Governance of Nigeria's Villages and Cities through Indigenous Institutions

Abstract

"This article seeks to understand how Nigerian urban and rural communities are organized for self-governance in the face of the failure of state-based structures in Africa. Utilizing inputs from research findings by a network of Nigerian researchers, the article affirms the existence of local institutions for self governance across selected urban and rural communities in Nigeria. These local institutions which include political, administrative, socio-cultural, development and economic institutions are providing most of the goods and services needed by the people. The article identifies the various forms of local non-governmental organizations or local development organs and concludes by identifying the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats which characterize these local institutions. It is the contention of the article that these elements be taken into consideration in attempting a possible convergence of state and society institutions if the search for good governance in Africa is not to end in failure."