifth stage is needed to represent countries that have subreplacement fertility (that is, below 2.1 meaning 2 children per woman). Most European and many East Asian countries now have higher death rates than birth rates. In this stage, population aging and population decline will eventually occur to some extent if mass migration does not occur. However, some theorists submitted that there may be a further stage of demographic development. According to Myrskyla, Koller, and Billari (2009), advances in developments reverse fertility declines, showing that previously negative relationship between national wealth (as measured by the Human Development Index (HDI)) and birth rates have become J-shaped. Development promotes fertility decline at low and medium HDI levels, but advanced HDI promotes a rebound in fertility (Myrskyla et al., 2009). In many countries with very high levels of development (around 0.95) fertility rates are now approaching two children per woman, although there are exceptions, notably in Germany and Japan (Myrskyla et. al. 2009).

Demographic transition is said to be the window of opportunity for implementation of development-oriented government policies. So that one-type gift of the demographic transition is expected to provide lots of opportunities for development and economic gains. During the transition population, growth and changes in the age structure of the population are inevitable, if appropriate policies are pursued (Ingle and Suryawanshi, 2011). The debate on the relationship between population growth and economic development followed from the critics of the theory of Malthus in 18th century. While economists have often focused on the size of the population and the growth of nations, the composition of population age structure has not been considered under most of the studies (Coale and Hoover, 1958). But in recent years, demographers, such as Bloom et al. (1998), have studied the type of composition of age structure of population and its effect on economic growth and the concept of "demographic dividend" emerged.


# d) Demographic Transition and Development in Nigeria

Demographic transition began in the 18th century in countries that are developed and still continues to date, but, in less developed countries, this demographic transition started later and is still at an earlier stage. However, some trends in communicable diseases, such as water borne bacteria, malaria, polio, HIV/AIDS and Ebola, have become the leading source of mortality in countries like Malawi, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Sudan and Nigeria. Rural Nigeria is experiencing stages two and three of demographic transition process. The feature of these two stages is that there is an increasingly rapid rise in population growth (population explosion) as the gap between deaths and births grow wider. The factors responsible for the population explosion in the rural areas is, first, improvement in the food supply by higher yields from modernized agricultural practices and government policies and better transportation of these agricultural yields. The second is the significant progress being made in public health and provision of primary health care centres in the rural areas for the reduction of underfive mortality and epidemic of communicable diseases, which entails the increasing survival of children and a growing population in the rural areas. These features of the demographic transition in the rural areas of Nigeria affect rural development positively.

With the increasing population in the rural areas, the age structure (15-24 years) of this population becomes increasingly active and moves to the working age population. However, the positive features of the demographic transition in rural Nigeria is reflected in the continued decline in childhood death as a result of parents realizing that they do not need many children so as to ensure a comfortable old age; and increasing urbanization that changes the traditional values placed upon fertility and the value of children in rural society, that is, urban living, which increases the cost of dependent children to a family. Others are the introduction of compulsory and free education in the rural areas with the provision of free books for them; increasing female literacy and empowerment of women, which lowers the high rate of childbearing and motherhood as measures of the status of women; and substantial progress made in the availability of contraceptive and knowledge of how to use them. Also, there are the resulting changes in the age structure of the population of the rural areas, which include reduction in the youth dependency ratio and eventually population aging. In this period between the decline in youth dependency and rise in old age dependency, there is a demographic window of opportunity that can potentially produce economic growth through an increase in the ratio of working age to dependent population, hence the demographic dividend of the population of the rural areas in Nigeria.


# e) Effects of Demographic Transition of Age Structure and Rural Development

The term development was used mainly in its economic sense until the last decade when it is used to imply the capacity of a national economy whose initial economic conditions has been more or less static for a long time to generate and sustain an annual increase of its gross national product at rates of, perhaps, 5% to 7% or more. In another connotation, development is the use of rates of growth of per capita Gross National Product (GNP) and this is supposed to take into consideration the ability of a nation to expand its output at a rate faster than the growth rate of its population. Development has also been conceived in terms of the planned alteration of the structure of production and employment so that agriculture's share of both declines, whereas that of the manufacturing and service industries increases (Torado, 1979). We cannot talk of development without talking of population growth. Population and development are inextricably linked.

