Infrastructure and Rural - Urban Development.
Introduction
Infrastructures are basic essential services that should be put in place to enable development to occur. Socio-economic development can be facilitated and accelerated by the presence of social and economic infrastructures. If these facilities and services are not in place, development will be very difficult and in fact can be likened to a very scarce commodity that can only be secured at a very high price and cost.
Nigeria Public spending have been geared towards the provision of infrastructures and social services such as schools, hospitals, electricity, water supply etc, while economic activities such as deliberately establishing manufacturing and processing industries and introducing or expanding rural industries have either been neglected or de-emphasized. Generally, while governments have tried to provide some social services they have left the provision of economic activities almost entirely to the private sector.
Furthermore, the pattern of distribution of socio-economic infrastructure exhibits an urban rather than a rural location bias which further helps to increase rural poverty. The absence of these amenities constitute push factors facilitating the migration of rural dwellers into urban centers, resulting to population explosion in most urban cities in Nigeria. Consequently the existing urban services are overstrained which often times lead to total collapse. A large proportion of the population does not have reasonable access to safe and ample water supply, and neither do they have the means for hygienic waste disposal, etc. Kalbermatten (1982) has shown that these two services are essential for a healthy and productive life.
According to Olotuah (2002), The demand for Urban services in Nigeria has grown over the years but the overall quality and coverage of public services have deteriorated.
It is now widely recognized that there exists an economic, social and environmental
Infrastructures are basic essential services that should be put in place to enable development to occur. Socio-economic development can be facilitated and accelerated by the presence of social and economic infrastructures. If these facilities and services are not in place, development will be very difficult and in fact can be likened to a very scarce commodity that can only be secured at a very high price and cost.
Nigeria Public spending have been geared towards the provision of infrastructures and social services such as schools, hospitals, electricity, water supply etc, while economic activities such as deliberately establishing manufacturing and processing industries and introducing or expanding rural industries have either been neglected or de-emphasized. Generally, while governments have tried to provide some social services they have left the provision of economic activities almost entirely to the private sector.
Furthermore, the pattern of distribution of socio-economic infrastructure exhibits an urban rather than a rural location bias which further helps to increase rural poverty. The absence of these amenities constitute push factors facilitating the migration of rural dwellers into urban centers, resulting to population explosion in most urban cities in Nigeria. Consequently the existing urban services are overstrained which often times lead to total collapse. A large proportion of the population does not have reasonable access to safe and ample water supply, and neither do they have the means for hygienic waste disposal, etc. Kalbermatten (1982) has shown that these two services are essential for a healthy and productive life.
According to Olotuah (2002), The demand for Urban services in Nigeria has grown over the years but the overall quality and coverage of public services have deteriorated.
It is now widely recognized that there exists an economic, social and environmental
References: Bola O.(1989) Managing rapid growth of cities in Nigeria. DFID (United Kingdom Department for International Development) (2002). Making the Connections: Infrastructure for Poverty Reduction DFID (2004b). DFID Rural and Urban Development Case Study – Nigeria. Oxford Policy Management Jahan, S. and R. McCleery (2005). Making infrastructure work for the poor. UNDP.Available at: www.undp.org/poverty/docs/fpage/Synthesisreport.pdf. Keynes, J. M. (1936). The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money. York: Harcourt Inc. NEPAD (2008) Report of the new Partnership for Africa’s Development. Todaro, M. P. (1989). Economic Development in the Third World, 4th edition. London:Longman.