Self-Help Initiatives and the Development of Rural Communities in Nigeria

Abstract

Self-help initiatives for developing Nigeria’s rural communities are attempts by concerned individuals and groups tobridge the gap between the efforts of governments at overall national development and the near total invisibility ofmany of these communities. Provided they are demand–driven and environmentally friendly, there are no limits to therange of projects that qualify to be executed in the rural communities through self-help initiatives. The onlyrequirements are institutional capacity and/or the willingness to build one, to support and to manage such projectssustainably. This has to do with the pivotal role of governments in providing the enabling environment and inmoderating the forces of culture and ethnicity, as residents of a rural community strive for self-emancipation in orderto be able to exert sufficient control over an environment that appears to them as given and unchangeable.Keywords: Self-Help initiatives, Demand-driven, Environmentally-friendly, Institutional capacity, Ruralcommunities.