However, there is no universally accepted definition of rural development. The term is used in different ways in vastly divergent contexts. As a concept, it connotes the overall development of rural areas with a view to improving the quality of life of the rural people. As a phenomenon, it is the result of various physical, technological, economic, socio-cultural, and institutional factors. As a discipline, it is multi-disciplinary in nature, representing an intersection of agricultural, social, behavioural and management sciences. It is also a process that aims at improving the standard of living of the people living in the rural areas. According to United States Department of Agriculture (2006), rural development is the improvement in overall rural community conditions, including economic and other qualities of life considerations, such as the environment, health, infrastructure, and housing.

Development has a goal of improving human dignity and human welfare. Population issues have been of concern to development for several thousands of years and, as such, the general concern was to stabilize the population to an optimum in terms of both the number and the quality of people. According to Morris (1967), as cited by Orubuloye and Oguntimehin (2000), population growth can be an impetus to development. For instance, increase in population can result in an increase in the total demand for goods and services, and the demand could be met by increased productivity. A growing population will permit a better division of labour, and the ratio of labour force to population would be improved. A growing population would afford economy of scale; and the growth of population will act as a challenge that will lead people to increase their efficiency.

However, there has been a relationship between population dynamics and the resources necessary to sustain human existence which has occupied an important position since the beginning of demographic studies. Although the Malthusian ideas have been heavily criticized because technological development has made increase in productivity possible, the problem of the discrepancy between population size and means of subsistence has, in recent years, taken a new dimension (Orubuloye and Oyeneye, 1983). The main concern has been the impact of population growth on the rate and level of development. There has been no agreement among the various countries in the world on the nature of the relationship between population and development. A lot of advanced capitalist countries and some of their scholars believed that developing countries will be unable to move out of the vicious cycle of poverty unless population growth is brought under control. Some of the developing countries especially those with socialist ideas, have insisted on pushing the population issue aside, objecting the fact that the economic exploitation and political domination by the developed countries are the reasons for their relative poverty. Some developing countries even believed that population growth should be encouraged as it is beneficial to the development process because of the advantages which are associated with population growth when it comes to peasant farming and income generation.


# f) Importance of Population in Growing Economies

How exactly does population growth matter in developing economies? Or, how does each aspect of population growth fertility and family size, the proportion of children relative to working-age adults (expressed as will not suffice. At one time or another, economists have suspected that population dynamics influence economic growth, employment and poverty, as well as the management of assets. The three principal categories of assets are physical (human-built infrastructure related to economic activity), natural (natural resources and the services they provide, including waste material and energy cycling), and human (health and educational status of citizens). In this section, we briefly summarize conclusions drawn from recent research related to each category of asset. Obviously, there is variation among countries, variation in the nature and quality of studies from which conclusions are drawn, and some uncertainty associated with each conclusion.

Unlike laboratory scientists, economists cannot conduct controlled experiments. Their work relies on surveys involving standard economic statistics and on expectations from the theories of their discipline. Based on this premise, economists try to identify patterns of behaviour over time and carryout comparisons between two or more blocs that shape their conclusions. Studies of a single country often produce valuable insights, but it can be hazardous to generalize by applying the lessons learned to other countries. The problem of generalization is solved where strong patterns of population-related impact emerge from multi-country comparisons. However, such patterns are hard to discern among variations in data quality, history, culture, geography and shocks related to political events or natural disasters. Where information is scarce or hard to measure, economists lean heavily on theory to guide them. The following statements briefly outlined what most economists researching demographic change presently accept to be relationships through which high fertility, population growth and increased human density relates to economic well-being in the developing world.


# g) Failure of Past Efforts to Reduce Rapid Population

Growth in Nigeria (Council of State, 2007). Despite the two policies, the Nigerian population is growing rapidly and the rate of growth in 2006 was higher than that of 1991. The policies have not achieved the stated aims and objectives as the population keeps on growing. We see a lot of factors militating against the success and proper functioning of the population policy programmes. Ebigbola (1988) explained in his write-up that there are many socio-cultural and other constraints that militate against effective implementation of the population policy programmes in Nigeria.

The policy seem to be voluntary in nature yet 'couples will only be encouraged to have the number of children that they can adequately cater for, and that all couples have the basic right to decide freely and responsibly the number and the spacing of their children'.

There is also prevalence of polygamy more especially in the Northern part of Nigeria where Islamic injunction allows a man to marry many wives. The policy advocated four children per woman rather than four children per couple meaning that men are at liberty to have as many children as they wish.

