THE ROLE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT (A STUDY OF NKANU WEST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF ENUGU STATE
ABSTRACT
This research work The Role of Local Government Area in Community Development a study of Nkanu West Local Government Area, Enugu State. Looked critically towards community development within its area of jurisdiction.  In doing this, the researcher based his study on the provision of the 10976 local government reform in Nigeria which made community development one of the explicit functions of the local government -s. In carrying out the research, primary and secondary data were used.  Related literatures were reviewed (secondary data) and questionnaire were equally prepared and administered to local government functionaries (primary data). The finding of the research was reached using the result of the questionnaire. It was found that many factors act as stumbling blocks on the way of community development in Nkanu West local. Such factors include: Lack of adequate organization frame work and orientation, lack of dedication and commitment on the part of the local government to the cause of community development. From the above findings, the researcher recommended that there should be procurement of adequately trained personnel for the organizational and community developmental processes associated with community development in their area of authority and there should also be improvement in the condition of services of the employees.  This will raise the standard of performance of the staff and also attract, qualified present competent and from outsize.
TABLE OF CONTENT
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1    Background of the study   
1.2    Statement of the problem    -
1.3    Objective of the study       
1.4    Research Questions -
1.5    Scope of the study    
1.6    Significance of the study      
1.7    Limitation of the study   
1.8    Definitions of Terms        -    -    - 
CHAPTER TWO  
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1    Conceptual Framework                     
2.2    Theoretical Framework                        
2.3     Empirical Review of the related literature            
2.4    Summary of Literature Review                            
    CHAPTER THREE
3.0    RESEARCH METHODOLOGY                     
3.1    Research Design                   
3.2    Area of the Study                     
3.3    Population of the Study           
3.4    Sample Size Determination      
3.5    Instrument for Data Collection             
3.6    Validity of the Instrument                         
3.7    Reliability of the Instrument                      
3.8    Sources of Data Collection
3.8       Method of Data                           
CHAPTER FOUR
4.1    Data Presentation and Analysis   
4.3    Summary of Findings                         
CHAPTER FIVE
5.0 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, IMPLICATIONS CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1    Discussion of Findings                `          
5.3    Conclusion                                   
5.3    Recommendations                               
Bibliography
Appendices

