Through the years Nigeria has undergone a process of experimentation with several governmental systems, but “good governance” that would ensure a sustainable and desirable urban development have been elusive through the years. As a consequence Urban centers. They include environmental pollution, traffic disorder, and incessant building collapse, social and political problems. These problems are also attributable to lack of physical planning.
The paper advocates for a reappraisal of constitutional legislative and operational mechanisms of development control at all levels of governance particularly in urban centers. This, the paper argues will make them mover efficient in the performance of their social and political functions. It suggests a healthy balance between planning, politics and adequate involvement of citizens in the development and political process of urban centers.
THE NIGERIAN STATE.
The Nigerian state had a long history of transition to various types of governmental of transition from one form of governmental system to the other. Nigeria became a Federation of three regions and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations following her independence on October 1, 1960. In 1963, she became a republic with the first designated president, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe who was the Governor General between 1960 and 1963. The Federal structure in 1963 became four regions with Mid-West region having been created from the western region. The four regions were; Northern, Eastern, Western and Mid-Western regions.
From independence till today, Nigeria has experimented with different types of government. Beginning from October 1 1960 to September 30, 1963 Nigeria operated the parliamentary system, the Westminster type of government, with the British Monarch as constitutional Head of state. The Governor- General represented her majesty, the Queen. The Prime Minister presided over a council of ministers which comprised mainly members of the Federal House of Representatives. There was a senate, made up of selected representatives from the three regions at the time, with equal member of representation. The senate President was the Head of the Senate, while the speaker of the House of Representatives was the head of the body.
The Republican system (First Republic) was embraced between October 1, 1963 and January 15, 1966. In this system, the office of Governor-General was changed to that of president (a non-executive position). The President was not an elected official. He remained the Head of State, Commander in Chief of the Armed forces of the country as he was under the Parliamentary system. The Prime Minister remained the Head of Government, and members of the council of Ministers were still essentially members of the House of Representatives.
Two years after adopting the Republic system of government, on January 14 to 15, 1966, a section of the Nigerian Military struck. This marked the beginning of an era of Military dictatorship which lasted till September 30, 1979 in the first instance while General Olusegun Obasanjo as Head of State. He handed over power to Alhaji Shehu Shagari, a civilian President on October 1, 1979. After series of coups, attempted coups and counter coups, over a period of 13 years, elections were held to usher, in an American type, Presidential style of government, with an Executive President of the center and Executive Governors in the State. Three arms of government were operative: The Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary. Unfortunately however, through these years of transition till date “good governance” has been elusive but still a quest.
There has been laudable attempts under a democratic leadership since 1999, to reconstruct the social and political structures that should bring about urban development by addressing some fundamental problems such as: Human right abuses, Corruption and Poverty. However, the present political climate shows we still have a long way to go. Nigeria is still experiencing increased cases of human rights abuses, corruption in high places, poverty, insecurity of lives and property, ethnic and religions dashes, political violence and killings, environmental degradation, civil unrest and sustainable.
A desirable and sustainable urban development can be achieved through:
i. Effective physical planning and
ii. Good governance.
THE STATE OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA
Nigeria is richly endowed with natural resources. However due to lack of good governance the resources have been mismanaged. Corruption has eaten deep into the fabric of the nation increasing the gap between the rich and the poor. Thus, making the poor, poorer and the rich richer. Urban development is important in the growth of the Nigerian state which planning is concerned with.
The Urban society is characterized by a sharp economic disparity between a small member of wealth families and a large member of poor families. This is making living conditions within cities so bad.
There is also increasing level of disparity between Urban and rural areas. The problems of the urban areas are as a result of the influx of people from the rural areas, traffic congestion, and pollution amongst others. Some problems arise due to the pressure of people using the facilities compared to the member of people it was designed for.
Nigeria’s urban infrastructure is crumbing. Water supply, sewage, sanitation, drainage, roads, electricity and waster disposal all suffer from years of serious neglect. Periodic and routine maintenance, by far the most cost-effective infrastructure spending, is almost zero.
It has become the norm in Nigeria to wait for a capital infusion to rehabilitate, replacing instead of maintaining the infrastructure. But declining financing resources is making this less feasible and deterioration is accelerating, compounding the situation is rapid urbanization caused by migration from rural areas. The number of people living in Nigeria’s towns and cities is expected to double to 80 million in the next 13 years and reach 100 million by 2010.
Urbanization is a positive force in development. Cities and towns are home to most industry, commerce, and services, all of which can be highly productive.
Nigeria’s urban population, over the period 1980-1993, grew at an astonishing 5.5 percent a year, compared with 2.9 percent nationwide. Many urban Nigerians, however, do not earn enough to cover even basic needs. An estimated 21 percent or so (8.5 million persons ) were below the poverty lines in 1992-93. They, more than anybody, suffer from the breakdown in urban infrastructure, especially through poor health. Most of the burden falls on women and children.