We also see another impediment to this policy in the area of religious belief where Islam does not support the fixing of marriage age at 18 years or more. The adolescent age to them started earlier than the teenage age. Therefore, the programme cannot be implemented wholly or in part in the Muslim community of the North due to this belief.

Furthermore, there is a wide belief that the male children are the pillars of the family and object of perpetuation of the family lineage. Therefore, many families strife to have many male children irrespective of the number of female they have had.

More so, the policy was voluntary in nature and does not have a legal backing, no sanction against offender and there is no incentive for compliance.

The most serious impediment to this policy is the frequent change of government in Nigeria. Every government that comes on board wants to be the architect of a new policy; and for political reasons, there is no continuity in governance with any equal zeal to implementing the policy on the part of most successive governments (Ebigbola, 1988).


# h) Implications of a Rapidly Growing Nigerian Population

Growing populations like that of Nigeria has many effects. Some of them are as explained below:

Growing population will create a large market for goods and services. Large population mean large demand for commodities and services. There will be high number of consumers. Demand for food, clothing and shelter will be on the increase. Moreover, demand for materials being used by children will also increase. It is a truism that a rapidly growing population will always The first serious efforts made by Nigeria to influence the population variables was in 1988 during the Buhari/Idiagbon administration known as "Nigeria Policy on Population for Unity, Progress and Self-Reliance" after the approval of the Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC). The policy was a proof of the then government's seriousness and concern about family planning as part of overall socio-economic development of the country; stressing the need for the policy (Federal Ministry of Health, 1985). In furtherance to getting this policy work out, a supporting policy was introduced in 2003 by Olusegun Obasanjo Administration to back it up called "Nigeria Policy on Population for Sustainable Development". These policies do not yield desired results as the rate of population growth in 1991 was put at 2.82 per cent and in 2006 at 3.02 per cent which attest to the fact that the policies have little or no influence on the people have a large number of children. According to 1991 population census of Nigeria, 45% of the total population falls into 0-14 year age group. Therefore, there will be an increasing demand for toys, children wear, etc. for this age bracket.

As explained above, a growing population will stimulate demand and change investment pattern. A large population of children means large production of materials needed by the children. Many producers will change their production pattern and shift to the production of children's goods. On the part of government, more schools will be built for children especially those of nursery and primary schools, with more recreational facilities, more health institutions that will treat them and give vaccines. An increasing population will increase the dependency ratio and workers will have more mouths to feed as more children or aged people are there to be catered for. Invariably, this will mean greater dependants on the working population. There will be social burden and economic liability on the working population. By implication, this means that the working population will have to meet their own needs and those of their dependants, leave meagre resources or nothing left out of the populace income. Hence, the nation will experience reduced savings leading to a lower rate of capital formation. This in turn will hamper the socio-economic development of the country. This situation is seen as one of the reasons why Nigeria is experiencing low capital formation and epileptic or very low socio-economic development.

Therefore, increase demand without corresponding increase in production will bring about high cost of living; where many people will be chasing too few goods and this will lead to upward movement of prices of commodities and services. Demand and prices of goods and services are constantly increasing in Nigeria due to population pressure and cost of living, more especially in the urban areas. Many people in Nigeria are seen to be spending a large percentage of their income on goods, services; especially on children upkeep in such areas as Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt for an example.

Another effect of a rapidly increasing population is the low level of income per head. The result of this is a lower standard of living or general fall in the standard of living of the people since consumption of goods and services per head is expected to be low. Low level of income per head can lead to consumption of substandard and inferior goods and can also cause a lot of people to live in ghetto or slump areas. Ghettos are considered to be fertile breeding places for contagious diseases and epidemics. This situation is considered to be the case in many places in Nigeria especially in Lagos area, and in many parts of the Northern Nigeria.

Besides, high and rapid population growth without corresponding social and economic growth will lead to inadequate social services and misuse of scarce resources due to heavy pressure on housing, educational facilities, roads, health facilities, water supply, etc. by the teeming population. In order to forestall incessant breakdown of these facilities and also to meet the increasing demand for them, the government will have to spend more money on provision of more facilities and on the repair and maintenance of existing ones. In Nigeria, there is an acute shortage of amenities in urban areas and sometimes the non-existent of same. There is frequent power failure or outages. Shortage of pipe born water and inadequate tertiary institutions are all considered to be reasons adduced to population pressure.

