Understanding Rural and Community Development in Nigeria


Book Description

This book is designed to provide an overview of the theory and practice of community development, including an historical review, an examination of contemporary issues, debates and challenges faced by communities in Nigeria and other countries, particularly those in rural areas. It considers how community development has been interpreted differently throughout the history of development. A review of the factors that academics, development practitioners and third world peoples have pinpointed as causes of failed development initiatives. Key concepts to be explored are the important definitions of communities, community development, the characteristics of rural, and urban communities, community development theories and policies: principles, processes and programmes of community development, the issues confronting communities, such as insecurity, poverty, conflict, to name but a few. The book explores various approaches of community development in relation to their goals, processes and outcomes and the challenges of community development in the context of the current socio-economic realities in Nigeria. It has explored community development practices to discover critique and improve upon theoretical perspectives on community development. The objectives of this book are to offer the knowledge and skills you will need to: Understand and think critically about the core elements of substantive issues in community development; Understand and apply the basic elements of a community development process to encourage participation and decision-making informed by multiple perspectives and sources of information; Identify and evaluate available resources related to community development practice and the wide range of topics that may be addressed by those working in areas linking community, environment, and development. This book has been specially designed with didactic twenty chapters. All the chapters have been tailored to capture the interest of general readership as they are written in simple but alluring language. The practical nature of the book makes it novel, couched in practical issues rather abstract concepts and theories. It contains: Chapter 1: Conceptual Explanations of Community and Rural Development Chapter 2: Principles of Community and Rural Development Chapter 3: The History of Rural and Community Development: A Global View-Point and the Evolution of Rural-Community Development Activities in Nigeria Chapter 4: Dynamics of Rural and Community Development Chapter 5: Theories and Approaches of Rural and Community Development Chapter 6: The Processes of Rural and Community Development Chapter 7: Traditional Social Institutions and Mobilization in Rural and Community Development in Nigeria Chapter 8: Development Planning Chapter 9: Community Development Resources Chapter 10: Funding of Rural and Community Development Chapter 11: Leadership in Rural and Community Development Chapter 12: Agents and Agencies in Rural and Community Development 1: The Role of Cooperative Societies in Rural and Community Development Chapter 13: Agents and Agencies in Rural and Community Development 11: The Role of Youths and Women in Rural and Community Development Chapter 14: Agents and Agencies in Rural and Community Development 111: The Role of Traditional Rulers in Rural and Community Development Chapter 15: Conflict and Conflict Resolution at Rural and Community Level Chapter 16: Poverty and Rural Development Chapter 17: Policies/Programmes of Rural and Community Development in Nigeria Chapter 18: Monitoring and Evaluation Chapter 19: Case Studies Chapter 20: Problems and Prospects of Rural and Community Development in Nigeria




Rural Development


Book Description

The book brings together a series of contributions with a common goal of reflecting the links between economic development and rural development. The scenario is dotted not only with old and new wounds but also with innovative strategies in an attempt to overcome existing delays. The chapters of the book are composed of scenarios full of case studies. The plans to be adopted to help the countries that have lagged behind fueled an intense debate since the obstacles to development, as evidenced by the extensive scientific literature available, now appeared to be the realities present in the socio-economic structures of a large number of villages. Although the data available are still few, it is assumed that the Covid-19 pandemic will make a landscape already full of criticalities even more fragile.




Rural Development Theory and Practice


Book Description

Rural development is inherently viewed as a positive thing; it is seen as something that brings together groups of individuals with automatic positive implications and outcomes. Policy rhetoric frequently uses popular terms such as involvement, participation and power sharing to describe rural development activities. However, the reality of experience on the ground does not necessarily concur with these ideals. It is not always clear who ultimately benefits from rural development: the State, the community or rural development practitioners. This book critically analyses key concepts associated with rural development policy and practice, and using the concepts of power and micro-politics to analyze rhetoric and reality, reveals the intricacies of rural development. Challenging popular ideals associated with rural development, this book presents the notion of rural development less as a spontaneous, all-inclusive affair and more as a limited, controlled and exclusive process. Ultimately it contends that within structures of rural governance, a regeneration power elite predominates development and regeneration activities.




