Características del aprendizaje cooperativo

According to Afolayan (1994:11), the urban city of Ibadan has been evolving since the nineteenth century due to the rural-urban migration of people from neighbouring villages and urban centres and as well as people from other ethnic groups from within and outside Nigeria.

This development is recorded as a result of the city‘s emergence as the seat of Government for the British colonial administration in 1946 which automatically made it the headquarters of the

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defunct Western Region. This prominent status of the city of Ibadan encouraged the massive migration of people into the metropolis. Hence, the city of Ibadan gradually evolved its internal market system into an expansive economic centre and a new economic labour market became visible within the city. This development also led to the boost in the city‘s employment opportunities and has since then continued to hold attraction for immigrants.

Another major political factor that has greatly influenced the increase of socio-economic transformation in Ibadan is the multiplication of its local government areas in 1991. This significantly created avenues for accelerated bureaucratic infrastructure which created employment opportunities for people in government organizations and small/large scale economic sectors. Thus, the rapid socio-economic transformation in Ibadan is largely ascribable to its economic and political role in Nigeria.

The economic and commercial importance of Ibadan cannot be over-emphasized as a veritable component of development in Nigeria. Moreover, the extension of railway from Lagos to Ibadan in 1901 accentuated the socio-economic attraction of people to Ibadan. Thus, by 1903, various European firms were given leasehold to settle in Ibadan, and this led to the establishment of modern business centres, and low-cost estates in government reserved areas. The extension of the railway to Ibadan, as well as the arrival of Europeans into the city, also marked the beginning of the large-scale immigration of various ethnic groups such as the Igbo, Ibibio, Edo, Urhobo, Hausa, Fulani, and others into Ibadan (Ayeni, 1994:54).

While the pace of industrialization cannot be initially described as fast in Ibadan, owing to the defunct western regional government‘s deliberate policy of concentrating industries in Lagos, Ibadan still accounted for about six per cent of the nation‘s industrial activity in 1972 (Ayeni, 1994:56). Industrial activities, therefore, also became an important factor in the socio-economic growth of Ibadan in relatively recent years. Furthermore, the oil boom of the early 1970s, in addition to the post-civil war rehabilitation and construction activities within the same period, significantly accelerated the rate of massive immigration of people into the city of Ibadan. This development created employment opportunities in administration, construction, commerce and related fields within the metropolis.

In the early 20th century, Ibadan kept part of its developmental characteristics of the mid-19th century which were based on agriculture, trade and craft. This vast network of economic activities also encouraged the development of transportation business within the city. The second half of the 20th century, however, witnessed a major socio-economic change with the establishment of modern manufacturing and service industries which aided the gradual

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disappearance of agricultural activities in the city. Hence, the modern industrial sectors became the major sectors of employment for men, while more than 70 per cent of the city‘s active women and youths became involved in crafts and trading activities.

The changes in occupational structure can also be explained on the basis of the implementation of the Structural Adjustment Programme of the Federal Government (SAP) in 1986 which consequently saw to the development of small-scale craft industries and trade. In fact, these two activities led the informal economic sector within the city. Therefore, there was an increase in employment in the informal economic sector in the 1980s and the annual growth rate rose from 25.8% to 32.5% in 1984 to 1990 before dropping to 11.1% between 1990 and 1993 (Akerele, 1997:39). The growth of the informal sector in petty trading and petty craft activities was the first consequence of the current economic crisis and the development of urban poverty in Nigeria. Although the city's farming population has declined, it is still large for an urban area in which many cultivators are now part-time farmers who augment their earnings with other skilled jobs like bricklaying, carpentry, and trading, among others. The other general factors that accounted for the rapid socio-economic transformative processes in the urban city of Ibadan include institutional and social factors and these are briefly discussed.

1.7.2.1 Institutional Factors

A number of important public institutions, established in Ibadan have contributed immensely to its socio-economic modifications. They include the University of Ibadan, the University College Hospital (UCH), Moor Plantation, Premier Hotel, Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER), International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Central Bank of Nigeria, the Army and Police Command Headquarters, various agricultural research institutes, television (the first in Africa) and radio stations, communication companies, banking institutions and several others. The siting of these institutions in Ibadan has contributed immensely to the observed rapid socio-economic transformation of the city.

1.7.2.2 Social Factors

The greatest socio-economic asset that has been promoting the development of the city of Ibadan might perhaps be the heterogeneous population of its founders. Since the establishment of the city, the indigenous population has learnt to be tolerant, understanding and accommodating to strangers. As a result of this, the city rarely experiences social and ethnic conflicts. This factor has contributed immensely to the rapid growth and development of the city, both in the past and in the present (Ayeni, 1994:57).

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Finally, the socio-economic transformations in the city of Ibadan evolved right from the colonial era and the scene at the present stage is alive with almost 70 per cent of self-employed people working for long hours within different occupational sectors in the metropolis. Their creative energies are indispensable to the organization of the city‘s productive forces and its expanding economy. Since this is vital to the focus of the study, the subject is briefly discussed below.