NAN-AE-2
Projects
By Shittu Obassa
Communities in Nigeria usually approach the development of their areas by engaging in self-help projects for the purpose of providing what they identify as their needs.
However, Prof. Steve Tamuno of the Department of Economics, University of Port Harcourt, notes that “under the self-help approach to rural development, the logic is that individual effort or community effort determines their fate.
“This philosophy of development is an attempt made to enlist and inspire the people in the determination of desirable change in goals and in the implementation of programmes to bring about the change deemed desirable.
“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.’’
Observers note that people often identify the needs of the residents of a particular community and make contributions both in cash and kind to provide such needs.
In some instances, communities have helped in the areas of education, water supply, rural electrification, road, culvert construction or rehabilitation, building of health facilities and provision of security, among others.
Although they take the initiative when their appeals to the appropriate government development agencies have failed, the sole aim of the action has been to enhance the standard of living in the communities.
They are, therefore, zealous in actualising their aspirations for a better life whether or not they receive assistance from their respective local or state governments.
Unarguably, communities have, by self-help efforts, put up projects such as boreholes, feeder roads, town-halls, electricity, police posts, schools and health facilities, among others, worth millions of naira.
In the light of this, a public servant, Mrs Nkechi Okoronkwo, observed that community development through self-help projects had become imperative and the practice should be sustained.
“In the community where I live, people have come together to do some projects through their own self-help with their own resources, taxing themselves to implement such projects.
“For instance, women of my village, Umuhi-Umuogba in Ohunhun clan, Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia, people have identified that they need machinery for milling maize, beans and palm fruits.
“So, they have acquired a piece of land and they are building a house for the machinery to protect the equipment.
“Prior to this, they had been going to neighbouring villages — several kilometres away — to mill maize, beans and cassava.
“Now, the women are doing that with the help and support of their sons and daughters, friends and well wishers who see it as a good development and they are helping out.
“Apart from this, they have also built a town hall where they sit and discuss issues affecting the development of the community.
“The truth of the matter is that if something needs to be done and it will help the community and you need to part with N10, N20 or N100 to solve it, you will be glad that you have helped in advancing a good cause,’’ she said.
Sharing similar sentiments, Mr Chukwudi Ekezie, a civil servant, observed that community development by self-help projects were embraced wholeheartedly at the grassroots.
“Basically, in the south-eastern part of the country, self-help community development has helped communities in providing infrastructure such as schools, access roads, civic centres and even of late, cottage industries.
“In my community, for instance, we provided ourselves with the first source of water, borehole, in the 1960s and reticulated it through all the nine villages in the community.
“When we were also trying to get electricity in the community, the villages funded it through launching and sale of palm fruits. They had to do so because the harvesting of the community palm is very important.
“In times past, the first set of people who had western or university education were supported through the harvesting of the community palm fruits.
“Most communities have been able to do a whole lot of things for themselves; some go to the point of giving scholarship.
“There is a community in Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo called Nguru Community which has a league that awards scholarships to students to promote academic excellence among the youth,’’ Ekezie said.
Calling for its sustainability, Mr Olisa Ifeajika, a political analyst and indigene of Ilah, Aniocha Local Government Area of Delta, said the era when government at any level could provide the essential amenities for all communities was over.
“The disturbing thing is that people want the government to change everything for them but when the resources are lean, government can’t do these things alone.
“However, in my community, so many post offices in my home town were built by the indigenes and handed over to the government to run for the good of the community.
“The community has divisional police headquarters and the people came together to build a full-fledged divisional police station.
“When we asked the Commissioner of Police to come for the handing-over, he told us that his men needed a patrol van and we taxed ourselves to procure the van to enable them to protect our lives and property,’’ he said.
Corroborating Ifeajika, Mr Archibong Asuquo, a journalist, recalled that the residents of Kubwa Village in Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory had had occasion to provide pipe-borne water for the community.
Also, on April 14, Guidna Community in Abuja Municipal Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory, inaugurated an appeal fund of N3 million to enable the community to complete a school project.
The head of the village, Malam Danladi Umar, said the initiative for the construction of the school project came up when the community members felt it desirable to provide good environment for education.
Danladi said he had also set up a vigilante group through communal efforts to provide security and check the menace of criminals in the community.
Similarly, the community recently mobilised the youth to rehabilitate the only road leading to the community from the Kubwa Express Way.
In his opinion, Mr Felix Nwadioha, a civil servant, observed that self-help development projects at the grassroots were methods of inspiring the people in various communities that they could as well live comfortably whether or not they got government assistance.
“Execution of self-help projects is a practice as old as the communities in Abia where people will not bother to wait on government to do projects.
“They conceive and execute projects such as supply of pipe-borne water and electricity and hand over such projects to the state government to run.
“This has attracted international agencies that offer to assist various communities in the state to enable the people to carry out projects which have direct bearing on their lives.
“For instance, the World Bank assisted projects in Abia is called Abia State Community-based Development Projects.
“ My people also embark on self-projects to keep themselves at par with what obtains in the modern society.
“As far back as 1977, my community — Olukoro — brought electricity to the area and handed it over to the state government.
“We have also, through self-help project, provided pipe-borne water that services the community. We do this by collecting tax from community members,’’ Nwadioha said.
By and large, analysts insist that sustained community participation in rural projects development is an important element and a sure way to the speedy development of the rural areas of Nigeria.(NAN)
(Edited by Kayode Olaitan)