LOCAL GOVERNMENT AS A VEHICLE FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT: A CASE STUDY OF WUSHISHI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF NIGER STATE

ABSTRACT

The study was carried out with the aim of assessing local government as a vehicle for rural development in Nigeria. The study focussed on the activities of Wushishi local government area of Niger state.
In doing this, both primary and secondary data were colleted. The primary data were sourced through questionnaire drawn and interview conducted on some randomly selected residents and staff of the local government. The data obtained were analysed using tables, percentages and frequencies. Two hypotheses were postulated to help in gathering and analysing the data collected.

From the analysis of the data, findings revealed that the local government has not been able to perform this role as a result of ineffective and inefficient manpower, inadequate, misapplication and misappropriation of financial resources and excessive political interference and control from the higher tiers of government, especially the state government most especially through the instrumentality of state/local joint account.

Based on these findings, the study recommended that the local government service should motivate qualified and highly skilled personnel to join the service. The workforce should be trained to improve on its proficiency, the local government should improve on the internally generated revenue and areas of waste/corrupt practices should be checked. Also the state/local government joint account be scrapped and in its place, there should be direct allocation to the local governments, while the latter be made to render proper accounts on how financial allocations made were spent.

Background of the Study

All over the World, various approaches and strategies have been adopted or used by governments for the purpose of governance or management of its rural areas. But there has not been any consensus on the most appropriate strategy to be adopted in the administration of the rural areas.

The problem of governance, particularly at the local level has been a recurring decimal in the political history of Nigeria. The history or genesis of local government in Nigeria can be traced back to the pre-colonial era and the formative period of large-scale kingdoms and powerful empires in the country. The existence of provincial systems, which operated in Borno and Oyo empires, as well as the Emirate system of Sokoto Caliphate “exhibited rudimentary conception of Local Administration” (Minna: 1993). In these areas, there were smaller districts, villages and wards that were subject to the Kingdom and Emirate government. These smaller or subordinate levels of government could be seen or described as local governments (Ugwu: 2000:5).

The local government system in Nigeria started during the colonial era when it was vested in traditional rulers. The basis for local government in Nigeria became the indirect Rule System. Historically, Local Government system in Nigeria, as it is today, metamorphosed through many reforms or re-organization. From 1950, no decade passed without a major reform or re-organization of the system. The Local Government system has witnessed more reforms and reorganization when compared with the core civil service (Obas: 2000:1).