overview of local government in Nigeria
1.0 Introduction
2.0
In this unit, we shall examine the meaning of local government from different
Perspectives; the reasons for creating of local government as well as the importance of
Local government. We are able to establish that local governments are developmental
Intermediary between grassroots people and national scheme of things. It is a system
Of government that fosters democracy. It is grassroots – based consisting of small
Units of local communities upon which political power are developed to cater for then
Needs. It engenders greater participation of the people in the process of government. It
Is designed to serve as a viable instrument for repeal and even development of local
Government as their areas serve as units for sharing government amenities and offices
Eg sitting of government establishment, appointment of commissioners, ministers and
Sharing of federation accounts etc.
2.0 Objectives
By the end of this unit, the one should be able to
1 Define the term local government
2 Explain the importance of local government
3 Discuss the characteristics of local government
3.0 Meaning of Local Government
The term local government has been defined in various ways by public
Administrators, political scientist, writers and scholars According to Ogunna (1988), it
Is a political authority, purposely created by the state government under a law by
Which local communities within a definite area are organized to manage their own
Affairs within the limit of the law under which the authority is created. In the words of
Okoli (1983), it is a process of devolution of power to the local authority to provide
Services of local nature. Alao (1986), viewed it as a government of grassroots which is
Designed to serve as "instrument of rural transformation". In his own contributions,
Golding (1981), viewed it as a political authority set up by a nation or state as
Subordinate authority for the purpose of dispersing or decentralizing political power.
This idea of local government by Awa (1981), has been reinforced by the Federal
Republic of Nigerian Guidelines for local government in Nigeria which elaborately
Defined local government as "government at local level exercised through
Representative councils established by law to exercise specific powers within defined
Areas. These powers should give the council substantial control over local affairs,
(including staffing) and institutional and financial powers to initiate and direct the
Provision of services and to determine and implement projects so as to complement
The activities of the state and federal governments in their areas and to ensure, through
Devolution of functions to these councils and through the active participation of the
People and their traditional institutions, that local initiative and response to local needs
And conditions are maximized" Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Local government therefore plays crucial role in rural as well as urban
Development the world over. The importance of local government in rural
Development process made AbubakarRimi to remark as far back as 1978 thus, "Local
Government is the most important government of our land. The local government is
The nearest a 9nd most immediate government for the man. The man in my village
Does not care about who the president is. He does not even care about who the
Governor of Kano State is. He cares only about those who are counselors and
Chairman of his local government" (constituent Assembly: 1978:994). Local
Government is therefore, a powerful instrument of rural and urban development.
Consequently, if appropriately structured, based on adequacy of units;
Adequately funded, sufficiently staffed with well qualified and continuously trained,
Motivated and dedicated personnel, enjoy a measure of freedom from the state
Government, it will give effect to mass participation of the people in the process of
Government as well as serve as a spring signboard for local participation and rural
Development. Local government is therefore designed to achieve multi-dimensional
Goals of economic, social, cultural and political development. It is form of government
Most desired all over the world today due to its therapeutic cleansing effect on rural
Development problems.
3.0.1 Reasons for the Establishment of Local Government
According to Ezeani (2005:257) there are a number of reasons why local
Government are created and they are as follow:
- To assist the central or state government to maintain law and order.
- To complement the efforts of central or federal or state government in the
Provision of series of services within their areas of authority. Local government all
Over the world is seen as an efficient agent for providing services that are local in
Character. According to Mackenzie (1961:14) in Ezeani (2006) „local government
Exists to provide services and it must be judged by its success in providing services
Up to a standard measurable by a national inspectorate. It is argued that because of
Its closeness to an area, local government can provide certain services far more
Effectively and efficiently than the central or federal government (Ezeani 2004:40).
Local Government particularly in developing countries is seen as a veritable
Instrument for rural development. Consequently, all over the world, local
Governments have been assigned some functions under the law they include;
- To assist the central and state governments carry out their functions and policies,
Especially those areas that require local knowledge and participation for successful
Execution.
- To make appropriate services and development activities responsive to local
Wishes and initiatives by devolving or delegating them to local representative
Bodies.
- To assist the Central or Federal and State Government in resolving conflicts in the
Rural areas.
- To sensitize and mobilize the various communities in their areas of authority in
Order to get involved in the overall development of their areas.
- To facilitate the exercise of democratic self-government close to the grassroots of
Our society and to encourage initiative and leadership potential.
- Local governments act as a medium through which the federal or state government
Promotes mutual understanding and meaningful communication between people
Who are resident in the rural areas (Olisa, 1990:93).
Other rationales for the creation of the local government according to the
National Guidelines for Local Government Reform (1976:1) include;
- To provide a training ground for democracy. Local government serves to promote
Democracy at the grassroots. This is the view espoused by the democratic
Participatory school which argued that local government functions to bring about
Democracy and to afford opportunities for political participation to the citizen as
Well as to educate and socialize him politically (Ezeani 2004:37).
