Tag Archives: Instrument

LOCAL GOVERNMENT AS AN INSTRUMENT FOR SOCIO-ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION OF KADUNA SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

ABSTRACT

This study researched “Local Government as an Instrument for Socio-Economic Transformation of Kaduna South Local Government Area”. The design of the study is survey method. The population of Kaduna South Local Government Area consists of 402,731 based on 2006 census and the sample is 400. The instrument used to generate data is the questionnaire and the data generated was analysed using frequency and simple percentage method. As a result of the analysis made, the fifteen statements of the three research objectives/questions are above the acceptance region format of 3.0. This affirms that the fifteen (15) statements/items of the three research objectives …. Based on the findings, recommendations were made such as: local governments should strive to raise and maintain revenue that would enable her deliver projects and services that guarantee quality living to the grassroots. This has the potency of reducing the incidence of rural-urban drift; local governments should be more people-centered in approach, such that necessary collaboration/partnership with communities in its domain can facilitate the process of rural development.

Click to: DOWNLOAD @ NGN5,000/USD20

LOCAL GOVERNMENT AS A VERITABLE INSTRUMENT FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT (A STUDY OF IZZI LOCAL GOVERNMENT OF EBONYI STATE)

ABSTRACT

The study aimed at examining the contributions of izzi local government towards rural development in rural areas. Asserting the extent to which Izzi local government has contributed towards human capital development and the extent the local government has reduced the level of poverty in the area. Structural functional theory propounded by Gabriel Hammod and James coleman in 1960 was adopted to guide the study.  A descriptive survey design was also adopted to study the population 234, 074 which was reduced to a sample size of 399 using Taro Yameni’s statistical formular and stratified sampling and random sampling techniques was used. Data were collected from primary and secondary sources, structured questionnaire instrument were used for data collected and frequency distribution table with simple percentage method were also used to analyze the data collection whereas statistical chi-square (X2) was applied in the empirical testing of the hypothese that guided the study. The study revealed the  following findings:  that the contributions of Izzi local government area towards rural development is significantly high considering their strides in the provision of social amenities, education etc. and another findings is that Izzi local government has contributed in reducing the level of poverty and as well as help towards human capital development. Finally the researcher recommends that the federal government should improve on statutory allocation to local government to assist them  undertake capital project that will enhance rural development, and the statutory allocation of the local government should be paid directly into the local government account rather than state joint local account in order to reduce excessive control of the state government.

 

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Local Government Administration is seen as veritable instrument for the development and management of affairs of the local populace for grassroot development through its nearness to the local areas. Local government Administration dates back to the colonial period when the British government introduced the indirect rule system of administration. However, it was the famous 1976 local government reforms that ushered in the modern local government system in Nigeria. Local government reform of 1976 remains a watershed in the existence, structure, composition and status of local government in Nigeria. The guidelines for this reform define local government as the “Government at the local level exercised through a representative council established by law to exercise specific powers within a defined area”. Local Government Administration facilitates the devolution or decentralization of the powers, functions, and resources of the central government to the sub-national level government units (Ademolokun, 1990).

However, development is seen as the qualitative improvement in the living standard of members of the society and for development to be measured some indicators are used. Development indicators includes literacy level, rate of employment, good roads, regular supply of electricity, decent housing, medical facilities, education among others. According to Udoh (2005:54) the effectiveness of Local Government Administration is judged through this measures i.e development measures they generate and to the extent that it has catered satisfactorily for the happiness and general well being of the communities it has been established to serve. The principal aims of local government are to facilitate development at the rural area by providing development indicators for rural dwellers. Understanding the emphasis on local government as an instrument for rural development is based on the premise that small units of government stimulate grass root participation in development activities.

Rural development is defined as the process of improving standard of living of the mass of the low income population residing in rural areas and making the process of their development self sustaining (Uma, 1975). Such enormous task no doubt requires a permanent institution structure now legal power to initiate and implement programmes with developmental consequences.

Development programmes are often initiated, co-ordinate and most a times implemented by the political system via the government in a political system, this action may emanate from either the center or the grassroots or both depending on the political values of those in position of authority.

Successive governments in Nigeria have experimented with one programme or the other in the pursuit of rural development. For instance, the creation of institutions and agencies such as Nigerian Agriculture and Cooperative Bank (NACB) now Bank of Agriculture (BDA), Peoples Bank, Family Economic Advancement Programme (FEAP), River Basin Authorities, Operation Feed the Nation, Rural Banking, Universal Basic Education (UBE), Directorate of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure (DFRRI), National Directorate of Employment (NBE), National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) and other similar agencies (Nwakamma, 2015).

In spite of the above efforts, the issue of development especially at the grassroot level, appears not to have been addressed. States and local governments are still left with dilapidated infrastructure and near absence of social amenities. Ebonyi state was created in 1996 with Izzi local government as one of the local governments of the state. The local government is expected to make the people feel the impact of social and infrastructure development such as human capital development, provision of basic education and other related services, provision of quality road network, enhanced health care facilities, poverty reduction, provision of pipe borne water, take care of the widows and other social welfare services among others. Inspite of state and local governments efforts in this regard, it seems not much has been realized. It is against this backdrop that this study “became imperative.

