LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE AND GRASSROOT DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background of the Study

Local government administration in Nigeria has had a tortuous history. It is an important process of government with significant consequences for national development. It is about mobilization of human and material resources at the grassroots level for societal progress and development.

Local government is supposed to be broadly participatory and responsive to the needs of the people at the local community levels, such as villages and towns. Yet, during the period when the British colonized Nigeria and the mid 1970‟s when a major reform initiative was launched, local government administration was essentially undemocratic and authoritarian, either directly colonial in nature, or in indirectly so, but indeed undemocratic, under various traditional governance authorities referred to as Native Administration by the British colonial rulers (Jega, 2006:1). The local government reforms introduced by the Murtala/Obasanjo military regime in 1976, sought to democratize the system, by introducing elective offices, and also tried to use the new system „to bring government nearer to the people‟ for the purpose of „grassroots‟ development (FRN, 1976).The desire by the government

to maximize rural and grassroots development is one of the major objectives of local government system in Nigeria. The above role is very significant because 70% of the country‟s population live and operate within this area (Ibok, 2010:12)

Historically, local government developed as an institution for the provision of essential services to the people especially at the grassroots. Through series of

reforms over the years, the system has undergone so many changes in respect of structure and function. In Omenka‟s view (cited in Tativ, 2011:2), the reforms were necessitated by the need to properly define the various organs and functionaries of local government because of the realization that local government is an essential instrument of grassroot development.

According to the fourth schedule of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,the exclusive function of local government includes, economic planning, collecting taxes, rates and the provision of social amenities like market, feeder roads, health services, portable water etc. among others. These functions simply defined the rationale behind the existence of local government system in Nigeria.

Local governments have a role to play in the economic development of any nation. Constitutionally, they should provide for the democratic representation of local communities. This role covers a wide range of responsibilities and services which impact heavily on the livelihoods of individuals. They are, for example, key to determining where infrastructure should be located, to protect our environment and to provide services which are crucial to quality of life-primary schools, primary healthcare facilities, drinking water, recreational facilities, roads and other services.

It is therefore expected that local government as sub-units should collaborate with the national government in the delivery of services towards the sustenance of democratic process.

Scholars have argued that democratic governance and grassroot development at the local government level is the vital tool for the social, political and economic

development of Nigeria as a whole. It is worthy to note that Nigeria has been under military rule for a long time since 1966 and anytime there was a transition to civil rule raises citizen‟s expectation. The return to civil rule in 1999 after long years of military rule ushered in high citizen‟s development expectations at all levels of the

three tiers of government.