LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND SUSTAINABLE URBANISATION IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The ever-rising increase in growth and complexities of human settlement, particularly the rate of urbanization have created new challenges in the 21 century as several national governments continue to strive to attain sustainable development and effective urban governance. The objective of this study is to access the role of the local government in engendering sustainable urban governance in Nigeria. The study adopted an exploratory research design with the use of secondary data from 2010 to 2018 and the projection of rural urban growth by 2025.Content analysis was employed as data analysis method. Using the modernization theory, the study discovered that the problem of urbanization is global but in Nigeria its administration is uncoordinated and fragmented with inadequate urban administrative tools. It discovered that the local government in Nigeria are given little or no technical or financial capacity to govern urban areas. It recommends a bottom -top approach in planning of urban administration that is inclusive of the local government. Also, it suggests that the policies formulated and implemented should be tailored towards addressing the problems of urban growth. The study concluded that a participatory, multi stakeholders, collaborative approach to policy making and implementation in urban administration is the key to achieving an ideal sustainability of urban centres in Nigeria.

Keywords

• local government
• sustainable development