By Prince Kelly Udebhulu.
Local Government in Nigeria has not performed to
expectation. Keen observers have since adduced various propositions for
explaining the reasons why the system has recorded abysmal level of inefficiency
and ineffectiveness vis-à-vis justification for its establishment. These
impediments range from political but undue interference of the higher levels of
government i.e. federal, state governments, Godfather-ism, bribery and corruption to
embezzlement and gross inadequacy of well-trained and qualified personnel to
mention a few. But before reading into the problems of local government, we
shall first attempt to illuminate the historical background of local government
in order to have adequate grasp of its future and achieve deeper understanding
of salient issues raised.
The motive for the creation of Local Government anywhere in
the world stems from the need to facilitate development at the grassroots. The
importance of Local Government is a function of its ability to generate sense
of belonging, safety and satisfaction among its populace. All forms of
government, regimes or political systems have so far ensured the attainment of
this goal. Such strategy for ensuring national administrative development and
political efficacy is found in the concept and practice of local government. In
Nigeria's socio-political context, with multiplicity of culture, diversity of
languages and differentiated needs and means, the importance of such an
organization in fostering the needed national consciousness, unity and relative
uniformity as well as preservation of peculiar diversities cannot be
over-emphasized. Central to the creation of Local Government, however, is its
ability to facilitate an avenue through which government and the people
intermix, relate and more quickly than any other means to resolve or dissolve
issues collectively.
The problems of Local Government are multifarious in nature
and it is the concern of this writer to explain them in details. What are the
causes of these seemingly conspicuous weaknesses? What are the challenges of
the local government? And how can these weaknesses be corrected and the
challenges met? These problems include:
Finance:
Despite the increase in the total amount of funds available to Local Government in Nigeria, its economic and financial profile is still very poor, relative to the development programs it is expected to carry out. This situation is not unconnected to the mismanagement and embezzlement of these funds by the local councils.
Inadequacy of Skilled Workers:
Local Government generally has experienced and is still
experiencing dearth of skilled, technical and professional staff like qualified
engineers (of all types), medical doctors, accountants, statisticians,
economists, lawyers, town planners, to mention a few. The facilitating factors
for this include:
(i) Low image of Local Government in the mind of professionals who feel and
think that there is no job satisfaction sufficient to keep them at that low
level of public service.
(ii) Hopeless nature of the job attributable to, and arising from, low or no
incentives for junior workers, no chances for creativity and innovation as well
as perpetual delay in payment of salary.
(iii) Recently and more importantly,
threat and fear of retrenchment of junior workers has derailed their
psychological balance and affected their efficiency and output.
(iv) Manner of recruitment is questionable as it is based on
subjectivity and consideration of sentiment. Employment is based on favoritism,
nepotism, ethnic and political consideration and other primordial factors that
replaced and displaced competence, qualification, experience and performance.
(v) Indiscipline is rampantly perceived and well pronounced
among the workers in Local Government. The senior officers who travel
to their families away from their offices on Friday return very late the
following Monday or may decide to stay back till Tuesday; and the junior
members of staff who directly or indirectly observe this more often than not
are in the habit of playing truant with their jobs. Little or no commitment to
duty has become a rule rather than an exception.
(vi) The degree of external influence and intrusion in Local Government affairs by the higher levels of Government and Godfathers are worrisome and needs
re-evaluation. Situation where the State Governor unconstitutionally dissolves
the entire elected council's officers without proper investigations on spurious
allegations is not good for the future of Local Government administration in
the country. Such external interference indeed subverts democratic process and
undermines constitutional authority at the grassroots level. The crux of the
matter is the ‘almighty' power and misuse of it, enjoyed by the state governments
over Local Governments. Practically, and in true sense, Local Government in
Nigeria lacks autonomous financial power. Local Government is now considered as
an extension of State's Ministry. The inherent nature of this problem has
caused subservience, a situation where Local Government waits for the next
directives from State Government before the former could think of, let alone
embarking on developmental projects. This has made Local Government an object
of control and directives by the higher Authorities and Individuals.
WAYS OUT:
My suggestions are based purely on
experience and direct observations and are therefore practical and
problem-solving. These include:
Economic Base:
The major purpose of creating Local Government is to bring developments to the grassroots. In order to perform this adequately, there is need for Local Councils to have strong economic base. In this connection, councils' shares of the federation account to be released to them directly to avoid lateness in the payment of salaries and arbitrary deductions by State Government. Local Government should have representation in the Revenue Allocation and Fiscal Commission, which determines and shares the federated revenue to the beneficiaries. It is not enough to have an upward review of councils' allocations, but also advisable for Local Councils to look inwards for improved Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). This will make them financially self-reliant. Besides, some Local Council should look for ways of attracting industries to their areas as this will propel economic development and increase their revenue base.
Every worker in any organization is the one that makes
things happen and as such should occupies important position in production
process. This is because the worker puts life into raw materials and changes
its form to satisfy human wants. In consideration of this therefore, workers in Local Councils should be adequately motivated in order to prepare them for the
task of service delivery.
In conclusion, the electorate should be educated and enlightened of the danger
inherent in money politics, they should endeavor to vote for people of proven
integrity rather than compromising their future and that of generation yet
unborn on the altar of election.
It is the belief of this writer that strict observance to these suggestions can
lift Local Councils from their relegated position of tools of manipulation to
the aspired status of instrument of change and development at the grassroots
level.
…to be continued
By: Prince Kelly Udebhulu
You can tweet to @princekelly75
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