CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1. Background of the Study There is no doubt that a community which aptly refers to a group of people living together as a group of social unit within a larger one and having interests, work, etc in common needs, desire and aims at accelerated development. According to Ifeanyi (2006) community development refers to “a process where community members come together to take collective action and generate solutions to common problems”. In other words, it refers to a term given to the practices of civic leaders, activists, involved citizens, professionals etc to improve various aspects of communities, typically aiming to build stronger and more resilient local communities. In view of this, the Wikipedia (2015) observed that community development seeks to empower individuals and groups of people with the skills they need to effect change within their communities. It further noted that these skills are often created through the formation of large social groups working for a common agenda. Thus, The UK Community development Formation (2014) informs that community development is about developing the power, skills, knowledge and experience of people as individuals and in groups, thus, enabling them to undertake initiatives of their own to combat social, economic, political, and environmental problems, and enabling them to fully participate in a truly democratic process. Significantly, in Nigeria, the concept of community development is traceable to time immemorial, perhaps as old as history itself. Records indicate that prior to the advent of colonialism, the various communities in what later culminated into the present day Nigeria nation galvanized and employed varied dignified efforts towards mobilizing their resources with the aim of developing their localities or communities. Generally, development is seen as process by which nature has endowed him and his environment. This implies that development from its inception is a kind of totalistic movement and community development is not an exception. Thus, the pre-colonial era in Nigeria witnessed community development approach that emphasized Self-help to improve health, nutrition and of course, community welfare. The colonial era in the same vein, actually witnessed construction of rural roads and railway lines across the country with the ulterior motives of enabling the colonialists to tap and evacuate the nation’s rural produce. The post independence era has been witnessing much community development initiatives con. In essence, ever since the attainment of independence in 1960, successive governments in Nigeria have declared as one of their major priorities, the issue of community development. Indeed, the post colonial orientation in Nigeria has been described as a “deviation from the erstwhile colonial management whereby development efforts in all spheres were concentrated in the urban areas to the neglect of rural areas”. To this end, projects of different fashions namely bridges, schools, railway lines, roads, ports etc were in various times by successive administrations in the post independence conceived and constructed with the aim of opening the rural areas as a link for the easy exploitation of export raw materials. Meanwhile, suffice it to note that the scope of the concept of community development is a very wide one. It is actually a multi-dimensional process which cuts across education, health, provision of rural infrastructural facilities, social life, agriculture, political and economic issues etc and their integration with the national economy. In view of this, the federal government of Nigeria had in various times enunciated numerous national development plans which among other things were aimed at guaranteeing accelerated community development. Among the various National development plans, it was the third National Development Plan of 1975-1980 that first envisaged the development of community sector. Subsequently, the fourth National Development Plans 1981 – 1985 did not make any departure from the Position of the preceding plan on a community development. The plan conspicuously maintained that the over-riding aim of the community development effort remain that of bringing about an improvement in a living condition of the people. Accordingly, some of the programmes initiated then where the Directorate of Foods, Roads and Rural Infrastructures (DFRRI), National Directorate of Employment (NDE) among others. However, despite the lofty objectives of various administrations in Nigeria with respects to community development, there still exist enormous gap between policy formulations and implementation and the reality of the actual level of the development of rural communities across Nigeria and Kwara State in particular. This study is therefore aimed at evaluating the problems and prospects of community development. 