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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1.     BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The evolution of local Government in Nigeria predates colonialism. The system passed several phases VIZ pre-colonial, colonial and post colonial. During the period of pre-colonial, the government of what is known as Nigeria was local tradition rather than central and was mannered by traditional authorities such as Emirs, Sultan, Obar, Onis, Alafms, Obas Warrant chiefs and Ezes. There was therefore locally centralized machinery of government. The north had power concentrated in the hands of the “Emir”. In the East, there was a republic form. Government was highly decentralized and based on family heads or clan or “Umunna” or council of elders (Ndi Ichie) while in the West there was a kind of constitutional monarchy with the “obas” as the hem of affairs. In every park of Nigeria there exists machinery than run the affairs of Nigerians in their own district localities.  

However the period of colonial was the British indirect rule system when the British got mandate to administer the dasin of River Nigeria. Sir Frederick Lugard took the title of high commissioner of the title of Northern Nigeria in 1906 where indirect rule was first introduced. The indirect rule system was not applied throughout Nigeria until 1916 when the native authority ordinance No14 was passed this era was described as golden age of British colonial Admmistration and traditional rulers between 1917 and 1949. Post-colonial was when the second world war ended, there was a tremendous surge of nationalist interest who were educated and anxious to participate in the running of their own after and to put into practice modern democratic ideas they acquired while studying abroad. In the forefront was Herbert Macaulay, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and others. In 1947, a secretary of state for colonies (Arthur Jones) issues a famous dispatch of all African territories calling for rapid development and efficient democratic system of local government. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and Obafemi Awolowo who was the premier became the master of local government in their areas. Between 1950 and 1955, local government became a three tier system.

However, 1976 there was local government reforms after coup detat in January 1966. There was a big change in transformation/introduction of modern local government system. The reform was aimed at finding solutions to the short comings of previous reform effects, the main is to entrust political responsibilities to where it is most crucial and beneficial to the people.  Having traced the origin of local government in Nigeria , it is the contention of this project research the local government administration should like any other system have an environment which it operates and which influence the system overtly. Like living organizes, the local government administration and indeed other bureaucracies and conditioned by their environments and the conditioning is naturally mutual as Heady states.“Bureaucracies institution as well other political and administrative institutions can be better understood if the surrounding condition influences and forces that shape and modified them are identified and ranked to the exert possible in order of relative importance and if the reciprocal impact of these institutions on their environment also explored” The environmental and bureaucratic influences that impinge upon the exert influence on local government administration in Nigeria and historical, political, social economic and bureaucratic environments such as government regulations, edicts, laws, decrees and other attendant protocol that characterized public bureaucracy. It is based on the  above bureaucratic variables that this work is developed to the exposition of the critical influence of these environment in Nigeria Local Government system and to find out how far reaching these variables have helped or otherwise the growth, development and stability of over growing third tier of government in Nigeria.

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