Understanding Modern Nigeria


Book Description

An introduction to the politics and society of post-colonial Nigeria, highlighting the key themes of ethnicity, democracy, and development.







The Palgrave Handbook of Agricultural and Rural Development in Africa


Book Description

This handbook examines agricultural and rural development in Africa from theoretical, empirical and policy stand points. It discusses the challenges of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and assesses how poverty and other development concerns can be addressed in rural communities through agricultural transformation. Additionally, the handbook extends the Post-2015 Development Agenda and it emphasizes the importance of the agricultural sector as it is closely related to the issues of food sustainability, poverty reduction, and employment creation. The contributors suggest multiple evidence-based policies to develop the rural areas through the transformation of the agricultural sector which can significantly benefit the African continent.




The Theory, Practice and Potential of Regional Development


Book Description

Canadian regional development today involves multiple actors operating within nested scales from local to national and even international levels. Recent approaches to making sense of this complexity have drawn on concepts such as multi-level governance, relational assets, integration, innovation, and learning regions. These new regionalist concepts have become increasingly global in their formation and application, yet there has been little critical analysis of Canadian regional development policies and programs or the theories and concepts upon which many contemporary regional development strategies are implicitly based. This volume offers the results of five years of cutting-edge empirical and theoretical analysis of changes in Canadian regional development and the potential of new approaches for improving the well-being of Canadian communities and regions, with an emphasis on rural regions. It situates the Canadian approach within comparative experiences and debates, offering the opportunity for broader lessons to be learnt. This book will be of interest to policy-makers and practitioners across Canada, and in other jurisdictions where lessons from the Canadian experience may be applicable. At the same time, the volume contributes to and updates regional development theories and concepts that are taught in our universities and colleges, and upon which future research and analysis will build.




Handbook of Research on Rural Sociology and Community Mobilization for Sustainable Growth


Book Description

Rural areas are a key sector in every nation's economy due to a sizeable majority of the population living therein, as well as their impact on global agriculture and food security. Rural development transcends the availability of infrastructure, technology, and industrialization to also encompass the enviro-cultural and psycho-social needs of its inhabitants. The necessity for greater and deliberate efforts targeting all aspects of development of these rural areas is required to sustain growth. The Handbook of Research on Rural Sociology and Community Mobilization for Sustainable Growth is an essential reference source investigating how global trends, state policies, and grassroots movements affect contemporary rural areas in both developed and developing countries. Featuring research on topics such as gender and rural development, micro-financing, and water resource management, this book is ideally designed for government officials, policy makers, professionals, researchers, and students seeking coverage on the sustainable development of rural areas.







Understanding Boko Haram


Book Description

The primary objective of this book is to understand the nature of the Boko Haram insurgency in northeast Nigeria. Boko Haram’s goal of an Islamic Caliphate, starting in the Borno State in the North East that will eventually cover the areas of the former Kanem-Borno Empire, is a rejection of the modern state system forced on it by the West. The central theme of this volume examines the relationship between the failure of the state-building project in Nigeria and the outbreak and nature of insurgency. At the heart of the Boko Haram phenomenon is a country racked with cleavages, making it hard for Nigeria to cohere as a modern state. Part I introduces this theme and places the Boko Haram insurgency in a historical context. There are, however, multiple cleavages in Nigeria ̶ ethnic, regional, cultural, and religious ̶ and Part II examines the different state-society dynamics fuelling the conflict. Political grievances are common to every society; however, what gives Boko Haram the space to express such grievances through violence? Importantly, this volume demonstrates that the insurgency is, in fact, a reflection of the hollowness within Nigeria’s overall security. Part III looks at the responses to Boko Haram by Nigeria, neighbouring states, and external actors. For Western actors, Boko Haram is seen as part of the "global war on terror" and the fact that it has pledged allegiance to ISIS encourages this framing. However, as the chapters here discuss, this is an over-simplification of Boko Haram and the West needs to address the multiple dimension of Boko Haram. This book will be of much interest to students of terrorism and political violence, insurgencies, African politics, war and conflict studies, and IR in general.