- To make appropriate services and development activities responsive to local
Wishes and initiative by developing or delegating them to local representative
Bodies and
- To mobilization material resources through the involvement of members of the
Public in their development
Acting as a veritable instrument for development (Ola 1984:14) The local
government can do a lot to promote human development index which is very low
compared to that of other countries, the roles of local government towards the
development process includes;
a. Helping to inculcate in people positive citizenship attitudes, such as
consideration, self-control, community responsibility and identity.
b. Providing basic community services which is both to improve the quality of
people lives and enable the community attract economic activities. Such basic
community services includes, primary health care, basic primary education,
provision of basic infrastructure etc and
c. Helping people, especially in the rural areas to organize themselves for the
mobilization and effective management of community resources and central
government programmes respectively.
According to Afegbua (2010) Local government is conceived as a platform for
political education, a forum for breeding politicians; and a training ground for national
politicians as a means of gaining access to power, pressure and control as the case
maybe. Furthermore, Chukwuemeka (2003:195) posited that the basic reasons that
justify the creation of local government system are:
1. Local government is more responsive to the needs of the citizens than large units
of government.
2. It is the government at the grass root and near enough to the people, and
therefore being able to articulate and tackle the problems of the citizenry.
3. The existence of local government recognizes the superior capacity of the local
people to understand and conduct their own local affairs. The people themselves
are able to secure a closer adaptation of public services to local needs than they
to the central or state governments, looking at the locality from afar.
4. Local governments encourage people to become involved in the lives of their
communities.
5. Naturally, people tend to resist imposition from above (outside) but they tend to
defend what they themselves have decided upon the way people look at the
command from an outside body than what they have decided to do by
themselves.
6. Local Government is a form of decentralization under the centralization of power
and foundation in the centre which might be tended to high handedness of
government and deposition.
7. Local Government is intended to relieve the central/state government of
excessive amount of business from the center and thus, decongest the national
and state governments.
8. Local government upholds personal liberty.
9. Local government is an instrument of political education, providing a form of
socialization for political space for its participants.
10.Local government helps to pool resources together at the local level for the
provision of a wide range of essential social services.
3.0.2 The Importance of Local Government:
Jawaharial Nehru emphasized the importance of local government when he
said that "local self-government is and must be the basis of any true system of
democracy. Democracy at the top may not be a success unless you build on this
foundation from below".
Historically too the local government preceded national government when
people started living organized life, they were in small communities. They cooperated
with each other in organizing many of their affairs like growing food, looking after the
cattle, organizing defence against the enemies and beasts etc. They became the selfgoverning communities. With the passage of time, the communities became bigger
and bigger and some of their functions were taken over by the larger communities, i.e.
the national government. Defence, administration of justice, policing are some of such
instances. Nevertheless the basic and primary needs of the people continued to be
looked after by the local authority. But it does not mean that the emergence of the
national government has decreased the importance of the local government. The fact
is that the concept of welfare state has enlarged the scope of functions of the
government as a whole, both at the national and local levels. If the number of functions of the national government has increased, so has the number of functions of
the local government.
The existence and functioning of local government t grass-root level have
many advantages. That advantage "primarily lies in the convenience at least cost, for
at this level the range of activities and the jurisdiction of work of officials is not as
vast as in a district or a state. As everyone knows everyone else, the chance for fair
and open working are greater. Cases of corruption are few, as no body would like to
be exposed. „Some Community effort and citizen participation in decision-making are
higher and since citizens have a stake, solutions for the subjects handled are likely to
be relevant and more pragmatic".
1. Grass-root Democracy: Local government provides scope for democracy at the
grass-root level. If direct democracy can still be practicable, it is only at this level,
otherwise democracy at the state or national level has become only indirect or
representative type. G.D.H. Cole says that "Democracy is nothing unless it means
….letting the people have their own way not only in the mass by means of an
aggregate vote on nationwide scale, but also in their lesser groups and societies of
which the great society is made up, and through which it is made articulate in such
a way that the less clamorous voices can be heard".
2. Serves as a training school: Local government is an excellent ground for creating
and training future leaders. The participation of people at the local level in the
management of their own affairs, gives them necessary experience to handle
bigger affairs later at the state or national level. Thus the local government serves
as a training school for democracy. The advisory committee of U.S. Commission
on Inter-government Relations rightly remarked, "The counties, cities, towns,
villages and boroughs serve as training schools for the leaders of government, and
in the affairs of local government are tried those who aspire to state and national
offices". Lord Bryce regarded local government as the best school of democracy
and the best guarantee of local government as a general. He said, "The institution
of local government is educative in perhaps a higher degree at least contingently,
than any other part of government. And it must be remembered that there is no other way of brining the mass of citizens into intimate contact with persons
responsible for decisions".
Local government servers not only as a training ground for the politicians to
function at the state and national levels, but also it provides an outlet for competent
and public spirited persons of the locality to render social service to the community. It
is from such a group of experienced and tested persons that there emerge leader who
can take up responsibilities at state and national levels. Therefore local government
ensures a regular flow of talent to higher levels. It is for these reasons that the local
self-government is regarded as the best school of democracy and the best guarantee
for its successes. Many of the Indian leaders of the national movement like MotiLal
Nehru and JawaharLal Nehru, Ferozeshah Mehta and VallabhBhai Patel, Dr. Rajendra
Prasad and Subash Chandra Bose, etc. had risen from the service they rendered in the
local governments.