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1       Background of the Study
The local governments serve as local hubs of the central federal government. These local governments do not have a lot of rights and most of its decisions are made according to the central government's rules. Their abilities are usually very restricted by the central government. The current number of local distinct stages of development. This study is the modest attempt at a lucid explanation of the roles of local government in Nigeria.  Nigeria today is stressful and confusing because of the way the government works. How well a community performs economically, politically, and socially depends on the creativity, commitment and vision of its administration. Nigeria will develop only when the rural communities are developed. And this will only happen when the administrators are committed to the development of the communities.  Any person, who wants to know why Nigeria is not developing as rapidly as it should, should visit any of the local government areas. Life is pressed out of almost everything. The people are financing various development projects (community hospital, road construction, rural electrification, water project) because monthly allocations to local councils are not properly utilized (Isiraojie, 2015).
 According to Akanni, (2014),   Local government at least in principle , deal with grassroots politics (keeping law and order, basic sanitation, constructing and ,maintaining local roads, supplying water, administering local schools, providing skills training and employment for residents. However, community development is the process or effort of building communities on a local level with emphasis on building the economy, forging and strengthening social ties, and developing the non-profit sector. Therefore, community development program are aimed at improving the quality of life of the people in the community. Local government areas are supposed to be the engines of the national development. A quiet rural community grows into a bustling city and the local developed government makes this possible. However, in developed societies, when people are tired of living in the cities, they relocate to the rural communities where life is less strenuous (Ibietan, 2015).
       However, the opposite is the case in Nigeria. Living in a rural community is difficult because nothing works as it should. The local government administrators are part of the problem like their counterparts at the federal and state levels, they are wired in pursuit of personal goals at the expense of broader community interests.   As noted earlier, life in the local areas is a bit more difficult than that in the cities, partly because some of the council administrators lack the skills and knowledge to perform their duties. An administrator should understand what community development is and what it takes to develop an economically distressed community like a business manager, who determines what, should be produced; an administrator directs and determined the peace of community development. But an individual cannot give what he or she does not have (Ibietan, 2015).
      To develop and implement good policies an administrator must have the skill to develop and analyze social and economic data. Although data collection and analysis is a serious problem in government agencies in Nigeria. It is more problematic at the local areas. One cannot over emphasize the importance of reliable data. In particular demographic data helps to identify the buying power and market size of a community and provides investors with information about the economic health of an area.        There are inconsistencies and organized chaos in local government administration in Nigeria. The system has elected local government chairmen and appointed administrators, and some states are creating development centers in the local government areas. All these conducts to channel public funds to canals of state governors. As mentioned earlier, some of the individuals who administer these looting centers are dangerously lacking in the skill and knowledge to develop a community. As it where, you cannot give a backbone to an invertebrate. One of such administrators in Enugu state who parades himself as  (and other bogus title) does not even possess a high school diploma, what type of leadership would such a fraudulent and hollow individual provides a community?   There are business opportunities in rural communities, but they lack requisite infrastructure to lure entrepreneurs and investors. For any community to attract new investment and fatter economic growth and development, it should have basic social infrastructures, effective leadership, and an environment conducive for human habitation, because bad environment causes health problems (Hanachor, 2015).  Local government in pre- colonial era, the present construct that is Nigeria is an amalgamation of over two hundred and eight ethnic nationalities, brought under one umbrella through the ambition of Britain and the economic rivalry amongst the colonial powers.
    The North predominated by Islam use it’s religion to entrance centralized leadership reminiscence of the sultanate which (Buccus 2007) referred to as “habits and attitudes of political difference and subordinate. In the original societies that now formed Nigeria, traditional institutions held sway. National rulers were the over lords while their subjects were subordinates. Europeans slave traders therefore used these established institutions in what later became known as native authorities to carry out their slave raid and economic exploitation of the people.
 The beauty of this practice was that these traditional overlords exercised their powers only after seeking the consent of the people.

1.2      Statement of the problem
Local governments are established to bring about developments. In Nigeria however, this has not been the case.

The need to catalyze balanced development, maximize citizens’ participation, and arouse government response necessitates the creation of the local government. The local government serves as a form of political and administrative structure facilitating decentralization, national integration, efficiency in governance, and a sense of belonging at the grassroots. The local government is a unit of administration all over the world.
Local government has been the root of development in terms of dealings with the people which democracy is centered upon. Hence, local government is visibly seen as co-agent of rural development and as partners in progress with both states and federal governments in rural developments.
To this end, this study sets out to investigate the impact of local government on rural/grass root development with emphasis on Nkanu West Local Government of Enugu State. Knowing the roles the government needs to play in development of any society and the obvious inability of the national and state governments in the task of rural areas, Local government has been created essentially to compliment the efforts of the states and national government in the task of rural development. Nevertheless, abject poverty and underdevelopment remains a common feature in these rural communities.
Thus, in pursuance of the central problem in this research a number of questions have been raised (posed) for this research purpose. They are Has Nkanu West local government Area contributed substantially to rural development? ii) Does Inadequacy of Skilled Workers (like qualified engineers of all types, medical doctors etc) affect the ability Nkanu West local government council in carrying out rural development programme? iii) Does inadequate financing of the local government by the state and federal government affect the ability of Nkanu West local government council to contribute to rural development?
1.3      Objectives of the study
The broad objective of the research work is local government administration and community development with specific reference to Nkanu West local government in Enugu state. The specific objective s of the study is as follow:
1.    To specify the roles of local government on community development.
2.    To identify the challenges hindering effective community development through local government programme.
3.    To identify the strategies to improve effective community development through local government programme.

1.4     Research Questions
The research questions will be based on the following:
1.    What are the specific roles of local government on community development?
2.    What are the challenges hindering effective community development through local government programme?
3.    What are the strategies to improve effective community development through local government programme?

1.5    Scope of the study
This research area and dimension of coverage is based on only the roles of local government on community development. The staff, teachers, farmers, businessmen in Nkanu West local government of Enugu state have chosen as the respondents.