Urban pollution and poor management of municipal waste (sewage and refuse) add to the health hazards. Numerous industries dump untreated and often toxic liquids in open gutters, streams, rivers and lagoon. And, as elsewhere fumes from vehicles contaminate the air and water.
In recent years, Nigeria’s leadership, institutions, and policies have been subject to abrupt and unpredictable change, making any planning difficult. A starting point for action can be found in the National Urban Development Policy, prepared in 1992. This, however, has not been adopted officially.
Other government policies have hampered urban productivity and welfare. Fiscal deficits have fueled inflation. Big subsidies for fertilizer, petrol and loss-making state enterprises drain revenues away from more productive use. It has been observed that inadequate control on public spending, massive extra budgetary allocations, and lack of accountability and transparency hinder allocation of resources for infrastructure and social services.
The same situation obtains with urban real estate. The state owns much of the land that could be used for housing, factories, offices, or as collateral for credit. But bureaucratic procedure make it difficult, time-consuming, and expensive to acquire real estate. Moreover, the private sector is excluded from aspects of infrastructure and services (electricity, water and telecommunications, for instance).
With scarce financial resources and too few trained people, local governments (774 of them) are unable to carry out their assigned functions. As usual, the poor suffer most.
Reliving and reducing poverty must be the main aim of urban development. Even modest investment can make a big improvement in the lives of the urban poor. Better basic services in low-income urban areas can have a major impact on the welfare and productivity of the poor. But such investments must be part of broader programs fro primary health care, education, and employment.
Another problem transportation and traffic congestion due bad roads, lack of street lights and street signs and little or no building set backs.
Statistics show that the increasing number of accidents is due to the inability of the government to function properly in the area of transportation among others. There is the problem of road bandits who parade long distance routes adding to the number of accidents that occur on Nigerian roads. Another problem I the issue of poor maintenance of road. It can scarcely be taken that Nigeria is enriched with oil resources but lacked the ability to use the bitumen obtained from petroleum to make her roads functional.
There has been the issue of night workers known as prostitutes, armed robbers and even pen thieves in offices especially at high places. In the country it is found that corrupt police officers who are meant to be defending the rights of the citizens abuse these citizens physically.
In the construction industry, corruption has eaten deep into the system that fake plans, building more than the number of floors approved, political influence of building plan approvals, encroaching on government land as a result of these issues there have been incessant building collapse and bridges in various states, with Lagos having the highest number, followed by Port Harcourt, River State capital.
Some of the challenges faced by the construction industry are listed below.
• Placelessness of towns and cities in the country
• Incessant collapse of buildings.
• Fire in buildings.
• Environmental abuse and other disasters.
• Dearth of referenced design standards for professionals.
• Use of non=professionals.
• Use of untested products and materials.
• Lack of adequate regulations and sanctions.
• Lack of maintenance culture.
GOOD GOVERNANCE
Governance can be defined as the science of government behavior and performance, including the exercise of economic, political and administrative authority to manage a country’s affairs at all levels (UNDP, 1997; Detheir, 1999). It provides the framework through which citizens and groups exercise their rights, meet their obligations and articulate their interests.
Governance is about people and the environment in which they live. It is about people as citizens of their respective states. It is about the relationship between the state and its citizens of their respective states. It is about the relationship between the state and its citizens. It is about the relationship between the state and its citizens, either in their individual capacity or as a group.
It is a process by which governments and people together identify shared values, needs and challenges and jointly manage the implementation of those programs and the available resources, through a transparent and accountable process with shared responsibility for outcomes that are responsive, gender-sensitive and broad-based. This requires a climate of respect for human rights, with the expressed objectives of maximizing benefits to men and women for the common good (Bardhan 1997).
A government encompasses
I. An effective state i.e. one that possesses an enabling political and legal environment for economic growth and equitable distribution of wealth and social welfare
II. Civil societies and communities that are represented in the policy making process, with the state facilitating political and social interaction, and fostering societal cohesion and stability.
III. A private sector that is allowed to pay an independent and productive e role in the economy (Hamdol, 2000).
All three elements singularly and in combination, together with sound economic management are essential for sustained development as emphasized in recent assessments by the African Development Bank (ADB, 1998 and 1999), to achieve many of the precepts of good governance, such as increased public sector efficiency or reduced poverty, necessarily implies a loss to some groups. For example, increased efficiency in public service delivery implies that the activities of rent seekers have to be minimized. On the other hand, reducing poverty might call for income redistribution measures, which could hurt the interests of richer groups.
