Local Government and Grassroot Development
INTRODUCTION
Local government areas are suppose to be the engines of national development. A quite rural community grows into a busting city, and the local leaders makes this possible. In an ideal and well developed nations of the world, when people are tired of living in the cities they retire or 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. People are subjected to different kind of social and economic torture that makes life in the rural even more challenging and difficult.
The local government administrators are part of the problem. Like their counterpart at the federal and state levels, they short change the interest of the grass root (Rural dwellers) for their selfish interest, they are mired in pursuit of personal goals at the expense of border community interest. Infact anyone, who wants to know why the nation is not developing should visit of the Local Government Areas.
Agagn (1997:18), defined local government by the popularly elected bodies charged with administrative and executive duties in matters concerning the inhabitant of a particular district or place.
Lawal (2006:60), sees it as a political and administrative unit that is empowered by the law to administer a specific locality.
Local Government can as well be seen as an authority established by the law which derive its roles, responsibility and right from the National or Federal Constitution which is charged with the satisfaction of the need of people in the local, grass root or rural areas.
GRASS ROOT DEFINED: Grass root ordinarily can be defined as the ordinarily people in an organization rather than the leaders. We can also take the grass root to the rural dwellers and electorates who through electioneering process surrender partially their decision making right and authority to these elected (Local government administrators) for a specific period of
Local government areas are suppose to be the engines of national development. A quite rural community grows into a busting city, and the local leaders makes this possible. In an ideal and well developed nations of the world, when people are tired of living in the cities they retire or 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. People are subjected to different kind of social and economic torture that makes life in the rural even more challenging and difficult.
The local government administrators are part of the problem. Like their counterpart at the federal and state levels, they short change the interest of the grass root (Rural dwellers) for their selfish interest, they are mired in pursuit of personal goals at the expense of border community interest. Infact anyone, who wants to know why the nation is not developing should visit of the Local Government Areas.
Agagn (1997:18), defined local government by the popularly elected bodies charged with administrative and executive duties in matters concerning the inhabitant of a particular district or place.
Lawal (2006:60), sees it as a political and administrative unit that is empowered by the law to administer a specific locality.
Local Government can as well be seen as an authority established by the law which derive its roles, responsibility and right from the National or Federal Constitution which is charged with the satisfaction of the need of people in the local, grass root or rural areas.
GRASS ROOT DEFINED: Grass root ordinarily can be defined as the ordinarily people in an organization rather than the leaders. We can also take the grass root to the rural dwellers and electorates who through electioneering process surrender partially their decision making right and authority to these elected (Local government administrators) for a specific period of
References: Agagn A. A. (1997) Local Government Reading in Political Science, Ibadan Lawal S. (2000) Local Government Administration Nigeria; A practical Approach United nations Office www.google.com Public Administration Arizona – Ogwu L.C (2007)Local Government and the need for Grass root Development