Local Government Administration and Community Development: Nigeria today is stressful and confusing, because of the way the government works. How well a community performs economically, politically and socially depends, in many ways, on the creativity (‘thinking up new things’), innovation (‘doing new things’), boldness, and vision of its administrator. Nigeria will develop only when the rural communities are developed. And, this will only happen when the administrators are committed to the development of the communities.Any person, who wants to know why Nigeria is not developing as rapidly asit should, should visit any of the local government areas. Life is pressed out of almost everything. The people are financing varied development projects (community hospital, road construction, rural electrification, water projects,etc), because monthly allocations to local councils are not properly utilized.Local governments, at least in principle, deal with grassroots politics (keeping law and order, basic sanitation, constructing and maintaining local roads, supplying water, administering local schools, providing skill training and employment for residents, et cetera). However, community development is “the process or effort of building communities on a local level with emphasis on building the economy, forging and strengthening social ties, and developing the non-profit sector.” Therefore,community developmentprograms are aimed at improving the quality of life of the people in the community.Are local government administrators in Nigeria performing their functions? If not, what are the obstacles?Local government areas are supposed to be the engines of national development. A quiet rural community grows into a bustling city, and the local leader makes this possible. However, in developed societies, when people are tired of living in the cities they relocate to rural communities where life is less strenuous. However, the opposite is the case in Nigeria; living in a rural community is difficult, because nothing works, as it should. The local government administrators are part of the problem. Like their counterparts at the federal and state levels, they are mired in pursuit of personal goals at the expense of broader community interests.As noted earlier, life in the local areas is a bit more difficult than that in the cities, partly, because some of the council administrators lack the skills andknowledge to perform their duties. An administrator should understand what community development is, and what it takes to develop an economically distressed community. Like a business manager who determines what should be produced, an administrator directs and determines the pace of community development. But, an individual cannot give what he/she does not have.To develop and implement good policies, an administrator must have the skill to develop and analyze social and economic data. Although, data collection and analysis is a serious problem in government agencies in Nigeria, it is more problematic at the local areas. One cannot over emphasize the importance of reliable data. In particular, demographic data helps to identify the buying power and market size of a community and provides investors with information about the economic health of an area.There are inconsistencies and organized chaos in local government administration in Nigeria. The system has elected local government chairs and appointed administrators, and some states are creating ‘development centers’ in the local government areas. All these are conduits to channel public funds to cronies of state governors. As mentioned earlier, some of the individuals who administer these ‘looting centers’ are dangerously lacking in the skill and knowledge to develop a community. HOME IS HOME NO MATTER WHAT.We need to tell the Government in power that enough is enough, we need rapid development in our community(Atte ) Written by:Amb.Comr.Kerobo.I. Promise,Jp. ayggmembership.blogspot e-mail us @: ayggmembership@gmail Obtain your application form online free of charge!!
Posted on: Fri, 27 Jun 2014 21:21:45 +0000
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