Despite the negative reasons advance against increasing population, it is crystal clear that increasing population will generate increasing manpower more especially in the long run. The children who are more in number today will later become the labour force tomorrow, thereby generates higher supply of labour. In Nigeria, the rapidly increasing population has in no doubt, generated rapidly growing supply of labour. 1991 Population Census revealed that 51.7% of the total population belonged to age group 15 -64. The population Census of 2006 revealed greater percentage of this working class. Presently in Nigeria, there is a great number of people who are able, capable, willing and available for employment. It is sad to point out that there are no enough jobs to absorb this great and teeming labour force. The resultant effect is the high level of unemployment and poverty. Hence, there is low savings due to low income, high and growing number of dependants. The low savings will lead to low investment, which will inevitably, bring about inability to absorb growing number of labour force. Growth in population normally results to growth in population density especially in developing countries of the world. The average population density for the country in 1991 was 96 persons per km2. In some parts of Nigeria, population density is as high as 1,000 persons per square kilometre. For instance, the most densely populated states are Lagos (1,712 persons per sq. km), Anambra (534 persons per sq. km), Imo (438 persons per sq. km) and AkwaIbom (389 persons per sq. km). These states are all in the southern part of the country. Kano State is the most densely populated in the northern part of the country, with a population density of 281 persons per sq. km (NPC, 1998).


# X.


# Empirical Review

Aguirre (1999) stated that there are many researchers taking part in the population debate and they all have divergent approaches with different motivations. A working knowledge of the parties and their underlying philosophies will allow one to sift through the diverse rhetoric and hold then up to the light of scientific data. Frank Furedi, (1997) in his work on population and Development has provided a brief outline of the variety of approaches to the issues of population. The Easterlin (1985) framework is often used to explain fertility levels in developing countries. Unlike other theories on population that draws solely from economics, Easterlin framework according to Macunovich (2000) is strengthened by its combination of the demand concept from economics and the supply concept on population from sociology. The argument is that declining infant mortality leads to an excess supply of children thus, decreasing the demand for children and motivating fertility regulation. This is relevant in Nigeria because infant mortality and other indicators of socio-economic development have made little progress since the recession of the 1980s. Caldwell's (1982) wealth flow theory of the expected social and economic returns to parents from their investment in children seems close to the current economic realities in Nigeria. The high cost of schooling, the dwindling financial support from government, and the increasing unemployment of university graduates may have created the context for the reversal of the wealth flow theory postulations (National research council, 1993).

Empirical studies which have used crosscountry data to try and evaluate these claims, have however, found little evidence to support either argument. Once, the effects of initial income, education and other determinants of growth are taken into account, population growth is found to have a negligible effect on growth of GDP (Bloom and Freeman, 1986). This gave rise to the population neutralist or revisionist perspective, which held that demography, was not a significant factor in the economic growth process. This view was responsible for the tenuous position population variables have recently occupied in studies of economic growth.

The study by Eke (1966) is a simple statistical approach that attempted at estimating the de jure population of Nigeria for the period of 1952 to 1965. The aim of Eke's paper was to point out the inadequacy of official Nigeria census statistics, the general intellectual confusion and the diseconomies inherent in political approach to census taking.

The study by Tuny (1984) can be regarded as one of the most comprehensive studies on the relationship between population growth and economic development. This model, which utilized time-series data from Taiwan, comprised about one hundred and fifteen equations and identities. The results obtained from the simulation showed that in the short run, a reduced rate of population growth would bring about a higher rate of per capital income. However, it must be noted that these results did not consider the impact of migration especially, from the rural and the urban areas.

Ogujiliba (2005) attempted to quantify and examine how changes in population dynamics affect household portfolio choices (expenditure on food, monetary transactions, goods and services and non-cash expenditure) in Nigeria given the fact that Nigeria is going through a demographic transition. Previous efforts to assess impacts of population growth have ignored the household expenditure response which has been far from being definitive on the transmission net effects on household portfolio choices. This study focuses on Nigeria with the aim of overcoming these defects and obtaining reliable information. The study established a link between demographic variables and household expenditure components using the Vector Error Correlation Method. Next the estimated equations are used to project the pattern of the different components of expenditure income based on three population scenarios generated from different assumptions on changes in fertility. The results suggest that population growth in Nigeria can produce significant effects on the economy via the expenditure profiles of households. The results also suggest that other factors such as real per capital income, ratio of other expenditure categories to total expenditure influences growth of household expenditure components.

