CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACK GROUND OF THE STUDY

The term Local government has been defined by many scholars with different view as regards its development. W.A. Robinson (2000) states that ‘Local government’ involves the conception of territorial non-sovereign community processing the legal right and the necessary organization to regulate right of its own affairs. This I turn presupposed the control, Vis-à-vis participation in state affairs.

According to U.N. Akpan (1999), out of various possible conceptions of the local level development, two have been particularly dominants in Nigeria since the colonial time. The first was christened the indirect rule system and is infact no other than a field administration model.

Gboyega Alex (1998), state that nation wide ordinance establishing the model first in the Northern provinces and later in the southern provinces was promulgated by the colonial government in 1916, two year after the analyation of the Northern and Southern protectorates Indirect rule was actually the rule by the British colonial officials through local chiefs in terms of its philosophy and practice, the emphasis of their model was the colonial regulation of conquered people and so did not encourage popular participation and representation in the native authorities. It was therefore, strictly different from the pre colonial structure of Government which emphasis balance of power and popular participation. Indirect rule distorted these pre-colonial institutions. The model was also not human development although it led to the beginning of a net work of infrastructures of roads, schools and dispensaries, through with the collaboration of native authorities, the colonial central government and missionaries.