SELF-HELP PROJECTS IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT: A CASE STUDY OF ZARIA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, KADUNA STATE

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Date
1988-12
Authors
IDEH, MORRIS,
OKORO
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Abstract
A B S T R A C T Two of the most serious problems inherent in rural development planning are the i d e n t i f i c a t i on of the needs of the target population of a plan and r a i s i ng sufficient funds to execute the projects that would satisfy such needs. Hitherto, the top - down approach to planning has distorted the planners' conception of the role of the people as a creative force in development. It has also denied planners of local resources which if combined with those government would greatly help to alleviate the problem of shortage of resources and lead to a more rational planning. This study examines the roles of rural commu n i t i e s in the development process in the Zaria Local Glvernment Area, Kaduna State. The aim is to identify and assess various categories of selfhelp community projects undertaken in the area and to analyse the extent to which these projects r e f l e c t the resources, needs, perception and socioeconomic conditions of the rural communities. It also examines the success of these projects with a view to evolving a strategy that can harmonize the local resources as are available with those of the government. The research findings revealed that in areas where the government had failed to meet up with the aspirations of the people in terms of their felt needs, the people have excelled. This is because the rural communities in the Zaria Local Government Area have effectively mobilized resources locally for the provision of their basic needs such as physical infrastructures like roads, bridges, culverts etc, and social infrastructures like market stalls, classrooms, mosques etc. Most of these projects were either initiated, planned, financed and implemented by the communities or in conjunction with the government. The study further revealed that in the context of rural development, an effective cooperative system can act as a catalyst utilizing the pooled resources of the rural poor for their social and economic upliftment. Social clubs for associations (e.g. Zaman Lafiya Amaru club, Sogayya Matasa, etc) were identified to have co-existed with and reinforced development committees as effective instruments for planning and executing local schemes on a self-help basis. These organications therefore formed the framework within which self-help projects were carried outt In Nigeria in general, and the study area in particular, community participation in local development projects has been part and parcel of the people*s culture. Members of rural communities are used to contributing either money, materials, food and labour for the development of their area as a whole. In fact, self-help groups have become significant agents for promoting rural development in the rural areas and as a consequence should be given whatever encouragement and support that is affordable» The important collaborative role played by these groups should be given due recognition by government. There is the need for their coordination, moreso, when communities within and between dictricts operate independently and expend scarce resources on similar projects* This was very glaring in the study area in their roads and culverts constructions, that is, duplication of efforts and waste of resources that could have been used for alternative projects. The study therefore suggests the creation of development areas at the d i s t r i c t level within local government sureas in order to carry democ r a t i c self-government closer to the local people and influence in a direct way the course of rural development.
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DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY FACULTY OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY ZARIA
Keywords
SELF-HELP,, PROJECTS,, RURAL,, DEVELOPMENT:, CASE STUDY,, ZARIA,, LOCAL, GOVERNMENT,, AREA,, KADUNA,, STATE
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