GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT AT THE GRASSROOTS IN NIGERIA: THE PAST, THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE

GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT AT THE GRASSROOTS IN NIGERIA: THE PAST, THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE, By Prof. B. C. Osisioma.

Nigeria‟s local governments represent government at the grassroots. In the actions and in actions of local government officials, Nigerians see the colour and complexion of government. An impoverished and malnourished grassroots is a recipe for under-development and stagnation. The challenge of growth and development is therefore how to harness the glut of resources of Nigeria‟s rural sector to develop a sound basis for overall development. Our task is to identify those acts of omission or commission in our national history and present development strategies, which have accounted for the sorry state of Nigeria‟s rural sector. Nigeria must seek to replenish lost entrepreneurship, amplify the revenue base at the rural level, and drive a rural-development strategy that will bring prosperity to rural Nigeria.