Social Services Provision and Community Development in Nigeria

Abstract

The importance of social services provision has been ignored in practice for long by successive governments and the private sector in Nigeria. The resultant effect has been severely felt by her populace who are at the receiving end. It is widely acknowledged that for real development to take place, there are several conditions that have to be on ground. One of these numerous conditions is the provision of vital social services. Regrettably, this aspect of the development process has not been given the adequate and deserved attention it requires. Thus, all the efforts put to develop our immediate rural communities and improve the welfare of the populace have either been wasted or truncated. To ensure the development of rural communities in Nigeria, concerted efforts by government and private sector must be made to provide social infrastructure that will provide enabling environment for other aspects of development to take place. This way, the development and wellbeing of the rural populace will be ensured.

Key words: Social services, community development, social infrastructure and rural.