Oladosu (2001) posits that the prospects for fertility decline in Nigeria are bright as noticeable trends in the use of contraceptives between 1990 and 1999 increased. The proportion of women who had births in the five years declined. Some women in Nigeria thought that they have the same or equal reproductive goals as their husbands as regards deciding how many children the family should have. These are favourable indicators for future decline. In addition, young women who are gainfully employed in white collar jobs and work away from home are more likely to use contraceptive drugs and they are more likely not to have frequent births in three to five years of early employment. Young women who married at later ages are likely not to have early births, thereby reducing the number of births.

Shavazi and Jones (2001) carried out a study on population dynamics and characteristics among Muslim population to aid deeper understanding of the Muslim world having defined Muslim-majority countries and countries with large Muslim populations. The study explained demographic, social and economic characteristics of Muslim populations, and also, analyses demographic transition in the Muslim world. In a similar study carried out in Muslim majority countries by Makinwa and Adebusoye (1991) analysed the adolescent reproductive behaviour in Nigeria using five cities which are Enugu, Kaduna, Jos, Onitsha and Zaria as a case study. The findings indicated that the lives of a large segment of Nigeria's youth may be in jeopardy in many ways from early unguarded sexual promiscuity resulting in unwanted pregnancies, disruption of education and illegally induced abortions. large demand for commodities and services implying that a high number of consumers will stimulate demand for food, clothing and shelter. Moreover, demand for children wears and toy materials etc. for children will also increase as a rapidly growing population will always have a large number of children. The 1991 population census of Nigeria, gave the figure of children from 0-14 years age group as 45% of the total population. Therefore, there will be stimulating increase in demand for toys, children wear, etc.

As explained above, a growing population will stimulate demand and change investment pattern. An increasing population will increase dependency ratio and workers will have more mouths to feed as more children or aged people are there to be catered for. There will be greater dependants on the working population. There will be social burden and economic liability on the working population. This will be reduction in savings which inversely shows a lower rate of capital formation paradoxically. This in turn seems to hamper the socio-economic development of the LGA which in turn have its toll on the economy both positively and negatively. This is said to be one of the reasons why Nigeria is experiencing low capital formation and epileptic or very low socio-economic development. However, one may ask whether this assertion be true, calls for a study of the rural economy.

However, increase demand without a corresponding increase in production will bring about high cost of living. Many people will be chasing few goods and this will lead to upward movement of prices of commodities and services. Of a note, demand and price are constantly increasing in Nigeria due to population pressure and cost of living as is experienced especially in the urban areas.

A common effect of a rapidly increasing population is the enthronement of low level of income per head as a result of fewer income or resources per head. The result of this is the lowering standard of living or the general fall in the standard of living of the people in that geographical enclave. The consumption of goods and services per head will therefore be low as is usually asserted by Scholars in the literature.


# XII.


# Method of Study

This study of primary data obtained from field study and was guided by postulated research questions as spelt out hereunder. The research design refers to the overall strategy by choosing to integrate the different components of the study in a coherent and logical way which constitutes the blueprint for the collection, measurement, and analysis of data. The study adopts a cross sectional survey design which allows the researcher to examine the study variables as they exist in the population using a representative sample without having to manipulate the variables or administer some sort of treatment to induce the observed influence. The data for this study was purely primary data since it requires the perception of the people in the study community. This data was obtained through the use of questionnaire which was constructed by the researchers to meet the objectives of the study.


# d) Instrument for Data Collection/Method

Questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection since it is a primary work. The questionnaires consist of two sections; the first section contains questions seeking the socio-demographic information of the respondents while the second section concerns items that provide information to address the objectives of the study.

All the 398 copies of the questionnaire were personally administered by the researchers in the major communities of the study local government area. The questionnaire was randomly administration on the adult residents of the communities. Copies of the completed questionnaires were returned on the spot to increase the return rate and avoid loss. There were some incidences where the questionnaires were not filled immediately and some were lost. e) Method of Data Analysis Chi-Square statistical tool is used to analyse the results. The decision rule was to reject the null hypothesis if the calculated Chi-Square value is greater than the critical value at .05 level of significant at an appropriate degree of freedom and accept the alternate hypothesis.


