LOCAL GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Local government administration was alien to Nigeria prior to the colonization of Africa. However, there was Africa traditional administrative system that recognized, the cultural value, the norms and the believe system as an integral part of administration and development. The organizational structure of the pre-colonial administration recognizes the village head, council of elders, youths and women groups as the effective administrative organs of the rural community. The function of
the administration is to mobilize the people for development and service delivery. But with the introduction of colonialism and subsequent adoption of indirect rule, has greatly altered the pre-colonial system infavour of the modern local government administration. This change has result to ineffective service delivery in the rural communities. Since 1960, all attempts to correct the inefficiency in local government administration in Nigeria have failed, resulting to unemployment, extreme poverty and rural-urban migration in Delta State, Nigeria. This study is an attempt to examine the impact of local government administration on rural development in Delta State, Nigeria. The study deployed content analysis. It observed that there is
general decay on infrastructure in most rural communities, resulting to rural-urban migration. The study recommended among others, the integration of the culture, norms and values of the people into the administrative system and to ensure that agriculture act as the instrument for rural development.