THE IMPACT OF 1976 LOCAL GOVERNMENT REFORM ON RURAL DEVELOPMENT

1.1 Introduction

Local government, which is the third tier of government in Nigeria have undergone various reform towards making the system more efficient and effective in rural development autonomy introduced by Mohammed/Obasanjo regime. The 1976 local government reform was a local government in Nigeria. According to Okoli (2005) the idea behind the entire exercise was to make local government an effective stratum of government rather than leaving them more appendages to their various states government. This was to ensure that political development economic responsibilities of local government was performed with full autonomy and entrusted to where it is most critically and beneficially needed for the purpose of developing the rural communities.

As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.

1.2 Background of Study

The local government in Nigeria is the closest government to the people especially those who reside in rural areas. It is most important institution which can be used as a tool for motivating and encouraging self-help in rural areas as well as helping rural dwellers participate in the process of decision making at the local level (Eluwa, 2012). Local government in Nigeria according to Bello- Imam (2007) was established for four main purposes which include; furtherance of democracy that involves the people’s participation, local autonomy, development of national unity and service provision such as road, healthcare among others which they can best provide compared to other government levels. He further stated that there are a number of factors that prevent the attainment of these purposes. These factors can be attributed to the inadequate and incompetent personnel, excess controls by both state and federal governments owing to the autonomy they lack, differing and conflicting orders from higher levels of government, inability of councilors and chairmen to actualize their mandate due to lack of determination as well as lack of adequate funds.

The importance of rural development as a catalyst in the general development of a nation especially a developing one like Nigeria is increasingly being given much attention. This is due to the fact that there is visible gap that exists between rural and urban areas when measured by distribution of resources, infrastructures, human resources and employment which have made rural development essential. This inequity has put rural areas in a disadvantaged situation in many sectors including the economy, politics and the likes. It has also brought about rural-urban migration which is a major consequence of rural underdevelopment and this has resulted into increased unemployment in the city while denying rural areas workforce for agriculture at the same time (Zakariyau, 2014).

According to Preman and Guin (1972) rural development is a process design to create condition of social and economic progress of the whole community with active participation and the fullness possible reliance on the community initiative. The reform of local government aimed at appropriate development of the economy and the social well being of the entire Nigeria citizenry. It is also aimed at the building of Nigeria harmony and makes the government of the country more effective and efficient.

The 1976 reform of local government was designed to reshuffle local government with the aim of making the living standard of the Nigerian people better and helping the government achieve more effectiveness and efficiency at the lowest level where it is close to the masses. This modification of the local government had programs and policies which were directed towards the inhabitants of rural areas by encouraging higher knowledge and involvement of the ruralites in local government politics thereby harmonizing their interest and mandates. Also, the reform incorporated self-help which resulted into various projects intended for development such as provision of farm equipment for farmers, town halls, markets, health services, roads among others. This reform recommended that the local government be recognized as a third level of government for the first time and it provided statutory allocations to it from the federation accounts (Ogunna, 1996).

Therefore, in Aba North Local Government, Abia State where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the impact of 1976 local government reform on rural development.

1.3 Statement of Problems

The problem that has warranted this study is to find out how effective the impact of 1976 local government reform have been on rural development in Nigeria. The 1976 local government reform failed to achieve some of its goal as a result not attending to the rural development. The system was prone to frequent disappointment.

The problem of local government not serving their functions is a pervasive and recurring one. This is due to the glaring underperformance of the administrators that are saddled with the responsibility of managing the government resources at the grassroots level for development of rural communities. Therefore, it is important to look into such problems ad ascertaining.

1. To what extent, the 1976 local government reform helped to prevent the problem of inadequate finance on rural development and how it affected the lives of people in rural area.
2. To what extent the 1976 reform system are strictly adhered for reduction of corruption in the local government council in Nigeria and its impact on co-operation of rural dwellers in rural development.
3. To what extent the 1976 local government reform system helped in preventing the undue interference/ mother government councils.
4. To know the effectiveness of the 1976 local government reform as a tool of transforming rural areas.

1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study

The aim of the study is to examine the impact of 1976 local government reform on rural development using Aba North Local Government, Abia State as a case study. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:

1. To examine the problems that had hindered the effectiveness of the 1976 reform in relation to rural development.
2. To examine the extent to which the rural dwellers participate in the local government in Nigeria.
3. To examine some of the government programmes under the 1976 reform that was detrimental to rural development.
4. To suggest possible remedies to observed problems to help in future reforms.

1.5 Research Questions

The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:

• To what extent has the local government affected the rural development in Nigeria?
• To what extents have local government contributed to rural development?
• What is the rate of connection between local government and rural development?
• How has local government reduce the rate of population in the rural communities?

1.6 Research Hypothesis

In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.

• H0: There is no significant relationship between local government and rural development in Nigeria
• H1: There is a significant relationship between local government and rural development in Nigeria

1.7 Significance of Study

This study is significant in many ways it focused on the impact of 1976 local government reform on rural development in Nigeria. Its finding will be of benefit to the entire society in the sense that the society should participate in the reformation of the local government, which is geared towards rural development not leaving it for the sate an federal government.

For the same season, the academic communities will also benefit from the study because it will be an appropriate channel for secondary research to both student and teachers in finding facts about the local government reform on rural development in Nigeria and for those who are for the first time engaging on a research work of this type.

The administration in various government ministers and parastatals will equally see the need to provide the basic infrastructure facilities to the rural communities and embark on community project that the leaders to the transformation of the loves people in rural and local communities.

This study will be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.

1.8 Scope of Study

The research focused on the impact of 1976 local government reform on rural development in Nigeria. The scope is limited to Aba North local government area. Therefore, the findings of the study cannot be generalized to other local government areas in Nigeria.

1.9 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
3. Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
4. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

1.10 Definition of Terms

Local Government: Ugwu (2002) defined local government as third tier level of government created for the purpose efficient and effective administration of the localities while the 1976 local government reform conceived local government as government at the local level exercise through representatives council established by the law to exercise specific power within defined areas.

Impact: According Oxford Advanced Learners dictionary which defines impact to be a strong impression or effect of an action.

Reform: It simply means to make or become better by removing or putting what is bad pr wrong to right. Therefore, reform takes place when something is bad and wrong, or better put, when a problem is identified, the step to change it is reform.

Rural Development: According to Umalele (1975) rural development is the process of improving the living standard of the masses of low-income population residing in rural area and making the process of their development self-sustaining.