TRACE THE EVOLUTION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN NIGERIA FROM 1979 TO 1999 AND HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO THE PRESENT DAY LOCAL GOVERNMENT

INTRODUCTION

              Local government constitutes the most critical level of government at which the momentum to sustain national development can be created. To some countries in the third world, it is the only semblance of authority known beyond the tradition. (Bello 2007:1)

           As from the 1970s, the national leaders all over the world and even their followers started to change their erstwhile attitude towards local government for a more positive appreciation of the role of the level of government. Consequently, they started to think of more functions, more finance and more qualified manpower for the level of government. This re-awakening vis-à-vis the pivotal role of local government gained prominence in Nigeria as from 1976 nationwide local government reforms. The reforms recognized the level of government as a distinct tier of government. (Bello 2007:1).

DEFINITION OF CONCEPT: LOCAL GOVERNMENT

          Local government can be seen as a political authority under state for decentralizing political power and delegation of authority. (Fajobi, 2010:1)

         It is the administration under local committees to maintain law and order based on range of social amenities and to encourage cooperation and participation of people at the grassroots to improve their living conditions. Based on this, local government administration stresses on maintenance of law and order.

ROLE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

           Deriving from the 1976 local government Reforms, the Federal Republic of Nigeria articulated four basic objectives for establishing its Local Government. These are:

1.   To make appropriate services and development activities responsive to local wishes and initiatives by developing or delegating such services to local representatives bodies.

2.   To facilitate and bring the exercise of democratic self- governance close to the local levels of our society and to encourage initiative and leadership potentials.

3.   To mobilize human and material resources through the involvement of member of the public in their local government, and to provide a two – way channel of communication between local communities (both state and federal). (Fajobi 2010:3)

     Maddick’s persuasive argument in support of a positive role for local governments most aptly justifies their existence.

To achieve social change and general economic growth requires a spreading of effort so that local communities and individuals can participate to bring under ideal conditions, energy, and enthusiasm and most important of all, local initiate to the working out of local development activities……. Local authorities provide the opportunity for local decisions and local schemes within the general national policies, and to act above all, as local centre of initiative an activity conducive to development.

        What should Local Government play in initiating development?

PROMOTION OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FROM BELOW

         Of the diverse ways local government could promote socio- economic development from below, two distinct aspects will be highlighted in this work.

      The first role of local government’s role in promoting purely economic development local government’s role in this role in this regards takes various forms. First, unlike the ‘top-down’ development strategy, local government has a way of promoting development from below which strategy “gives priority to rural development, enhances a more effective use of land and labour, encourages a search for endogenously- derived technology and inculcates collective action in solving many of the problems confronting agriculture. Above all, effective local institutions represent a key aspect of the developing strategy of development from below.

PROMOTION OF LOCAL FREEDOM/ AUTONOMY

      Local government is the closest level of government to the people. If the system of local government is truly local, it provides special opportunities for people to complain about the quality of services it renders and about the conduct of the council officials. Moreover, since central governments all over the world are becoming increasingly distant in both physical psychological and even social senses, decentralization by devolution tends to bridge these various distances between the local civil servants and the citizens.

ENHANCEMENT OF GRASSROOT DEMOCRACY

       Local government has for very long time been regarded as the training ground for democracy. In a sense, therefore, the creation of local government is often linked with the desire to promote grassroots democracy. In a lot of Euro- American literature, it is regarded as the primary function of local government even though such claims have not gone unchallenged.

THE EVOLUTION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN NIGERIA FROM 1979 TO 1999

         Local governments system has taken different forms from one period to the other in Nigeria. We have the pre- colonial experiences culminating in different traditional political system; form the Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa political systems. We had the indirect rule system whereby such governments were being run through the traditional rulers, the chiefs or the warrant chiefs. After these, there had been series of reforms in the Nigerian local government system.

          The 1976 reform and the 1979 constitution left unanswered what should be the definite role of traditional rulers. Secondly, the financial instability of the local Government councils somehow reduced them to more structural decorations as they could not perform the relation to the various functions that they were charged with. Thirdly, the wards for the election of councilors were exceptionally large, to the extent that some communities did not know their councilors. Apart from the fact that this development did not make political sense, it also defeated the purpose of the ‘localness’ of Local Government Councils.