1.6      Limitation of study
The researcher was affected by the usual constraints and problems common with similar researchers in Nigeria. Summarized below are some of the constraints.
•    Attitude of Respondent: This was another greatest limiting factor to this study. The respondents declined to give direct information and keep the researcher in suspense, as they were not prepared to compromise their job devotion with the researcher’s information requirements. This to a very large extent hindered the researcher’s access to some essential data of the organization.
•    Time constraints: The time available is very limited, as a result of this, the researcher is restricted to some places for interviews and questioning during the collection of data.
-    Financial Constraints:  The funds available to the researcher is not sufficient to carry out this research work.  As a result of high economic hardship as well as high cost of transportation.
1.7    Significance of the study
Among the people that will benefit from the study are:
•    The People of Nkanu West LGA This research work is beneficial to the (management of Innoson Company):  because it enlightens them on the importance development of rural area through local government section as established by federal government.
-    The employment: The research work is equally beneficial to the employees as it exposes them on the importance of local government as a vehicle for rural development. The researcher will benefit as the research work is a pre-requisite for graduation.
-    The University: The University will benefit as the research work increases their data bank.
-    Further References: Finally, the research work will serve as a spring board for further research.
1.7    Definition of Terms
The following terms have been defined for the purpose of this study
1.    Local government:  this is a government at a local level exercised through representative councils established by the laws to exercise specific functions within a defined area.
2.    Development: development is a multi-dimensional process involving a re-organizational and re-orientation of the entire economic and social system, in addition to improve income and quality of life of the inhabitant of an area. It typically involves radical changes in institutional, social as well as popular attitudes and sometimes even customs and beliefs.
3.    Programmers: this consists of essentially integrated series of development projects that spans over a length of time or period.
4.    Development:  As Anselem Uba put it: The gradual and orderly unfolding of the characteristics of the successive stages of growth involving the energy and expending of capacities of individual to provide greater functioning abilities. It means essentially progress towards a goal. It involves change from simplicity to comprehensibility and implies an increasing progressive maturity of behavior as well as organization of personality and character.
5.    Community development: The regional conference on the integrated approach to community development held in Moshi pauzana (2017) defines it as ‘the outcome of the series of quantitative and qualitative change among a given rural population and whose converging effects indicate in time a rise in the standard of living and favourable changes.
3.    Local Government:  International encyclopedia of the social sciences defined ‘local government’ as a public organization authorizes to carry out and administer a limited range of public politics within in a relative’s small territory which is a sub-division of a region or national government. It is political and administrative unity that is empowered by law to administrate within a specific locality.
4.    Administration: Chambers 21st century dictionary defined an administration’ as an act of direction, managing or government of an organization affair for a period of time.

1.10 Profile of Nkanu West Local Government Area
Nkanu West is one of the 17 local government areas of Enugu State, Nigeria its headquarter is situated in the town of Agban.  Nkanu West local government area is made up of Agbani, Akpugo, Akegbe, Obuofia Umueze, Obe, Amodu Ozalla, and Amuri. It is an area of 225km2 and a population of 146,695 at the 2006 Census.  The postal cod of the area is 402.
Nkanu West live continually with the Enugu East senatorial zone of the present day Enugu State of the area lie approximately between latitude 60 300 North and longitude of 70300 East and stands on an estimated excavation of about 763 feet above sea level.  According to sources from the defunct states ministry of works, land and transportations, Nkanu clan occupies an area of about 1602. 22 square kilometer.  Nkanu as a group has no common ancestry.  But individual communities that make up the area.  However, the geographical area was rather a colonial creation of British who for administrative convenience, merged the desperate communities together in 1934, to become Nkanu division.
The Nkanu West as a local government have had this previous chairman in the ruling since it started in existence. The names are as follows: Joe john, Chidi Nwatu, Afam Okereke, Ekene Okenwa and Henry Okenwa.
    Nkanu West local government have some of the social amenities such new equipped community hospital, good roads, electricity, water, schools.   According to the Census population 2006 Nkanu West local government is 146,695 .