# XIII. Data Presentation and Analysis of Results

In the analysis of the data collected for the study. Out of the 398 copies of the questionnaire administered, 377 copies were correctly filled and returned, giving a return rate of 94.7%. The criterion mean point of 2.5, that is
4 + 3 + 2 + 1 4 ? = 10 4 ? = 2.5
was used to decide whether the respondents agreed or disagreed to the items in Tables 5 to 7. Any item with the mean response of 2.5 and above was considered 'agreed' and below 'disagreed a) Presentation of Data In Table 1 above, the result shows that male respondents were 180 representing47.7 percent of total number of respondents and female were 197(52.3%). In Table 2, 13.8% respondents (being 52) were in the age bracket of age 18 to 27;25% respondents (being 94) were between the ages of 28 and 37;while 184 being 48.8% respondents were in the age bracket of 38 and 47,and 12.4% respondents (being 47) were in the range of 48 years and above. The result as presented in Table 4 shows that the majority of the respondents numbering 195(51.7%) were HND/B.Sc. holders; 26(6.9%) respondents had only FSLC; 77(20.4%) respondents were SSCE holders; and 62 (16.4%) respondents had Diploma/OND, while 17 (4.6%) respondents had a post graduate degree. The result in Table 5 shows that the respondents agreed to all the items concerning the population growth and socio-economic life of Ogu/Bolo people.     Hypothesis Three: The standard of living of the people has no significant relationship with the high population growth rate in Ogu/Bolo Local Government Area in Rivers State of Nigeria.  XIV.


# Discussion of Findings

The first hypothesis stated that there will be no significant effect of population growth on the socio-economic life of the people of Ogu/Bolo L.G.A in Rivers State of Nigeria. The findings of the study revealed that the calculated Chi-square value of 71.57 and the critical value 21.03 at .05 level of significance with 12 degrees of freedom led to the rejection of the null hypothesis, implying that population growth had a significant effect on socio-economic life of the people. It further showed that population growth contributed positively to the socio-economic life of the people. This finding agrees with that of Nwusu, et al., (2014) which found a significant effect of population growth on the economic growth of Nigeria. The finding also goes in line with the position of Coale& Hooker (2007) that population growth stimulates business and generates economic growth cycles and therefore necessary for development.

The second hypothesis assumed that there will be no comparative advantage of population growth and socio-economic resources available to the people of Ogu/Bolo L.G.A in Rivers State. The test was carried out using Chi-Square statistics and the findings revealed that the Chi-square calculated value of 263.57 and the critical value of 21.03 implying that there was a significant effect of population growth on socioeconomic resources available to the people which led to the rejection of the null hypothesis. This result shows that there was a comparative advantage of population growth and socio-economic resources available to the people. This finding contradicts the study of Ude (1991) which the researcher argued that the population growth rate in Nigeria is faster than the rate of food production and general agricultural output; as such there is a very little resource for many people to compete for, which has made Nigeria a place for survival of the fittest. He seemed to forgot that "Demand creates its own Supply" and on the other hand, "Supply creates its own Demand".

In the third hypothesis, it was assumed that there will be no significant relationship between the standard of living of the people and the high population growth in Ogu/Bolo L.G.A of Rivers State. The finding revealed a significant relationship between the two variables and this led to the rejection of the null hypothesis. The finding contradicts the position of Agbodike (1992) that rapid population growth as it is experienced in Nigeria leads to a rise in food price causing inflation which threatens the living standard of many people in the country. This implies that the rising population in Nigeria leads to increased unemployment rate which affects the standard of living and development negatively. The findings, however, goes in line with the study by Nwosu, etal. (2014) which they asserted that high population mean a good work force which translates to the economic growth and development of a nation.

XV.


# Summary

This work centres on reviewing the socioeconomic effects of Population Growth of the people of Ogu in Ogu/Bolo Local Government Area of Rivers State by taking a critical look on the various concepts that borders on the population of the life of the people.

The work made use of theories to back up the concept behind the rationale and by reviewing certain empirical literature. Three variables were prompt to have shown impact of population on the people.

The findings of this work, reveals in the first hypothesis that the regression coefficient of 0.9255 and the probability value of 0.000 led to the rejection of the null hypothesis, implying that population growth in Ogu/Bolo had a significant effect on socio-economic life of the people. It further showed that population growth contributed positively to the socio-economic life of the people. Therefore, population growth is a welcome idea and should be encouraged.