            It is thus evident that the emergent structure suffered from various problems which tended to undermine the performance of local governments. Thus, during the second republic (1979-1983), some of the state governments broke up or adjusted local government boundaries in order to carve  out more favorable bases for their political survival and without due regard to their viability. Besides, some states, it is believed created many Local Government Councils within a state. 

            The Buhari Administration (December 1983 to August 1985), reduced the number of local government from 770 to the original 301 constitutionally approved, deflating the over bloated structure under the second republic. However, as a result of the apparent inadequacies in the entire system, the Federal Military Government set up a local Government Review Committee in 1984 under the chairmanship of Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki.

        The Dasuki Report noted that the problem inherent in the 1976 nation-wide local government reforms was more of operational lapses arising directly from the behavior or attitude of persons who operated the system rather than structural deficiency. It therefore, recommended that the multi-purpose single- tier structure of the then 301 local governments was adequate as at the time and needed to be given a chance to function unfettered. As from 1986, the responsibility for posting and deployment of staff of local government service became vested in the ministries of local government. Finally, in spite of the Dasuki Committee’s recommendation of a more meaningful role for traditional rulers in the running of local government, no concrete action in this regard was taken at the time.  

       As a result of the new needs of local democracy and grassroots socio-economic development emphasized by the administration, and particularly the fact that old vices characteristics of the local government structure still existed, the federal government resorted to clearly spelling out the basis of local governments, especially as by 1987 the relationship between the states and local governments was still definably super-ordinate. This situation was compounded by the emergence of popularly elected local government chairmen and councilors from the local government election areas to enhance both citizenship participation and more meaningful service delivery at the local level.  So as from march 1988, the federal government adopted some comprehensive and well-defined measures aimed at radically reforming the structure, finance and administration of local governments to make them viable and effective centers of development. (Bello 2010:41)

       So as from march 1988, the federal government adopted some comprehensive and well- defined measures aimed at radically reforming the structure, finance and administration of local government viable and effective centers of development. Prominent in this regards, the federal government tinkered with the federal structure by creating new states and local governments in 1987.   Consequently, both 1987 and 1991 exercises resulted in structural dislocation as some communities who felt aggrieved initially refused to give their full cooperation and support to the new councils. The demand for new local government structure was multi-tier; the main focal point could have been retained as headquarters while the various sections could have been constituted into lower units with specific functions.

       Again, the institutions of democratically elected government councils have contained to be entrenched min the Nigerian constitution. In particularly, each of the 774 local government units how a new constitutional status similar to those of states furthermore, whereas it was only the national assembly that had power to create new local government but by 1999 local governments reverted to being state government creations. Before 1999, the procedures for creating them were spelt out in the constitution, and made as those for creating new stage governments. (Bello 2010:44).

IMPORTANCE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN PRESENT DAY NIGERIA

      CHANGE OF STRUCTURE

            Local government has changed its structure in Nigeria today because it seems to be more organized today because of the several reforms which went on.

     CLOSER TO THE PEOPLE

          Local government is also seen as been closer to the massive. This tries to foster development in the local government areas the try to foster a close relationship between the governments in other for speedy development.

                                             CONCLUSION

            In conclusion the evolution and the role in which local government plays in the development of the nations today  have not really done much because of its not having that full autonomy and right, local government is meant to be closer to the people but because of government putting it hand in it, local government seems to be underdevelop.

PERSONAL RECOMMENDATION

      I will recommend that the local government should be given a chance to express its integrity not only that they should allow the chairman and counselors to run it to the federal level.

The local government chairman and the counselors serves as the mouth pies of the people in the society and also at the federal level as earlier mentioned.

REFERENCES

O.F. FAJOBI (2010) X-Ray of Local Government Administration in Nigeria, Published by Crest hill ltd Basorun Ibadan.

I.B BELLO (2007) The Local Government System in Nigeria, Published by College Press and Publishers ltd, Leads University Ibadan, Nigeria.

Local Government and Administration in Leading Issues in Nigerian Public Service, Oyeleye Oyediran and Alex Gboyega, 1979.

Localism and Nation Building Spectrum, Ibadan, Mac C. King, 1988.

Report on the performance of Local Government in Nigeria 1980-82.  Lagos: Federal Government Printer, 1984.

The idea of local Government as Third Level of Government in Nigeria.  Ladipo Adamolekun. Ibadan, Heireman: 1979