A Big Push...............

Like every other bureaucratic system in Nigeria, local governments have become so complacent with their ineffectiveness, while the citizens are accustomed to expecting nothing more than the inadequate services being offered. We could blame the decay of the system on a million and one things but the underlying reason local governments continue to churn out boreholes and implement unsustainable projects is clear - the citizens’ lack of action to back their enthusiasm for change. The citizens have not shown themselves to be capable of communicating or engaging effectively with local government officials, and most often than not they are denied access. For the privileged few that have access, they pursue their own personal agenda and not that of the community as a whole.
As major stakeholders in local governance, civil society has a responsibility to speak as collective unit to mobilize citizens to demand good governance and access to social goods. Rural communities that have recorded impressive economic growth have had civil society work as the ‘big push’ for good governance. Coalitions of civil society organisations and community based organisations pushing for greater involvement in local governance, especially in decision making processes is a key strategy to stimulating local development.

- Hadiza.