UNDP identifies nine core characteristics covering eight key urban issues, which measure good governance.
a) Participation-all men and women should have a voice decision-making either directly or through legitimate intermediate institutions that represent their interest. Such broad participation is built on freedom of association and speech, as well as capacities to participate constructively
b) Rule of law – legal frameworks should be fair and enforced impartially, particularly the laws on human rights.
c) Transparency – this is built on the free flow of information. Processes, institution and information is provided to understand and monitor them.
d) Responsiveness –institutions and process try to serve all stakeholders.
e) Consensus orientation – good governance mediates differing interests to reach a broad consensus on what is in the best interest of the group and where possible, on policies and procedures.
f) Equity – all men and women have opportunities to improve or maintain their well-bring.
g) Effectiveness and efficiency – processes and institutions produce results that meet needs while making the best use of resources.
h) Accountability Decision – makers in government, the private sector and civil society organizations are accountable to the public, as well.
i) Strategic vision – leaders and public have a broad and long-term perspective on good governance and human development, along with a sense of what is needed for such development. There is also an understanding of the historical, cultural and social complexities in which that perspective is grounded (UNDP, 1997).
THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT
According to Davey (1993), the role of government in urban management and development can be summarized as follows:
i) Is concerned with the policies, plans programs and practices that seek to ensure that population growth is matched by access to basic infrastructure, shelter and employment. While such access will depend as much, if not more, on private initiatives and enterprise, they are critically affected by public sector policies and functions that only government can perform.
ii). The performance of government is critical to the effective management of urban growth. Government should partner with international agencies who show interest in improving the structure, process, and resources of urban government institutions. Policies of decentralization which delegates functional responsibilities and resources to lower levels of government and new financial flows should be created to stimulate public investment. Development project should include technical assistance to improve the planning and operational of processes of urban agencies
iii) The effectiveness of urban government is clearly dependent on a range of contextual factors: political stability, social cohesion and economic buoyancy, to name only the most obvious. It also depends on the skills and motivations of it’s policy makes and the staff who serve them. But the widespread concern to change and improve the management arrangements suggests a belief that the structures, processes and resources base are themselves factors that contribute to effectiveness. To illustrate, the performance of a car owes much both to it’s driver and to the driving conditions- that is, the state of the road, the traffic, the weather. But its inherent characteristics engine power, road hold, fuel efficiency, and soon constitute a third element to the equation. Just so, the institutional characteristics of urban government play a part in determining its effectiveness, along with the people who run it and the environment within which is operates.
THE ROLE OF THE CIVIL SOCIETY
Against the backdrop of the failure of centralized states in the developmental project, civil society was gradually conceived as alternative delivered of social services and welfare, thus providing solution to the in capacities of the state as well as the inequalities of the capitalist development (Olayode, 2005).
The United State Agency for International Development (USAID expresses this view thus: The components of civil society, the broad-based groups, the networks and communication among these groups, are at the heart of what USAID and may development agencies are trying to achieve (USAID, 1994) also Olayode (2005 reported that the liberation of civil society from the suffocating grip of the state has become the hegemonic ideological project of one time.
In democratic theory, civil society is expected to play a major representative role in the process of transition to democracy.
There are four main areas of civil society involvement in the democratization project:
i) Altering the balance of power between a state and society.
ii) Improving the accountability of both politicians and administrators;
iii) Legitimating the political systems by promoting the values of liberal democracy (Luckham and White 1997).
CONCLUSION
Good governance in Nigeria so far has been a dilemma. In fact it has become elusive despite the various systems of government operated from independence on October 1, 1960 till date. This had led to negative impacts on the social, political economic and physical environment of the country. Hence problems of corruption, poverty, insecurity of lives and property, human rights abuses, political thuggery, environmental degradation, inequitable distribution of resources and development lack of proper physical planning, improper management of urban growth to mention but a few ha made urban development in the country to meet with a brick wall.
In Nigeria, addressing the problem of urban development means addressing the issue of good governance. The solution should reach deep into the very fabric of the Nation where the problem lies. Therefore, a reappraisal of the mechanisms of development control at all levels of government, particularly in urban centers. The civil society also has a vital role in selecting complementary and checking the government.
WAY FORWARD
There are two basic strategies for achieving a sustainable or good urban development in Nigeria. They are good governance and an effective physical planning.
Should there be a reappraisal of the constitutional, legislative and operational mechanisms of development controls, at all levels of governance, particularly only in urban centers. This would make them more efficient in the performance of their social and political functions.
There should be participation of the civil society including communities and the private sector. The government should decentralize authority and the local government strengthened more precisely, their responsibility should be clearly defined; make revenue transfers to them more predictable, give assistance to increase their internal revenue and give them real involvement in planning and implementation.
Relieving and reducing poverty towards a pro-poor strategy must be the aim of urban development. Better basic services in low income urban areas can have a major impact on the welfare and productivity of the poor. But such investments must be part of broader programs for primary healthcare, education and employment. A new Nigeria is possible, when we begin to look and act with deep insight and decisive action.
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