Nigeria’s 774 LGAs Can Drive Sustainable Devt If Empowered — Ipadeola

Former acting Rector of the Polytechnic, Ibadan, Oyo State, Dr Femi Ipadeola, has declared that sustainable national transformation must begin with the active participation and improved welfare of citizens at the grassroots.

While calling for a departure from Nigeria’s top-down approach to development, he argued that national development should not be measured solely by activities at the Presidential Villa or state government houses, but by improvements in the lives of ordinary Nigerians in their local wards and communities.

Speaking on the theme, “From 774 LGAs to 774 Engines of Development: A Development Communication Perspective”, at the launch of Nigeria Local Government News (NLGN) Development Communication Media Ecosystem in Ibadan, Oyo State, at the weekend, he said, “We refuse to accept that the model we’ve been using is wrong, which is the top-down approach”.

He criticised the prevailing top-down development model, which he linked to the country’s inherited military command structures, arguing that a different approach was required to achieve sustainable development.

According to him, development should be driven from the grassroots, with citizens actively participating in identifying their needs and determining their communities’ priorities.

He maintained that development goes beyond the construction of physical infrastructure, stressing the importance of building the mental, legal and social foundations necessary for citizens to participate meaningfully in governance.

Ipadeola said the orientation of citizens towards local government administration was particularly important, arguing that changes in public attitudes and understanding were necessary for grassroots governance to fulfil its developmental responsibilities.

“Your first priority should be focused on changing the ingrained mindset of the average Nigerian citizen towards local government administration,” he advised.

He stressed that development communication should be used to encourage public participation and improve citizens’ understanding of local government administration, rather than being limited to the dissemination of official information.

The former acting rector also called on media practitioners to maintain their independence and avoid becoming instruments of publicity for political office holders.

He urged journalists to adopt evidence-based reporting that examines government budgets, investigates abandoned projects and provides opportunities for ordinary citizens to express their concerns about governance.

Ipadeola said the media had a responsibility to report issues affecting local communities and ensure that grassroots development received adequate attention.

He emphasised that citizens’ participation in local government affairs was essential to ensuring that councils responded to people’s needs and contributed to national socio-economic development.

In his remarks, the convener and publisher of NLGN, Mr Tosin Bakare, said the initiative was conceived out of concern over persistent poverty and the need to ensure that local governments were genuinely empowered to deliver the dividends of democracy.

“The concept of Nigeria Local Government News is a function of the pervasive poverty that we have seen over the years in the land,” Bakare said.

He argued that interventions by the Federal Government and state governments would not adequately reach the grassroots unless local governments were constitutionally empowered to discharge their responsibilities.

“The government at the centre and the various states might do a lot, but it will never get to the people at the grassroots unless the local governments are constitutionally empowered to deliver the true dividends of democracy,” he said.

Bakare maintained that local government autonomy must be accompanied by accountability and effective use of public resources, adding that councils needed to translate their responsibilities into tangible benefits for residents.

He said NLGN would not operate as a public relations platform for political office holders but would promote development journalism and provide a platform for reporting grassroots challenges and governance.

Bakare explained that the monthly publication would use flipbook technology to reach local government chairmen, councillors and constituents across the country. He added that the platform would also provide professional consultancy and media coverage through print, radio and television.

The board chairman of the platform and former spokesman to the late President Muhammadu Buhari, Mallam Garba Shehu, commended the establishment of NLGN and wished the initiative success in promoting media discourse on local government affairs nationwide.

Also speaking, Mr Seun Ajeigbe expressed support for the initiative, describing it as a response to the needs of ordinary people. He stressed that development should begin at the grassroots and extend to higher levels of government.

Ajeigbe also emphasised the importance of developing citizens’ mindsets alongside the provision of physical infrastructure such as roads and bridges.

The programme featured a panel session in which participants from communication and governance backgrounds discussed the need for local government areas to function effectively to advance grassroots development.