3. Encourages participation of the people in public affairs: Local government
affords opportunity to the people to participate in public affairs. Democracy no
doubt means government by the people, but it has become impracticable for the
common people to participate in public affairs at the state or national level. The
affairs of the modern state are too complex to understand for an ordinary citizen.
Moreover the affairs at the national level are too far removed to be of much
interest for him. The large size of the modern state is another handicap. On the
other hand, local government is too close to the citizen. It affects his everyday life.
The affairs of the village, the town or the borough are his own affairs, in which he
is naturally interested. Moreover, these are too simple for an ordinary citizen.
Sanitation, need of education for the village or town‟s children, maintenance of
streets and roads, street lighting, management of local markets, etc. are subjects
which he understands. None else than him can know the problems arising in these
matters. None else than him also knows the solutions of these problems. Therefore
he is encouraged to participate in the management of these affairs.
4. More competent to solve local problems: Modern State is too large in size and
the scope of its functions has expanded in recent times. Therefore it hardly has the
time to attend to the local problems of the people. It is competent to deal with the problems which are common to all the people or which are national in nature like
defence, foreign affairs, currency, communications and international trade etc. But
it is neither competent nor has the knowledge to deal with the local problems of
the people. The local problems vary so much that no single agency can mange
them. The problems of the villages are different from those of the towns. The
problems of desert regions are different from those of mountainous areas. Even the
needs and problems of one village or town will be different from those of the other
village or town. Therefore it is the local government which is present at the spot
which can understand and solve those problems. Local affairs can best be managed
locally. Local affairs are bound to be neglected if they are dealt with by the Central
Government. Local government is preferable precisely because locally elected
institutions employing their own specialist staff are better placed to understand and
interpret both the conditions and the needs of local communities.
5. Local government is economical: It costs the taxpayer much less if his local
affairs are managed by the local government. If these affairs were to be managed
by the Central Government that means that the Central Government will have to
keep a large bureaucracy. It will be a big administrative state. Its agents or
employees serving at the local level will have to be paid at the central rates which
are generally very high. It will make it very expensive and increase the burden on
the taxpayer. On the other hand, the local government can manage these affairs
with the help of locally available specialists or employees who will cost much less.
Thus management of local affairs by the local government results in economy.
Moreover the local government knows that the money being spent is its own
money which has been raised through local sources. Therefore it will try to
economize and avoid wastage.
Also, the people of the local community can keep a watch on the work being
done by the local government and can hold it accountable for any misuse of funds or
financial lapses. The Central Government has no accountability to the local
community; therefore the chances of misuse of funds or wastage are greater if these
affairs were to be managed by it. 6. Reduced the burden of the Central Government: Local government in a way
acts supplementary to the Central Government. No doubt historically the local
government is prior to the state or national government, but with the passage of
time many important functions got transferred to the Central Government. It
resulted in the division of functions – affairs of national importance such as
defence, foreign affairs, currency, communications etc. began to be performed by
the latter, leaving affairs of local interest and importance which required local
knowledge, in the hands of the former. It is useful for both. Since the local
functions are performed by the local government, the Central Government is freed
from that responsibility and burden, consequently it can better concentrate on
affairs of national importance. The local government too knows its area of activity
in which it can develop its competence.
7. Serves as a channel of communication: The local government serves as two-way
channel of communication between itself and the Central Government. "Desires
and aspirations of the local community are articulated and carried upward to the
State Government, and plans and programmes of the State and the Central
Governments flow in the reverse direction. In times of national emergency local
government acts as the field post of the distant Centre, transmits national decisions
to far-flung corners, mobilizes the people for national tasks and keeps the Centre
informed about happenings in the locality."
8. Vital for national progress: Local government promotes diversity of experience
and creative activity through democratic action. Thus it contributes to national
progress through resilience, strength and richness of democracy. Edward Jenks
remarks, "In countries where the organs of local government are under the thumb
of the central authority, although the efficiency of administration may be great, the
political character of the people will be unsatisfactory; it will be apathetic for long
periods and then dangerously excited, with the result of instability and corruption
in the Central Government. On the other hand, a country of strong local
government may be slow to move and blundering in its methods, but it will be a
country of steady progress and of political stability and honesty".
Conclusion
In this unit we have able to establish that local governments the world over is
designed to serve as an instrument for rural development. In federal structure like
ours, local government is the basic unit of democracy; it is the fountain head of
democracy upon which national democracy is established.
5.0 Summary
Local government is a third tier government in Nigeria as well as the closet tier
of government to the people. The guidelines for 1976 Local Government Reform in
Nigeria elaborately describes it as government at the local level exercised through
representative councils established by law to exercise specific powers over local areas.
The Primary Goal of local government is to bring government nearer to the people for
the purpose of maximum participation of rural inhabitants, utilization of local
resources (men and materials) for rapid and even development of local communities.