Community Economic Development Policies and Programmes in Nigeria

Abstract

The existence of businesses and subsisting economic base in local communities determine the rate and amount of economic development, as the availability of myriad of job training and development schemes in the community or non-distant locations are important for transforming existing unusable labour into a more human input to existing and potential employers. Finances are channeled to local communities through the local governments in Nigeria without a commensurate increase in rural economic development. To increase community economic development in Nigeria, a comprehensive development policy of all tiers of government in Nigeria should include strategies focused on business attraction, business retention and new business start-ups; provided finances to local governments should be used to develop and train citizens in the communities to harness local natural resources, sustaining community economic development; community development policies and programs of all tiers of governments should be co-ordinated, achieving a singular economic development; community development policy initiatives should be developed for the country by the legislature and adhered to by all tiers of government; and community development initiatives should preserve the life quality of its citizens, not increasing cost of health maintenance at the expense of employment generation, preserving the productive ability of the citizens.

Keywords: community economic development, human resources development, economic development policies, economic development programmes.