1.2. Statement of the problems Statistics have shown that lack of development and poverty has become the deadliest diseases ravaging the various communities in the Nigeria. It is a pervasive phenomenon characterized by low level of income and socio- economic and infrastructural deprivations in virtually all communities in Kwara state. Despite the numerous natural community development programme initiatives in Nigeria and the vast natural resources, economic development potentials etc of the state, Kwara State still ranked very low in development index of Nigeria. Consequently, some eighty percent of the population in rural areas either had no medical services or made do with rudimentary facilities scattered over wide distances (Onimode, 1982). This obvious neglect of the rural majority of Nigerians in the developmental scheme of things, is an indictment of both colonial and independent governments not only for neglecting the majority who live in the rural areas but also for “milking them dry” for the benefits of the British metropolis and the urban minority in Nigeria. Contemporarily, rural community development has become a national imperative in Nigeria and the following are the reason. Firstly, the proportion of the national population resident in the rural areas of Nigeria is higher hence the 1963 census, which place the figure at 80.7% of the national population. By 1985, this proportion went down to 70.13% and by 1990; it further dropped to 69%. It is therefore clear that despite our high level of urbanization, Nigeria remains largely rural. Secondly, is the realization that a dangerous gap exists in the development levels of both the urban and rural areas which threatens the political and social stability of the country. Hence the development of a country cannot be completed with the singular act of developing the urban areas at the detriment of the rural area which supplies the urban areas with food and labour. Disheartening as it may sound and seem, the rural areas are characterized by pervasive and endemic poverty, made manifest by widespread hunger, malnutrition, poor health, general lack of access to formal education, liveable housing and various forms of social and political solution compared with their urban counterparts. Thirdly, it is being recognized that the problems of our urban centres cannot be solved unless those of the rural areas are solved, or at least contained. Hence these problems emanated from the unprecedented rural-urban migration which in turn derives from rural area underdevelopment, poverty and unemployment (Akpomuvie, 2010). 1.3. Objective of the study The broad objective of this study is to evaluate community development as a tool for social economic development in Nigeria; the specific objectives include 1. To determine the current community development initiatives put in place by Kwara state. 2. To ascertain the impact of the state community development initiatives in Ilorin South local government of the state. 3. To determine resilient measures/development programmes that would guarantee speedy and accelerated community development in Kwara state. 1.4. Research Questions 1. What is the current community development initiatives put in place by Kwara state? 2. What is the impact of the state community development initiatives in Ilorin South local government of the state? 3. What are the resilient measures/development programmes that would guarantee speedy and accelerated community development in Kwara state? 1.5 Significance of the study This research study would be of immense help to individuals, corporate bodies, non-governmental organizations and government agencies in assessing the level and degree of impact of self help projects on rural development in Nigeria’s rural areas. It can also be used by professionals and academicians like geographers, rural sociologists, agriculturist and economists for academic purposes. So also, the local state and the federal government planning unit can also make use of their research findings in assessing and planning for rural development in most of Nigeria’s rural areas. 1.6. SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY The scope of this limited to Ilorin South Local Government Area of Kwara State alone, it states how the staff performs their duties and relate with one another in the environment. This involves daily interaction, passing on information that are relevant to their duties and how their job could be more effective to the environment as a whole. 1.7 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY/PLAN OF THE STUDY The project consists of five (5) chapters. Chapter one contains general introduction, purpose/objectives of the study, significance of the study, research hypothesis, scope and limitation, organization of the study, statement of the challenges, definition of the term used. Chapter two focuses on the literature review such as the concept of local government, objective of revenues generation, source of study and different authors. Chapter three centre on brief history of Ilorin South Local Government, problem of study, sample and population of the study, method of data analysis, research challenges. Chapter four presents data presentation, analysis and interpretation of finding, introduction, brief history of the case study while chapter five which is final chapter of this project contain the following: summary, conclusion, recommendations and bibliography. 1.8. DEFINITION OF THE TERMS For the purpose of this study the following terms were defined. - REVENUE GENERATION: Is the money derived by the government in orderto perform it’s activities. - LOCAL ADMINISTRATION: Is the system under which local communities are organized to maintain law and order, provide some limited range of social amenities and encourage cooperation and participation of an individual inhabitant towards the improving condition of their living. - DISTRICT: Part of the local government marked out for a special purpose. - RUDIMENTS: The step taken in doing things, it can be from one step to another. - L.G.A: Means Local Government Area, a small section or division represented by a councilor. - TAXATION: System of raising money through levying people on particular items. According to the International Encyclopedia of Social Sciences defined tax as a general concept of device used by the government to extract money or other valuable things from people and organization by use of law.
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