The second hypothesis assumed that there will be no comparative advantage of population growth and socio-economic resources available to the people of Ogu/Bolo L.G.A of Rivers State. The test was carried out using simple regression analysis via ordinary least squares method and findings revealed that there was a significant effect of population growth on socioeconomic resources available to the people which led to the rejection of the null hypothesis. This implies that there is a comparative advantage of population growth and socio-economic resources available to the people. The coefficient of population growth was found to be 0.8678 which implies that a unit increase in population will have 0.8678 unit or 87% increase in the socioeconomic resources available to the people. This further implies that population growth had a positive impact on the socio-economic resources of the people and should therefore be encouraged.

In the third hypothesis, it was assumed that there will be no significant relationship between the standard of living of the people and the high population growth in Ogu/Bolo L.G.A of Rivers State. The finding revealed that a significant relationship between the two variables exists and this led to the rejection of the null hypothesis.


# XVI.


# Conclusion

The population of Nigeria has an in-built potential for rapid growth through natural increase, which replicate itself in Ogu/Bolo Local Government Area which population is growing rapidly and efforts should be made by governments or the local people to make all concerted efforts in improving their socioeconomic life or else the explanation of Rev. Thomas Malthus saying that an increasing population without corresponding increase in the means of subsistence will breed poverty, diseases, unemployment and other social ills come true. The governmental authorities (federal or state or local government) need to design intervention programmes that will help in checking population growth and/or stimulate socio-economic development. Government of Rivers State should create enabling environment that will facilitate savings, investment, innovation, entrepreneurship and technical know-how to better the lot of the people.


# XVII.


# Recommendations

Based on the findings of this work, the researchers however make the following recommendations:

There should be a reform of local government statutes or bye-laws. Most local governments in Nigeria, has not been exercising the authority and responsibilities that should supposedly to be given them by local government laws were not explicit enough and the existing laws are out of date and offer little flexibility. Currently, many small rural government units are experiencing fiscal crises, and should be given enough funds to them as Local Government Authorities to execute or provide the most basic infrastructures, such as roads and portable drinking water. Centralizing even this simple function at the federal level is not helping matters. All aspects of local revenues and expenditures such as Local tax authority, Local Schools Board financing, Local Land Use & Controls, Regulation of Business and Industry should be re-evaluated to make them effective and efficient. Let these laws and bye-laws be up-to-date.

There should be specific policy statement on educating the people of Ogu/Bolo Local Government Authority Area. People of Ogu/Bolo LGA should demand more local policy control as each constituency is distinct one from another.

At least one industry should be cited in each Local Government in the nation to empower the people and create employment for the rural populace. The people should be taught on the need for selfsustainability and cultivate the habit of thrift spending. Perhaps there has never been a more important time for land grant to social scientists to assist community residents. Policy decision makers at the local government level should understand the impact of economic, social and policy changes in particular rural community and set up social amenities or provide basic infrastructure to bring rural transformation and development as well as solve the urban-citydrift/migration.

Prospective investors in the country or beyond should invest in the areas of agriculture, housing, purchasing, marketing, distribution of essential commodities, transportation, manufacturing, funding of small scale industries and scientific inventions in these rural urban communities of which Ogu/Bolo LGA is highly recommended being a fertile ground for investment with political tranquillity. Rivers State Government or the Federal Government should design intervention programmes that will help in reducing population growth rate in the rural areas and stimulate socio-economic development. Enabling environment that will facilitate savings, investment, innovation, entrepreneurship and development of technical knowhow to better the lot of the people be created.

There should be technical assistance to all urban communities to help solve urbanization problems and crimes. The demand is already great for understanding the "community consequences" of policy alternatives or of particular economic development strategy. Land grant to scientists can play a key role in improving and extending the capacity of local groups to understand their options and make more informed scientific decisions.

It was however recommended that, there should be a reform of local government statutes to help ameliorate the problems and challenges of the indigenous people of Ogu Urban Town and that of the entire rural populace of Nigeria and other rural communities in the world.
![VIII. Literature Review and Theoretical Framework a) Conceptual Literature Nigeria has a growing population and what can also be referred to as an increasing population. The 1991, census figure put Nigerian population at about 89 million people with the growth rate of 2.82 and the total fertility rate as revealed by Post Enumeration Survey (PES) at 5.89 per cent. The Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey ((NDHS), 2003 and 2008)) put the total fertility rate at 5.7 per cent as against its report of 1999 which put the figure at 5.2 per cent. The 2006 Nigerian National Population Censuspegged her population at one hundred and forty million, three thousand and five hundred and forty two (140,003,542) as per National Bureau of Statistics report of 2009.](image-2.png "")