Click to: DOWNLOAD @ NGN5,000/USD20

APPRAISAL OF THE ROLE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AS AN INSTRUMENT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA (A Case Study of Chikun Local Government of Kaduna State)

APPRAISAL OF THE ROLE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AS AN INSTRUMENT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA (A Case Study of Chikun Local Government of Kaduna State)

ABSTRACT

This research work was undertaken with a view to ascertaining “The Role of Local Government as an Instrument of Community Development in Nigeria” with a focus on Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State as a case study. The work looked critically (in question) towards local government and community development in Nigeria within its area of jurisdiction. In doing this, the researcher based his study on the provision of the 1976 Local Government Reform in Nigeria which made local government and community development in Nigeria one of the explicit functions of the local government. In carrying out the research, primary and secondary data were used. Related literatures were reviewed and questionnaire were equally prepared and administered to local government functionaries. The findings of the research were reached using the result of the tested hypothesis. From the research findings, the hypothesis that “the role of local government in community development is low” is rejected. The researcher therefore concluded by making a sense of recommendations among which are the co-ordination of the development efforts of the various formal and informal organizations in the overall local government and community development in Nigeria programmes, and procurement of adequately trained personnel for the organizational and educational processes associated with local government and community development in Nigeria.

 

Chapter One

INTRODUCTION

1.1    Background of the Study

This chapter one presents the background of the study, aims and objectives of the study, significance of the study, scope and limitation of the study, research questions, statement of hypothesis as well as definition of concepts

Local government has and will continue to be of the prime of development in different parts of the world and their importance and impact on the daily activities of citizens cannot be over emphasized.

The terms local government refers to a political authority set up by a nation as a subordinate authority for the purpose of dispensing or decentralizing (political) power in  the English souse, it means local self-government.

Local government is a political sub-division of a national government or in federal system, a sub-division of regional government. In fact local government administration in connection with community development involves bringing development to the community at the grass-roots.

Community development is with a new ideology. It is defined as a process by which the efforts of the people themselves are lived with those of government authorities to improve the economic, social and cultural conditions of the communities, to integrate into the life of native and to enable them to fully contribute to the national progress.

Also the role of local government at the local level is clearly recognized as one of the underlying basis of the 1976 local government reformed which emphasizes that one of the principle objective of local government is to mobilize human and material resources through the involvement of members of the public in the promotion of local government. Many communities had built schools constructed roads bridges and organized higher education, scholarship schemes for linear children etc.

Community development as we recognize today is based on and has grown out of experience of the past. What is new is that these principles are now becoming more widely recognized than ever before the principles of community development are not new, but it is the emphasis which makes it almost a revolutionary. The concept of community development is based on the faith in the ability of people to learn to help them attain improved standard of living building better communities taking one step at a time. Rural development has thus remained one of the priority items of the programmes of any administration. In drawing up the blue print for rural development, the government of Kaduna State aims primarily at sensitizing and mobilizing the people at the grass-root level and deliberately and actively involving them in effective community development encouraging integrated and multi-dimension approach community development. For the government to achieve the grass*-roots development it must get closer to the people community development groups and local government should work very closely because for instance a service project such as maternity dispensary or school which is built without the relevant main tenancy expense of such service are usually too heavy to be borne unaided to such.

1.2       Aims and Objectives of the Study

The broad objective of the study is to find out the roles of local government in community development in Chikun Local Government.

The following are the specific objective of this study.

  1. To determine the impact of funding on community development.
  2. To determine the impact of corruption on rural development in Nigeria.
  3. To establish the use of trained and professional workers in community development.
  4. To ascertain the impact of local government authority on rural development in Nigeria.

1.3       Significance of the Study

The study being “The Role of Local Government as an Instrument of Community Development in Nigeria” will enable readers and future researcher to have a clear view of the role of local government in community development.

The researcher will assist reader and students who might want to carry out research work on the subject matter and will also serve as reference material for them.

 This work is expected to assist our policy makers who have taken upon themselves to sensitize the rural dwellers in Chikun local government. This is because through the finding of this work, they would then appreciate the importance of identifying the needs of communities before embarking on any project in a community.

1.4       Scope and Limitation of the Study

It is obvious that Nigeria is a country that has 774 local governments. The study is in “Appraisal of the Roles of Local Government as an Instrument of Community Development in Nigeria”.  But due to the fact that there are many local governments in Nigeria, the researcher decided to center the research in Chikun Local Government using it as the case study. The study covers the period between 2015-2017.

The researcher met with some problems in undertaking this study, notably in some areas of data collecting, time frame allocated to the study does not enhance wider coverage, and insufficient financial resources to execute the work more effectively. 

1.5       Research Questions

The following research questions will guide the study.

  1. What impact does funding have on the development of rural areas in Nigeria?
  2. To what extent does corruption affect rural development in Chikun local government?
  3. How does lack of trained and professional personnel affect the standardization of project in community development?
  4. What impact will local government authority have on rural development in Nigeria?

1.6       Statement of Hypothesis

Research hypothesis is a tentative and predictive answer to a question which is subjected to the power of verification and its formulation can be expressed in:

  1. Null Hypothesis (Ho)
  2. Alternative Hypothesis (H1)

Since hypothesis is statistical method of testing the attributes of predictive condition, we can test the study under the following hypotheses.

(i)         Ho = Roles of Local Government in community development is low

(ii)        H1 = Roles of Local Government in community development is high

1.7       Definition of Concepts

The key terms in the work are the local government role in community development.

Local Government: Nworje (2004) local government is an organ of the state put in place to peddle the development activities of a particular place or district with the view of making the impact of government being felt at grass-root level. Also Eyiyee (1999) see local government as the smallest government body created to take care of all local interest that requires government attention.

Role: The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary puts role as “the function that a person expected to have or the function a person has”.

Community: According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, community means the people living in one place district or country considered as a whole.

Development: It means a programme, change gear towards the equipment and sustain ability of the value of life development entails that is continuously taking in man and his physical environment.

Click to: DOWNLOAD @ NGN5,000/USD20