Local Government Autonomy and Democratic Dividend in Nigeria: An Assessment

Abstract

The fourth republic has been in existence for more than twenty years, thus it is alarming that Nigeria's fledgling democracy has failed to benefit the populace as planned. This deplorable development has prompted some worries and inquiries about why the nation continues to struggle to achieve democratic government and dividends like social welfare, justice, even-federal development, and equitable access to resources. This essay looked into Nigeria's local government autonomy and democratic dividends. The success of democracy and democratic governance in Nigeria, particularly at the local government level, has also been and continues to be hampered by a number of reasons. This involved reviewing pertinent literature, adopting the structural functionalist theory as the theoretical framework, and gathering data from secondary sources. The study shows that corruption, party politics, upper government meddling, a lack of local government autonomy, and other factors, among others, have significantly hampered Nigerian democracy, particularly at the local government level. Therefore, it suggests, among other things, that local governments be given constitutional autonomy in terms of their powers and duties, that the fight against corruption be extended to local government areas while local government officials are made accountable to the local population, and that leaders adopt higher standards of morality in their pursuit of public office.