CRISIS MANAGEMENT IN NIGERIA LOCAL GOVERNMENT
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 GENERAL BACKGTROUND TO THE SUBJECT MATTER
Local Government in Nigeria has been characterized by instability and disruptions emanating from one from of crisis or the other. These crisis that were often promoted by the activities of central government usually led to complete dissolution and take over of the functions of the local government by the state government. In other words, local government in this country has always been subjected to the whims and caprices of the state government. They were never firmly established to make any contribution to the construction of a stable and deeply rooted polity as the “panchayata, institutions seen to have done in India”.
The various local government reforms and particularly the 1976 reform were thus interracial armed at stabilizing and rationalizing government at the local level. Unfortunately however the chosen implementation strategies seem to have resulted in unanticipated policy out comes. As this matter of fact, by the end of 1983 it was clear to all that the aims of the 1976 reforms to create autonomous and viable local government system in the country had not couldn’t be realized. It is our belief that this was government system to effectively handle the forms of crisis that effected it during this period. It is against this background that the topic “crisis management in local government system in Nigeria was chosen.
1.2 PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE SUBJECT MATTER
Every crisis has four main stages and allowing each crisis to pass through the four stages has been the bone of effective local government administration in Nigeria. The four stages of crisis includes:
i. Prodromal stage (every warning stage)
ii. Acute stage
iii. Chronic stage
iv. Resolution stage
crisis management aims to avoid the acute and chromic stages of crisis. A crisis is said to be effectively managed if it moves from the prodromal to resolution stages. We are aware that this has not been the case in the local government. If we look at the second republic 1979 to 1983, and the last civilian local government administration 1988 to 1989, there were various crisis which include:
i. Financial crisis
ii. power crisis
iii. Man power crisis
iv. Political crisis
v. Crisis of confidence
The entire above crisis were unfortunately allowed to go through the four stages and had their unpleasant effect on local government administration in the country. Enugu north local government , our case study, is a very good exam[le of the effect of allowing a crisis of through the four stages. The local government particularly during the 1988 to 1989 local government administration was afflicted by crisis. These crisis went through the full cycle and the effect was intervention by both the federal and the state government. There were also casa of polarization of the council in many local government which is some cases ended with chairman removing their supervisory councilors. The peculiar circumstance of the creation and existence of local government coupled with the unpredictability of its political and administrative environment in Nigeria largely accounts for the appeal of this topic. “Crisis management in Nigeria local government administration to the author. Unfortunately, it is clear from the prevailing literature that only very little work if any has been done by scholars and practitioner.
In view of the lapse identified an inquiry into crisis management in Nigeria local government has become most imperative. It is hoped that this inquiry will stimulate near dimension and direction of crisis management. Above all, its overall objectives could be the search for an effective and efficient local government ministration in Nigeria while the specific will focus on evolving new strategies for building administrative base for local government in the country.
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