Ogu/BoloLocalGovernmentAreaiseconomically viable. Fishing, trading and peasantfarming are the main economic activities of the people.
1GenderFrequency PercentMale18047.7Female19752.3Total377100
2AgeFrequencyPercent18-275213.828-379425.038-4718448.848 and above4712.4Total377100
3Marital StatusFrequencyPercentSingle7118.8Married28457.3Divorced30.8Widowed1923.1Total377100Majority of the respondents numbering 284representing 57.3 percent of the total respondents weremarried; 71 representing 18.8% of the respondents weresingle; 3 people representing 0.8% of the respondentswere divorced while widowed were 19 representing23.1% of the respondents.
4QualificationFrequencyPercentFSLC266.9SSCE7720.4OND/Diploma6216.4HND/BSc19551.7Higher Degrees174.6Total377100
5S/NItemsSAADSD Mean Decision1The high population makes Ogu/Bolo people very industrious.9818154442.88A2A lot of the people in the community are self-employed.11315974312.94A3Many people settle here in the community from other areas of the country for business.7714286722.59A4Most of the economic activities of the people in the area take place in water.9112582792.60A5Ogu/Bolo is a densely populated community and this promotes all kinds of trade.11816443522.92AA=Agreed, D=Disagreed
6S/NItemsSAADSD Mean Decision1There is a lot of fishing activities in the community due to high population8817751612.77A2Population growth in Ogu/Bolo promotes farming activities.49107164572.39D3Ogu/Bolo has a fertile land for farming which attracts people from other parts of the country15311551582.96A4There are a lot of rivers/seas in the community that promoting fishing activities12114281332.93A5There are majority foreigners doing business in the local government4616687782.48DA=Agreed, D=Disagreed
7S/NItemsSAADSD Mean Decision1Standard of living of the people in the community is above average.92149111252.82A2I am satisfied with my current standard of living.6183152812.33D3Even with the high population most people in the community are living in their private house.11310196672.69A4The work force in the community is boosted by population growth.69168117232.75A5My monthly income is above N50,00016511971223.13AA=Agreed, D=Disagreedb) Data Analysis Hypothesis One: Population growth has no significant effect on socio-economic life of the people of Ogu/Bolo Local Government area of Rivers State.
8ITEM The high population makes Ogu/Bolo people very industriousO 98E 99.4O 181FREQUENCY E O 154.2 54E 67.8O 44E 55.6?(?? ? ??) ?? ?? 9.91A lot of the people in the community are self-employed.11399.4159154.27467.83155.613.46Many people settle here in thecommunity from other areas of7799.4142154.28667.87255.615.74the country for business.Most of the economic activities ofthe people in the area take place9199.4125154.28267.87955.619.06in water.Ogu/Bolo is a densely populatedcommunity and this promotes all11899.4164154.24367.85255.613.41kinds of trade.Total71.57O=Observed Frequency, E=Expected Frequency
9to the PeopleITEM There is a lot of fishing activities in the community due to high populationO 88E 91.4O 177FREQUENCY E O 141.4 51E 86.8O 61E 57.4?(?? ? ??) ?? ?? 24.08Population growth in Ogu/Bolo promotes farming activities4991.4107141.416486.85757.496.70Ogu/Bolo has a fertile land forfarming which attracts people from15391.4115141.45186.85857.461.22other parts of the countryThere are a lot of rivers/seas in thecommunity that promoting fishing12191.4142141.48186.83357.420.35activitiesThere are majority foreigners doing business in the local government4691.4166141.48786.87857.434.22Total263.57O=Observed Frequency, E=Expected Frequency
10ITEM Standard of living of the people in the community is above averageO 92E 100O 149FREQUENCY E O 124 111 109.4 EO 25E 43.6?(?? ? ??) ?? ?? 13.64I am satisfied with my current standard of living6110083124152 109.48143.677.44With the high population most people inthe community are living in their private11310010112496109.46743.620.16houses.The work force in the community is boosted by population growth.69100168124117 109.42343.635.48My monthly income is above N50,00016510011912471109.42243.666.63Total213.35O=Observed Frequency, E=Expected Frequency
			© 2017 Global Journals Inc. (US)
			The Socio-Economic Dilemma and Challenges of Population Growth of OGU Urban Town as a Nigerian Rural Community
		
		
			

				


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